Press Releases
Leo-Backed Groups Invested Millions to Defund CFPB Through SCOTUS
Leonard Leo continues goal of gutting administrative state through captured Court
WASHINGTON, DC – As the Supreme Court begins its new term, new reporting today revealed that Leonard Leo’s dark money network is working to defund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the latest in Leo’s decades-long mission to gut the administrative state through his captured Court.
The Supreme Court will tomorrow take up Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) v. Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), a critical case brought by a predatory payday lending group that threatens the entire existence of the CFPB. Accountable.US research found that Leo-backed groups such as The 85 Fund, The Concord Fund, and DonorsTrust collectively invested over $9 million into groups that filed amicus briefs in support of the CFSA in the Supreme Court case.
Leonard Leo spent years stacking the court with ideological kindred spirits. Now he's funding a dark web of special interest groups to push an extreme agenda,” said Accountable.US president Caroline Ciccone. “If Leo has his way, the Supreme Court will toss American consumers overboard to loan sharks and predatory lenders hungry to line their pockets by any means necessary.”
Leo has close ties to other key players in the fight to defund the CFPB, such as the law firm Jones Day and Republican attorneys general. Leo also maintains a cozy relationship with Justice Samuel Alito, whose glaring conflicts of interest in the CFPB case were recently exposed. Leo played a critical role in Alito’s Supreme Court confirmation and helped organize Alito’s undisclosed luxury fishing trip with hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer, who is set to benefit greatly if this case is decided in CFSA’s favor.
Last week, Accountable.US led over 40 Supreme Court watchdog and accountability groups in sending a letter to Chief Justice Roberts demanding he ensure conflicted justices recuse themselves from upcoming cases — including CFPB v. CFSA.
Accountable.US has repeatedly called for action throughout the growing Supreme Court corruption crisis, created and perpetuated by key conservative activists like Leonard Leo. Learn more about Leo’s dark network and dangerous agenda at LeonardLeo.org.
###