Netizens were furious Monday morning after reading an article in The New York Times about a $1.6 billion donation received from conservative activist Leonard Leo.
Barre Seid, a businessman, gave money to a new group led by Federalist Society co-chair Leonardo, who advised Trump’s Supreme Court nominee and helped end abortion rights at the federal level.
It is the largest amount of money ever donated to a political campaign in the United States. Find out how a secret billionaire gave his money to the person who plotted the right-wing takeover of the courts.
How much money does Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society, have?
Leonard Leo’s net worth is just $5 million, but he’s made a lot more over the years. To give you an idea, Leo and his friends have earned more than $450 million since 2005, and that doesn’t include their Marble Freedom Trust.
Also, The Washington Post said in 2019 that the Federalist Society has been paying Leo more than $400,000 a year for several years. That same year, Leo was said to have helped conservative nonprofits raise $250 million from various donors who declined to be named. In recent years he has donated this amount to help conservative judges and their causes.
The unusual $1.6 billion donation has helped Conservatives because it drew attention to the latest news. A reluctant Republican investor gave his money to a new group led by a powerful businessman named Leonard A. Leo.
Last year, a donor few knew gave $1.6 billion to a new conservative nonprofit. This unusual donation could help Republicans and their causes in the midterm elections and for years to come.
The money came from Barre Seid, who made big money in the electronics industry. This is one of the largest single donations to a political nonprofit in United States history.
Bio of Leonard Leo’s work
Leonard Leo is an attorney and rights activist from the United States. He was a longtime vice president of the Federalist Society, and he and Steven G. Calabresi now share the role of chairman of the board.
During the recent case of Roe v. Wade on the Supreme Court drew a lot of attention to Leonard’s name. Although most Americans supported abortion rights, a group of conservative activists worked hard for years to end Roe v. pick up calf. Leonard Leo in particular played a major role in this campaign.
Leo proposed John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court. He also assisted Clarence Thomas in his confirmation hearings. Leo also went ahead by helping nominate these people.
Sally Leo, Leonard Leo’s wife, and their children
Leonard and Sally Leo are married and have seven children together. He lives in Northern Virginia with his family, but has not disclosed further information about his wife and children.
In 1989, while Leonard was a student at Cornell Law School, he founded the student chapter of the Federalist Society. In 1991 he moved to Washington, DC to work for the organization.
Leonard met Clarence Thomas while he was a clerk for the Court of Appeals. Over time, they became very close. Leo did not immediately start working at the Federalist Society because he wanted to assist Thomas in his Supreme Court nomination hearings. He has served the Federalist Society in a variety of capacities for more than 25 years.
How I grew up and went to school
Leo was born in 1965 on Long Island, New York. He grew up in a Catholic family in suburban New Jersey. His Italian-born grandfather worked as a vice president at Brooks Brothers. He went to Cornell University and received his bachelor’s degree in 1986. After college, he worked as an intern in Senator Orrin Hatch’s office. Leo received his JD from Cornell Law School in 1989. He then served as clerk for federal judge A. Raymond Randolph of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Career
Leo founded a Federalist Society student group in 1989 while a law student at Cornell University. In 1991 he worked for the Society in Washington, DC. He worked as a clerk at the Court of Appeal, where he met Clarence Thomas. They became close friends. Leo postponed joining the Federalist Society so that he could assist Thomas in his Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Leo served in various capacities with the Federalist Society for more than 25 years. In 2019, The Washington Post said that the Federalist Society paid Leo an annual salary of more than $400,000 for several years.
Leo took time off from the Federalist Society to help confirm John Roberts and Samuel Alito in the US Supreme Court. Leo helped get Miguel Estrada selected as a judge by the Bush administration.
In 2003, George W. Bush planned to deliver a speech criticizing the practice of affirmative action but praising racial diversity. Leo called the White House to complain, saying the praise for racial diversity “would disgust any conservative who thinks this is a matter of principle.” Leo told the Washington Post that he “voices the widespread conservative belief that racial discrimination is always wrong and violates the dignity and worth of every human being.”
After Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016, Leo raised money to change the name of George Mason University’s law school to Antonin Scalia Law School. Leo worked with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to block Merrick Garland from succeeding President Barack Obama. Leo was the first person to speak to Gorsuch about the possibility that President Donald Trump would appoint Gorsuch to the seat left open by Scalia’s death.
Leo worked hard to prevent Merrick Garland from taking Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court.[8] The Judicial Crisis Network, which has ties to Leo, said it spent more than $7 million to keep Garland from being confirmed. Between 2014 and 2017, Leo was associated with 24 conservative nonprofits that raised more than $250 million. Charles Koch and Rebekah Mercer were among the people who gave money to this network.
In 2017, legal expert Jeffrey Toobin said Leo was “largely responsible” for a third of the Supreme Court justices.
Kris Mauren of the Acton Institute said in 2017 that Leo “played an important leadership role in selecting and confirming a third of the current Supreme Court justices.”
The Washington Post said of Leo in 2019 that “few individuals outside of government have more power over the appointment of judges than Leo.” In 2019, Leo said he was “the leader of the conservative right-wing movement.” Leo said Mitch McConnell was “quite possibly the most important majority leader in modern history” for breaking records putting Republican justice nominees in office.
In January 2020, Leo told the Federalist Society that he was leaving his job as Vice President to start a new group called CRC Advisors. CRC Advisors is a conservative public affairs consultancy. It was modeled after the liberal Arabella Advisors. CRC Advisors has worked against policies trying to stop climate change. Leo remained in his job as co-chair of the Federalist Society’s board of directors.
Leo was on an October 12, 2018 episode of Firing Line. When asked about a possible vacancy on the Supreme Court in a future election year, he said: “If a seat becomes vacant in 2020, it must remain open until a new president is elected, sworn in and able to vote. There I stand, period.” Leo said he would tell Trump not to fill a Supreme Court position during an election year. He said he never asked Trump about that possibility, but Leo doesn’t think Trump should hold a 2020 Supreme Court seat.
Leo said that if Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies in September 2020, the fight to replace her on the Supreme Court “can be a major rallying point for President Trump.”
In September 2020, The Wall Street Journal said that Leo was involved in the selection of Amy Coney Barrett to succeed Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. This led to Barrett’s appointment.
work in religion
Leo was the national co-chair of Catholic public affairs for the Republican National Committee and the Catholic strategist for George W. Bush’s presidential campaign in 2004. He was elected to the commission by President George W. Bush and the United States Senate for three terms United States Appointed for International Religious Freedom.
He is a board member of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.
In 2012, Leo served on the board of directors of the Catholic Union and the Catholic Union Foundation, which is part of the Catholic Union. Both groups ran campaigns against the legalization of same-sex marriages. Leo’s work for the Catholic Association earned him $120,000 in 2016.
While Leo was in charge of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a Muslim policy analyst at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complained that she had been treated unfairly because she was Muslim. Leo said the organization was not treated unfairly and no specific claims were made against Leo. The complaint to the EEOC was dismissed.