Thread by @JuddLegum

1. In 2020, a ragtag group of lawyers tried to use a fringe theory to overturn the election and install Trump for a 2nd term

Now, a sophisticated GOP operative w/virtually unlimited funds is trying to get the Supreme Court to endorse the same theory

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2. In 2018, Justice Clarence Thomas "joked" that Leonard Leo was the "number three most powerful person in the world."

Since then, Leo's power and influence have only increased.

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3. As executive VP of the Federalist Society, Leo cultivated an entire generation of lawyers and judges that shared Thomas' far-right judicial philosophy

Then he raised hundreds of millions of dollars to install them on the federal bench.

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4. During Trump's presidency, Leo joined to White House to help select and confirm Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett

Leo has played a key role in the confirmation of all 6 justices that make up the Supreme Court's right-wing majority

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5. What this court has done so far, including overturning Roe and kneecapping the federal government's ability to combat climate change, reflects Leo's goals and vision

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6. Now, Leo has stepped down from the Federalist Society to pursue even more audacious goals. He recently secured $1.6 BILLION from a single donor, "ultra secret Republican businessman" Barre Seid.

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7. One of Leo's first projects is to get the Supreme Court to endorse the "independent state legislature" theory.

It's the theory Trump lawyer John Eastman cited to argue that Mike Pence could declare Trump the president on January 6, 2021.

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8. Under the independent state legislature theory, state legislatures can do whatever they want in administering elections or selecting presidential electors EVEN IF IT VIOLATES THE STATE CONSTITUTION

It has been rejected by the Supreme Court for 100 yrs

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9. The most important thing to know about the independent state legislature theory is it makes no sense.

State legislatures are created and constrained by state constitutions. And state courts interpret state constitutions.

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10. Leo, through an org called the "Honest Elections Project," is urging SCOTUS to endorse the independent state legislature theory

The vehicle is a case by GOP legislators in NC seeking to reinstate a gerrymandered map the NC Supreme Court said violated the state constitution

11. The GOP legislators argue the gerrymandered maps should be reinstated because the independent state legislature theory allows them to ignore the state constitution

So far, at least 4 justices seem very open to the argument

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12. If Leo prevails, it could throw the 2024 elections into chaos. John Eastman, the lawyer who plotted to overturn the 2020 election, has also submitted a brief.

EASTMAN ADVANCES THE SAME ARGUMENTS HE USED TO TRY TO OVERTURN THE 2020 ELECTION

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13. The effort to undermine American democracy did not end on January 6.

Trump and his allies are engaged in a much more sophisticated effort to seize power in 2024.

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