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Federalist Society mastermind Leonard Leo is not done transforming American to his specifications. Yes, yes, yes: his fingerprints are already all over the federal judiciary but that’s not enough for him. Seriously, FedSoc has a goddamned chokehold on conservative judicial candidates. Every one of the GOP-nominated Supreme Court justices are current or former members of the organization, and the organization has been actively curating lists of judicial nominees that specifically align with a host of right-wing political goals.
Leo has been busy cultivating dark money for a minute now, but earlier this week it was revealed he’s got control over $1.6 billion through the “Marble Freedom Trust.” The staggeringly large amount was donated by electronics magnate Barre Seid, through a fascinating scheme saving $400 million in taxes, and though it feels shady, it is apparently legal.
With this treasure trove of dark money at his disposal, Leo is set to expand his sphere of influence beyond the federal judiciary. Next up? State courts. As reported by Rick Hasen and Dahlia Lithwick at Slate:
But Leonard Leo isn’t just hellbent on reshaping the federal judiciary. His fingerprints (and the obligatory dollar signs) are all over state court races, too. One of Leo’s dark money groups, the one formerly known as the Judicial Crisis Network reportedly “has given RSLC at least $5.24 million since 2014, when RSLC launched what it calls the ‘Judicial Fairness Initiative’ (JFI) to spend money in state judicial elections. According to its own site, by launching JFI, ‘RSLC became the only national political organization focused exclusively on the electoral process of judicial branches at the state level.’” These efforts will fundamentally reshape state judicial races by infusing them with unusual levels of cash. The recipients of these funds will help advance the same causes pushed by Leo’s federal judges.
Leo’s plot has become a right-wing virtuous circle, with the legwork FedSoc has already put in helping to expand their influence.
Here’s where the bootstrapping comes in. The very same conservative judiciary that Leo helped create has been central to crafting new legal rules which help elect more Republicans to office. Cases like Citizens United and Speech Now have opened the floodgates to fund large outside political groups such as Super PACs. Cases like Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta are making it easier for that large money to be contributed anonymously or through entities that can mask the identity of those who are pulling the strings, providing an easier path to influence without giving voters valuable information about who is trying to influence them and elected officials.
Look for this feedback loop to be extended when the Supreme Court hears Moore v. Harper next Term. If that case goes as we all fear it will go, states with Democratic-majority state supreme courts will be unable to protect voting rights in their state due to the terrifying “independent state legislature” theory.
Hasen and Lithwick put none too fine a point on the “why” of it all, writing, “The end is, and has always has been, to ensure that wildly unpopular ideas and policies can be put into effect by a life-tenured judicial branch that represents a well-funded conservative minority.”
Well, shit. We’re truly screwed.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
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