new tax filing obtained by nonprofit watchdog Accountable.US revealed that in 2022, the Leonard Leo-linked Concord Fund pumped more than $6 million into Leo’s for-profit consulting firm, CRC Advisors. The new filing comes as Leo’s network faces an apparently ongoing probe into potential illegal activity stemming from the network’s circular payment structure.

Leonard Leo’s Concord Fund is at the center of his far-right dark money web and a key cog in Leo’s apparent self-enrichment scheme. In 2022, it funded everything from anti-abortion activists at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America to political groups including the Republican Attorneys General Association and Republican Governors Association, all while sending over $6 million to Leo’s own private consulting firm. As Leo pumps millions into right-wing campaigns and causes, he also appears to use the Concord Fund to route more money into his own pockets through his for-profit CRC Advisors, mirroring conduct apparently under investigation by the DC Attorney General.”

Accountable.US president Caroline Ciccone

The Concord Fund’s 2022 990 form also revealed over $50 million in grant payments, including substantial amounts to Republican Party-affiliated entities and anti-abortion groups. This includes:

  • $8.8 million to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a far-right anti-abortion group leading the effort to impose abortion restrictions in states
  • $6 million to the Republican Governors Association (RGA)
  • $4 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA)
  • $3 million to Bluegrass Freedom Action, a dark money group that supported former AG Daniel Cameron’s campaign for Kentucky governor
  • $3 million to Protect Women Ohio Action, the anti-abortion coalition leading efforts to block the Ohio abortion rights ballot measure last year.
  • $500k to Friends of Ron DeSantis, a political committee that donated to DeSantis’ presidential campaign.

As Politico notes, “Leo, co-chairman of the Federalist Society’s board, has amassed outsized influence in conservative legal circles, advising former President Donald Trump on judicial picks. That role has also brought added scrutiny to his financial activities.”

View the Concord Fund’s 2022 990 form HERE.

Accountable.US launched its Monitoring Influence database to document and track the vast web of right-wing dark money influence networks like Leonard Leo’s, which includes The Concord Fund. Learn more at MonitoringInfluence.org.

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