How the Supreme Court’s Agenda Is Being Shaped by Right-Wing Billionaire Money
Conservative activist Leonard Leo is spending millions to shape the Supreme Court’s agenda. On his docket: ending affirmative action, rolling back antidiscrimination protections, and giving state legislatures unreviewable oversight of federal elections.
Conservative activist Leonard Leo and his associates are spending millions of dollars to influence some of the Supreme Court’s most consequential recent cases. (Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images for Common Cause)
Flush with money after receiving the largest-known political advocacy donation in US history, conservative activist Leonard Leo and his associates are spending millions of dollars to influence some of the Supreme Court’s most consequential recent cases, newly released tax documents obtained by ProPublica and the Lever show.
The documents detail how Leo, who helped build the Supreme Court’s conservative majority as an adviser to President Donald Trump, has used a sprawling network of opaque nonprofits to fund groups advocating for ending affirmative action, rolling back antidiscrimination protections, and allowing state legislatures unreviewable oversight of federal elections.
The records also show that the Leo-aligned nonprofits paid millions of dollars to for-profit entities connected to Leo.
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