The Supreme Court's new ethical rules, dark money and Leonard LeoNovember 17, 2023

The Supreme Court has a new ethics code, but many see it as toothless. The code comes into place after justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas were heavily criticized for accepting gifts including trips from wealthy individuals.

Questions also arise about how conservative justices are selected and influenced. The story centers on a man called Leonard Leo and his web of hidden donors.

Host Scott Tong speaks to Politico's Heidi Przybyla, who has been reporting on Leo and his secretive circle. Tong then turns to Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, chair of the Senate committee that oversees much of the operation of the Supreme Court. He also hosts a podcast "Making the Case," looking into dark money's influence in the court.

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2023/11/17/supreme-court-ethics-money

Supreme Court Adopts First Code Of Conduct After Clarence Thomas Controversy

This is the first time the Supreme Court has honored a code of conduct in 234 years.

Updated November 17, 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it has adopted a code of ethics for its justices. The decision to implement a code of ethics comes in response to revelations of undisclosed gifts and benefits received by several justices, including Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, reports Politico.

The scrutiny prompted Senate Democrats to push for a code of conduct for the court. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch also faced criticism over book and property sales.

The discoveries came as the court faced strong criticism for overturning Roe v. Wade, banning race-based affirmative action in higher education, and rejecting the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan, among other things. The public’s confidence in the court’s impartiality has reportedly declined in recent years.

The lack of a formal code was notable, as the Supreme Court was the only federal court without such guidelines. The court acknowledged that it had “common law” ethics rules, but the absence of a formal code had led to a perception that the justices considered themselves unrestricted by ethics rules.

https://www.essence.com/news/supreme-court-code-of-conduct/

Groups to Senate Dems: Subpoena Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo Now

"We must learn the full scope of these hidden efforts to improperly influence the Supreme Court and the extent of Justices Thomas' and Alito's ethical wrongdoings." Nov 16, 2023

More than a dozen progressive advocacy groups on Thursday pressed Sen. Dick Durbin and other Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to urgently subpoena Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo, right-wing figures who have featured prominently in recent reporting on undisclosed gifts to U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

"We must learn the full scope of these hidden efforts to improperly influence the Supreme Court and the extent of Justices Thomas' and Alito's ethical wrongdoings," Stand Up America, Indivisible, Demand Justice, and 11 other groups said.

"We encourage Chair Durbin and Judiciary Democrats to continue their efforts to subpoenaHarlan Crow and Leonard Leo, to shed light on any potential corruption on our nation's highest court, and we encourage the full Senate to pass a binding, enforceable code of ethics for all Supreme Court justices," they added.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/democrats-subpoena-crow-leo

Leonard Leo’s firm got nearly $500K from conservative nonprofit, tax filing shows

Leo, among the most prominent figures of the conservative legal movement, has come under scrutiny over revelations that his network of nonprofits has funneled millions of dollars to his for-profit firm. The D.C. attorney general Brian Schwalb is investigating whether Leo violated nonprofit tax laws for personal gain.

Leo presides over a multi-billion-dollar network of tax-exempt nonprofit groups and has used it, in part, to organize campaigns over the past decade to install the Supreme Court’s conservative majority.

American for Public Trust is a nonprofit group run by the former research director for the National Republican Congressional Committee. The organization often publicly criticizes progressive so-called dark money groups that do not have to disclose their donors. On Wednesday, it highlighted the tax filings for a number of progressive nonprofits, including the Sixteen Thirty Fund.

The group’s donations fell significantly between 2021 and 2022, from about $3.6 million to $1.6 million. As a 501(c)(3) charity, it does not have to disclose its donors. Meanwhile, the amount paid to CRC Advisors between 2021 and 2022 increased from $470,092 to $480,905. The payments to Leo’s firm now constitute about 28 percent of its total expenditures.

A spokesperson for the group did not immediately return a request for additional details about CRC’s work for Americans for Public Trust.

Many of Leo’s aligned groups pay his for-profit company, CRC, and they are not required to disclose what services they are purchasing.

But Leo has declined to say what services were provided in exchange for at least $43 million transferred to his company in the two years since he had come on board in 2020. Leo, through an attorney, also recently told POLITICO that he is not cooperating with the D.C. investigation.

Previously, POLITICO’s investigation found his own personal wealth appeared to have ballooned as his fundraising prowess accelerated since 2016, when he became an adviser to former President Donald Trump on judicial nominations.

In a statement, Accountable.US criticized the group for sending money from a nonprofit back to Leo’s own business.

“Americans for Public Trust’s allegiance to Leonard Leo couldn’t be more obvious — even as the group’s revenue is plummeting, it continues to funnel almost a third of its expenses straight to Leo’s firm,” said Accountable.US President Caroline Ciccone.

