Leonard Leo, co-chair of the right-wing authorized group The Federalist Society and famous coordinator of darkish cash donations to conservative causes, and Harlan Crow, a billionaire Republican donor recognized for his lavish presents to Supreme Court docket justices, have obtained strong assist from Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee for refusing to abide by subpoenas issued by Democrats.
In keeping with an evaluation from Accountable.US, the 2 could also be receiving preferential therapy as a consequence of how a lot they’ve contributed to Republicans and right-wing causes.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted alongside get together strains in November to subpoena each Leo and Crow, with Democrats, who management a majority of seats on the committee, profitable the vote to take action. Democrats mentioned the subpoenas have been wanted to be taught extra about undisclosed presents that Leo and Crow gave to Supreme Court docket Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
Previous to that vote, the Supreme Court docket, responding to media experiences concerning the undisclosed presents, enacted new moral tips. The brand new requirements have been slammed by quite a few Democratic Judiciary Committee members, who famous that they might by no means be efficient in the event that they have been self-enforced.
“The Committee’s investigation into the Court docket’s moral disaster — and these subpoenas particularly — are key items of our legislative efforts to ascertain an efficient code of conduct,” Judiciary Chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) mentioned in response to the rules.
Judiciary Republicans blasted the subpoenas, promising that they wouldn’t cross a Senate filibuster, which might be wanted to implement them if Crow and Leo ignored the committee’s demand to testify and supply proof.
“These subpoenas are by no means going to see the sunshine of day. you’re not going to get 60 votes for these subpoenas,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) mentioned.
“You simply destroyed one of the crucial essential committees in america Senate. Congratulations on destroying america Senate Judiciary Committee,” claimed Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), directing his feedback to Durbin throughout the listening to concerning the subpoenas.
Regardless of being voted on final 12 months, the subpoenas weren’t formally delivered to Leo and Crow till earlier this month. Final week, Leo introduced he wouldn’t adjust to the subpoena, falsely saying in an announcement that it was a “lawless” order “to silence and cancel political opposition.”
Durbin has mentioned he’ll pursue the “obligatory course of” to get Leo to abide by the subpoena, regardless of Republicans promising to dam such an effort.
Graham and different Republicans continued to voice their assist of Leo, with the South Carolina Republican reacting to Leo’s motion final week by calling the order “political clickbait” and wrongly describing it as “unlawful.”
Leo is an enormous coordinator of darkish cash in right-wing politics. He’s additionally profoundly influential relating to the Supreme Court docket, with one evaluation discovering that he’s been linked to just about 70 % of amicus briefs submitted to the Court docket over the previous two years.
That very same evaluation, performed by Politico, discovered that language inside these briefs have been frequently borrowed by conservative justices of their written opinions, demonstrating the extent to which Leo and his allies have influenced the outcomes of Supreme Court docket selections.
Notably, Leo and Crow are big benefactors to Judiciary Republicans, creating an obvious battle of curiosity, Accountable.US demonstrates in paperwork shared with Truthout.
In keeping with the group’s findings, Crow has donated greater than $453,000 to present Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee since 2000. Graham, for instance, obtained $20,000 in donations from Crow within the 12 months 2020.
The Federalist Society and Leo have additionally benefited Graham and different Republicans on the committee.
“Sen. Graham was Judiciary Committee Chairman from 2019 to 2021, when he presided over the ‘speedy’ affirmation of Supreme Court docket Justice and ‘longtime’ Federalist Society Member Amy Coney Barrett after she was included in Trump’s shortlist that Leonard Leo helped draft,” Accountable.US mentioned in a supporting doc explaining the closeness of Leo to those Republicans. “Graham took a ‘maxed-out donation from Federalist Society co-founder and board chairman Steven Calabresi’ throughout Coney Barrett’s nomination hearings — simply days earlier than Graham’s committee voted to advance her nomination.”
Yael Sheinfeld, Communications Director for Accountable.US, mentioned these actions and others like them look like the motivation behind Republicans’ vigorous protection of Leo and Crow.
“High Senate Judiciary Republicans put up an unusually aggressive battle to dam the authorization of Leo’s subpoena again in November and have rushed to rally behind Leo since Senator Durbin formally issued the subpoena final week,” Sheinfeld informed Truthout. “We discovered that not solely do these identical senators have longtime connections to Leo, his Federalist Society, and his darkish cash community, however they’ve additionally taken lots of of hundreds in marketing campaign contributions from Harlan Crow, one other key participant within the SCOTUS ethics disaster who’s going through a possible subpoena.”
“These long-term ties and marketing campaign contributions present essential context as to why these senators could have so rapidly rushed to Leo’s protection,” Sheinfeld added.
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