Thread by @MattLRobison

The mass shooting in #Buffalo, right wing extremism on guns, and the takeover of the judiciary by leveraging abortion (per last week's thread) are connected. The connection is money. It fuels the complex right-wing network that captured the Court and props up politicians.
1/18

https://twitter.com/MattLRobison/status/1524098806345830407

The network is complex and confusing by design. It makes the "All the President's Men" mantra of "follow the money" really hard. But here are just a *few* of the threads we do know about, and how they connect to #RoeVWade, #GunViolence, #SCOTUS, and white nationalism.
2/18

Start with Leonard Leo, who sits at the center of many more overlapping right-wing groups than even he can count (literally: "I have no idea how many groups I’ve been involved with over the years”). washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/… Here's a tiny portion (h/t @EXPOSEDbyCMD):
3/18

These groups collaborate to channel *hundreds* of millions to "ads, telemarketing and mobilization of 'grass roots' groups...They conducted polls to help craft the most persuasive messages and arranged dozens of 'background' briefings for reporters." washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/…
4/18

One very small recent example per @washingtonpost. Right wing money flows into the network. It comes out the other side in ads & paid talking heads on #TuckerCarlson to push Republicans to put ideologues on the Court who will deliver on the issues of #AbortionBan & #guns.
5/18

In just the past 8 years, they've funneled at *least* $580 million in this way. Here's @SenWhitehouse explaining just how big a role this money has played on Beyond Politics (which I hope you'll subscribe to): podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sen…
6/18

The Council for National Policy, "a few hundred of the most powerful conservatives in the country," is where "extremists mix," including white nationalists, and where Leo trawls for funding (look who they have validate their work on their website).
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016…
7/18

But the dark money system also protects *foreign* sources of money, including from Russia. We don't know how much. We do know that at least some of it has made its way into the right wing influence network. Here's @SenWhitehouse again: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sen…:
8/18

We know that funds/influence from Russian agents made its way through the NRA into the Trump campaign. theguardian.com/us-news/2019/m…. The most well-known of those agents? Out of prison, in the Russian parliament, supporting Putin in his war in Ukraine.motherjones.com/politics/2022/…
9/18

And the NRA is credibly accused of running a "network of shell companies to skirt campaign finance laws and give money to Trump and GOP candidates," at least $35 million worth. washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/…
10/18

All of these groups/efforts tie together. America Engaged (headed by Leo) donated $2.7 million to the NRA and Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, which donated $500,000 to Making America Great, a pro-Trump group spearheaded by conservative funder Rebekah Mercer...
11/18

...who invested in Parler and Breitbart, which became outlets pushing the #ReplacementTheory narrative that "dangerous immigrants are ruining the country," (also funded many groups pushing right wing causes).
washingtonpost.com/graphics/polit…
washingtonpost.com/technology/202…
12/18

One other piece to add. One could say that operative like Leo or funders like Mercer sit at the center of this. Or, one could also say that Clarence & Ginni Thomas do. This network isn't just focused on the Court. In a very real way, it is operated from inside the Court.
13/18

Remember the Council for National Policy (tweet 7 above)? Ginni helps run it. She's on the Board. newyorker.com/magazine/2022/…
14/18

She also founded Groundswell which coordinates conservative advocacy on SCOTUS issues. nytimes.com/2022/02/22/mag…. Her lobbying firm Liberty Consulting has clients (and therefore financial interests) who have filed Amicus briefs with the court. cnbc.com/2022/04/05/ins…
15/18

And she works closely with Leo and the Federalist Society and Judicial Crisis network (who share staff and are the same office hallway) to hand pick her husband's colleagues on the Court and create the right-wing majority washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/…
16/18

That is just a small portion of what we know (thanks to incredible work from reporters like @JaneMayerNYer) about why we have right wing judges and politicians who are so out of step with America, and yet manage to grab power.
17/18

Final tweet: I am bad at asking, but trying to get better... I always appreciate follows on Twitter and subscriptions to Beyond Politics podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bey… (wherever you get your podcasts) where I try to cover deeper dive themes like this. Thank you.
18/18