One of the leading architects of conservative efforts to reshape the American judicial system, including the Supreme Court, has received a $1.6 billion donation from an elderly, ultra-secretive Chicago businessman. The 90-year-old manufacturing magnate Barre Seid gave the enormous sum to a nonprofit run by Leonard Leo, co-chair of the conservative legal group the Federalist Society, through a series of opaque transactions over the past two years.<\/p>\n

The New York Times was the first to share the news of the donation on Monday. Independently obtained documentation confirmed the information reported by The Lever and ProPublica. Our reporting provides more context for the unlikely alliance between the two men, one a judicial kingmaker and the other a mysterious but prolific donor to conservative causes, who together have amassed a political war chest that is sure to turbocharge efforts to further shift American politics to the right.<\/p>\n

Who Is Leonard A.Leo?<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

A Prominent Conservative Legal Activist in The United States, Leonard A. Leo Practises Law in The United States. He Has Served the Federalist Society for Many Years as Vice President and Now Serves as Co-Chairman of The Board of Directors Alongside Steven G. Calabresi.<\/p>\n

Leo Conducted Campaigned in Support of The Nominations of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to The Supreme Court, and He Helped Clarence Thomas During His Confirmation Hearings.<\/p>\n

Early Life.<\/h2>\n

Leo Was Born on Long Island in 1965 and Grew up In a Catholic Family in Suburban New Jersey. Man’s Grandfather Was a Vice President at Brooks Brothers and He Was an Italian Immigrant.<\/p>\n

He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in 1986 After Studying at Cornell University and Working as An Intern in Senator Orrin Hatch’s Office. Leo Earned His Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School in 1989 and Subsequently Clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for The District of Columbia Circuit Judge A. Raymond Randolph.<\/p>\n

Career.<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

After Starting a Student Chapter of The Federalist Society in 1989 While He Was a Law Student at Cornell, Leo Went on To Work for The Society in 1991 in Washington, D.C. While He Was a Clerk for The Appeals Court, He Met Clarence Thomas, Who Would Later Become a Close Friend.<\/p>\n

Leo Put Off Joining the Federalist Society so He Could Help Thomas with His Confirmation Hearings for The Supreme Court.\u00a0 Leo Devoted Over 25 Years of His Life to The Federalist Society in A Variety of Roles. According to A 2019 Article in The Washington Post, Leo Received a Salary from The Federalist Society of More than $400,000 per Year.<\/p>\n

In Order to Help Get John Roberts<\/a> and Samuel Alito Confirmed to The U.S. Supreme Court, Leo Took Time Away from His Work with The Federalist Society. \u00a0Leo Aided the Bush Administration in Putting Miguel Estrada on The Court as He Was Nominated by Bush.<\/p>\n

Personal Life.<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

He and His Wife, Sally, Are the Proud Parents of Seven Kids. Margaret, Their 14-Year-Old Daughter, Passed Away from Spina Bifida in 2007. Leo Has Discussed the Influence She Had on Him. Leo Has Been Knighted by The Catholic Civilian Religious Order the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. In the past, Leo’s Summer House in Northeast Harbor, Maine Has Been the Site of Protests Stemming from His Outspoken Support for Pro-Life Supreme Court Judges.<\/p>\n

Leo’s Capacity to Raise Massive Quantities of Money.<\/h2>\n

Leo’s Capacity to Raise Massive Quantities of Money and Disperse Those Sums Throughout the Conservative Movement Gives Him Tremendous Political Power, Which He Uses to Influence Elections, Judicial Appointments, and Policy Disputes. However, Leo’s Primary Backers Have Remained Unknown for Quite Some Time.<\/p>\n

Seid, Who Oversaw Tripp Lite, a Manufacturer of Surge Protectors and Data Centre Equipment, for More than Half a Century, Has Been Mostly Forgotten by The General Public. in An Instant, He Has Joined the Ranks of Large Donors Like the Koch Brothers and George Soros Thanks to This Donation.<\/p>\n

Leo’s New Organisation, the Marble Freedom Trust, Has Been Given a Massive Grant, and There Are Few Restrictions on How the Money Can Be Spent. Seid Was Able to Avoid Paying Taxes on As Much as $400 Million Thanks to The Way in Which the Donation Was Structured. Therefore, He Made the Most of Leo’s Resources.<\/p>\n

What Seid Has Left Behind Is for Leo to Take Care Of.<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Leo, at 56, Has Access to One of The Richest Pools of Political Wealth in American History, Allowing Him to Further Expand His Vast Network. What Seid Has Left Behind Is for Leo to Take Care Of. Brendan Fischer, a Campaign Finance Lawyer at The Nonpartisan Watchdog Group Documented, Said, “to My Knowledge, It Is Absolutely without Precedent for A Political Operative to Be Granted Management of Such an Incredible Amount of Money.<\/p>\n

” as If His Influence Weren’t Already Staggering, “Leonard Leo Is Going to Have Over a Billion Bucks at His Disposal to Continue Upending Our Country’s Institutions.” Leo told the New York Times that “it Is High Time for The Conservative Movement to Be in The Ranks of George Soros, Hansj\u00f6rg Wyss, Arabella Advisors<\/a>, and Other Left-Wing Donors Going Toe-To-Toe in The Struggle to Safeguard Our Constitution and Its Ideas.<\/p>\n

” the Requests for Comment Submitted to Leo and The Representatives of Seid Were Not Met with An Immediate Response. The Marble Freedom Trust Falls Under the Category of “dark money” Organisations Because They Are Not Required to Reveal Their Backers. It Can Freely Fund Issue-Advocacy Groups, Think Tanks, Colleges, Religious Institutions, and Organisational Activities, in Addition to Actively Spending on Elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the leading architects of conservative efforts to reshape the American judicial system, including the Supreme Court, has received a $1.6 billion donation from an elderly, ultra-secretive Chicago businessman. The 90-year-old manufacturing magnate Barre Seid gave the enormous sum to a nonprofit run by Leonard Leo, co-chair of the conservative legal group the Federalist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":23994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23993","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrity","8":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newjerseylocalnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newjerseylocalnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newjerseylocalnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newjerseylocalnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newjerseylocalnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newjerseylocalnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newjerseylocalnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newjerseylocalnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newjerseylocalnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newjerseylocalnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}