It also appears that nearly all of Americans for Public Trust’s contributions and grants came from DonorsTrust, a prominent conservative donor fund. It gave the group $1,579,000 in 2022, according to DonorsTrust’s recent filing.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/15/leonard-leo-firm-conservative-nonprofit-00127488

Sen. Hawley suggests investigation of Democratic 'dark money' funding terrorism

Hawley was expressing frustration with the committee as Democrats last week wanted tosubpoena Leonard Leo and Harlan Crowto review their alleged financial assistance for Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Wednesday suggested the Senate Judiciary Committee investigate a Democratic Party-affiliated group reportedly linked to funding of Palestinian terrorism.

“If the Senate Judiciary Committee is going to hand out subpoenas, let’s start with this Democrat dark-money group that has poured $1 million into a Palestinian terror-tied charity,” Hawley posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The post linked to a Washington Examiner story that details a network of left-leaning groups that steered funding towards a progressive charity with ties to a terror group.

Hawley was expressing frustration with the committee as Democrats last week wanted to subpoena Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow to review their alleged financial assistance for Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

The Examiner reported two tax-exempt organizations, New Venture Fund and Windward Fund, in October stopped providing grants to the Alliance for Global Justice, based in Arizona. In September, the Examiner reported the Alliance for Global Justice switched payment processing companies after pressure from a coalition of 11 pro-Israel groups linked it to Collectif Palestine Vaincra, a French member of an Israeli-designated terror coalition, Samidoun. The French group is linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group.

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/sen-hawley-suggests-investigation-democratic-dark-money-funding

Alito Benefactor Leonard Leo Sees Funding Drop From Donor Fund

Leo-linked election group gets $50,000, down from $17 million

Heritage Foundation, National Review Foundation received gifts

November 14, 2023 at 6:07 PM EST

A top source of funding for conservative groups — including some connected to legal activistLeonard Leo— escalated giving by 27% in 2022, according to tax records.

But groups with ties toLeo, including the Federalist Society and the 85 Fund’s Honest Elections Project, collectively received far less than the previous year, according to the tax records from DonorsTrust Inc.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-14/conservative-donor-fund-donorstrust-cuts-support-for-legal-activist-leonard-leo

D.C. attorney general hits back at Jordan, Comer in Leonard Leo probe

The investigation centers on whether the conservative judicial activist abused laws governing nonprofits.

D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb won’t share with Congress information about his investigation into whether judicial activist Leonard Leo abused nonprofit tax laws, according to a letter released on Monday.

Leo presides over a multi-billion-dollar network of tax-exempt nonprofit groups and used it, in part, to organize campaigns over the past decade to install the Supreme Court’s conservative majority. The question at issue is the transfer of tens of millions of dollars collected by one of his aligned nonprofit organizations to his for-profit entity.

On Oct. 30, GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and James Comer (R-Ky.), chairs of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, respectively, demanded all materials from Schwalb related to Leo.

In his letter, Schwalb rejected both the request and its premise — that any probe might be politically motivated. “Contrary to your letter’s suggestion, [the office] is committed to the impartial pursuit of justice, without regard to political affiliation or motivation and without fear or favor,” wrote Schwalb.

It’s the latest attempt by Leo allies to throw sand in the gears of Schwalb’s investigation. (Though in keeping with law enforcement protocol, Schwalb still has not confirmed or denied its existence.) Whether the probe uncovers wrongdoing is significant given the sheer scale of Leo’s work: He is also the beneficiary of a $1.6 billion contribution, believed to be the biggest political donation in U.S. history.

Jordan and Comer had claimed it appears Schwalb does not have jurisdiction to investigate nonprofits and other entities that were incorporated outside of Washington, D.C.

“I am concerned that your letter may misapprehend jurisdiction over nonprofit organizations operating in the District,” Schwalb said. “No corporation, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, is exempt from the laws of a jurisdiction in which it chooses to be present and do business.”

Leo’s attorney previously told POLITICO his client is not cooperating with Schwalb’s investigation.

Leo’s network of nonprofits, often referred to as “dark money” groups, are exempt from tax and do not have to disclose their donors because they are registered as charitable or social welfare organizations. They spent hundreds of millions of dollars on campaigns to promote the nominations of Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. But many partisan groups operate as nonprofits shielded from federal tax, and that’s not why Schwalb is investigating.

In March. POLITICO reported that a total of $43 million flowed to Leo’s company, CRC Advisors, over two years and that the bulk of it came from one of his charitable groups, The 85 Fund. A few months later, a Democrat-aligned watchdog group filed a complaint with the IRS and with Schwalb’s office alleging the total amount of money that flowed from Leo-aligned nonprofits to his for-profit firms was $73 million over six years beginning in 2016. That’s the year Leo was tapped as an unpaid judicial adviser to former President Donald Trump.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/13/jordan-comer-leonard-leo-probe-00126856