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Today, Accountable.US released the Manhattan Institute’s latest tax filings for the group’s financial year ending last September. The disclosure reveals significant financial growth and troubling connections to key figures at the heart of the Supreme Court’s ongoing corruption crisis. The Manhattan Institute is a conservative think tank, known for its right-wing policy agenda and deep connections to a powerful dark money network, supported by notable donors including Paul Singer and Leonard Leo. In recent years, the Manhattan Institute has filed dozens of amicus briefs aimed at swaying circuit court judges and the Supreme Court on cases involving, among other issues, student loan debt relief, the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding structure, and affirmative action—all while Kathy Crow, the wife of Harlan Crow, Justice Clarence Thomas’s longtime billionaire benefactor, sat on the institute’s board of trustees.

Key findings from the Manhattan Institute’s 2022 Form 990 include:

  • Contributions to the Manhattan Institute rose by more than a quarter between FY 2021 and 2022.
  • Over the past year and a half, the Manhattan Institute has been at the forefront of the anti-DEI movement.
  • Christopher Rufo, who is credited with the downfall of Harvard President Claudine Gay, began collecting a salary from the institute in 2022. In 2022-2023, he had a salary of more than a quarter million. Rufo was previously a visiting fellow at the Danube Institute, a Budapest-based think tank that is broadly supportive of Hungary’s authoritarian leader, Viktor Orban.
  • Former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos now sits on the organization’s board of trustees.
  • Susan Lebovitz-Edelman joined the board of trustees. Her family’s Edelman Family Foundation seeded Do No Harm, an anti-transgender organization.
  • Also on the board is Kathy Crow, the wife of Harlan Crow whose generous gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas are the subject of a congressional probe into Supreme Court ethics.
  • During FY 2021-2022, the Manhattan Institute became a frequent filer of amicus briefs in circuit courts and the Supreme Court. Since July 2022, the organization has filed 85 amici. Cases included Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Moore v. United States, and Biden v. Nebraska.
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These findings paint a clear picture of an organization that is raising more and more money to try and change the way America works while becoming increasingly entangled with some of the most controversial and divisive figures in today’s political landscape. The Manhattan Institute’s actions and affiliations appear to reveal a coordinated effort to push extreme ideologies and influence our nation’s courts in ways that could have long-lasting repercussions for all Americans.”

Caroline Ciccone, President of Accountable.US

As a prominent conservative think tank, the Manhattan Institute has long been a key player in shaping public policy, advocating for and advancing a right-wing agenda. The institute’s influence is not just the result of its research and publications but is also deeply entrenched in a network of dark money conservative donors, including billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer and judicial architect Leonard Leo. These findings illustrate the need for greater transparency and accountability in how such organizations operate behind the scenes to influence the future of our democracy. Understanding how such organizations operate in the dark is vital to protecting the integrity of our judiciary and ensuring that public policy reflects the will of the people, rather than the interests of a wealthy few. Learn more about Leo’s extremist agenda and the campaign at LeonardLeo.org.

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