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EXCLUSIVE: A gaggle affiliated with Leonard Leo, a prime conservative judicial activist, poured $216 million into causes over the course of a 12 months, tax types obtained by Fox Information Digital present.
The Marble Freedom Belief, a nonprofit for which Leo acts as chairman, has discovered itself beneath the microscope of media retailers and Democratic politicians equivalent to Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse as a result of Leo’s involvement within the conservative judicial sphere.
Throughout its 2022 fiscal 12 months, the group gave massive sums of cash to a few different entities.
“Liberals, led by over $1 billion a 12 months from the foreign-funded Arabella Advisors community, have dominated darkish cash in politics,” a Marble Freedom Belief spokesperson advised Fox Information Digital.”Within the face of such lopsided spending, Marble Freedom Belief is working to even the enjoying subject in order that conservatives can crush liberal dominance.”
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Leonard Leo speaks on the Nationwide Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., April 23, 2019. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Publish by way of Getty Pictures)
In accordance with the Marble Freedom Belief’s latest tax types, Leo’s group disbursed $216.8 million between Could 2022 and Could 2023, a rise of $34.1 million over the earlier 12 months, when it handed out $182 million in donations.
The brand new tax paperwork present the nonprofit pushed a bulk of this money — $153.7 million — to the Schwab Charitable Fund, a donor-advised fund utilized by teams and people to make different charitable contributions.
The New York Occasions beforehand reported that the Schwab Charitable Fund gave $141.5 million to the 85 Fund, one other group linked to Leo, earlier than the interval specified by the newest tax types.
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Throughout its most up-to-date fiscal 12 months, the Marble Freedom Belief additionally offered $55.5 million to the Harmony Fund, which beforehand was referred to as the Judicial Disaster Community and likewise has been tied to Leo.
Its final donation — within the quantity of $7.6 million — went to the Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund, one other donor-advised fund.
As soon as a company or particular person pushes cash to entities such because the Schwab Charitable Fund and Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund, it’s virtually not possible to hint the place the cash finally ends up.
Democratic senators Sheldon Whitehouse, left, and Dick Durbin, proper, have focused Leo and different judicial activists. (Getty Pictures)
Leo has been the goal of Democratic lawmakers over his involvement in right-leaning judicial issues as a part of their investigation into Supreme Courtroom justices.
Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats Dick Durbin of Illinois and Whitehouse have despatched letters to Leo and billionaire activists looking for data relating to journeys and occasions Supreme Courtroom justices have taken and took part in through the years.
In October, the senators despatched a letter to Leo, Harlan Crow and Robin Arkley in an try to strong-arm them into complying with a earlier July request for particulars about journeys involving justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
Leo, nonetheless, rejected their calls for in a letter his attorneys despatched to committee Chairman Durbin, a replica of which Fox Information Digital beforehand obtained.
“We now have put ahead clear and detailed the explanation why the Committee’s inquiry is a type of political retaliation in violation of the First Modification and the Equal Safety element of the Due Course of Clause,” Leo’s legal professional, David Rivkin, wrote within the letter.
“However, for probably the most half, the October 5 Letter ignores these factors, and, since our final correspondence, the Committee has solely expanded the retaliatory marketing campaign it’s mounting towards Mr. Leo.”
Affiliate Supreme Courtroom Justice Clarence Thomas speaks on the Heritage Basis Oct. 21, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Pictures)
For many years, Leo has been part of the Federalist Society, which progressive activists have lengthy criticized for its involvement in serving to advise and foyer former President Trump by way of the nominations of Supreme Courtroom justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Leo has additionally been a goal of Washington, D.C.’s Democratic Atorney Common Brian Schwalb, who launched an investigation into Leo’s community final summer season.
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Schwalb’s workplace confronted criticism for focusing on Leo whereas ignoring an identical liberal dark-money community overseen by the Arabella Advisors consulting agency.
After the criticism, Schwalb’s workplace additionally opened a probe into the Arabella Advisors-managed community.
