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Recent reporting details right-wing judicial activist Leonard Leo’s efforts to leverage his $1.6 billion windfall to cement his extreme conservative legal agenda in law school curriculums across the country. This newfound focus on shaping academia is the next phase in Leo’s attempt to expand his influence beyond the courts and manipulate the judiciary from the ground up.

According to The Intercept, Leo used his “dark money ATM of the right” DonorsTrust in an attempt to covertly establish and fund an extreme conservative research center at two different law schools. 

After professors killed Leo’s attempt to form the so-called Center for the Study of the Structural Constitution at Cornell Law School, tax filings revealed an earmarked donation from DonorsTrust for a research center at Texas A&M with virtually the same name and in all likelihood for the same purpose. The $15 million dark money donation — among the largest in Texas A&M School of Law history — came with “explicit instructions for how the cash must be used, instructions which seem to align closely with Leo’s priorities.”

Leo’s vast dark money network dumps tens of millions of dollars into DonorsTrust each year – including $41.1 million from Marble Freedom Trust during its 2020 financial year, home to Leo’s $1.6 billion war chest. As Leo sought a home for his legal research center, law schools across the country accepted millions from DonorsTrust in support of similar right-wing initiatives.

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After spending decades installing his preferred judges at every level of the American judiciary, Leo’s decision to target law schools shows he’s determined to extend his court capture campaign for years to come. From academic institutions to doctors’ offices to Americans’ wallets, it’s clear that Leo will leave no stone unturned in his attempt to remake America in line with his extreme agenda.”

Accountable.US president Caroline Ciccone

Cornell and Texas A&M are not the first schools Leo has attempted to influence. In 2016, Leo brokered a deal with George Mason University to rename its law school after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in exchange for a $20 million dollar donation. Right-wing mega donors like Leo’s benefactor, Barre Seid, and the Koch Family contributed to the massive sum.

Learn more about Leonard Leo, his sprawling web of right-wing nonprofits, and his far-right agenda at LeonardLeo.org.

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