A major advocacy group in conservative justice activist Leonard Leo’s network paid millions of dollars to his consulting firm, and new filings show that Leo’s non-profit organization, Web, is part of his network, amid an ongoing government investigation into his dealings. Here’s a recent example of sending money to a business.
The Concord Fund, a Virginia-based nonprofit, will fund Leo from July 2022 to the end of June 2023, according to documents provided to POLITICO by the left-leaning watchdog group Accountable.US. paid $6 million for “consulting” to CRC Advisors, a company owned by the company. . The revelations about the large sums of money transferred to Leo’s companies come amid growing questions about Leo’s advocacy work and whether he may have benefited financially from nonprofits pushing a nationally conservative agenda.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has been investigating Leo’s network, including the Concord Fund, to see whether the groups evaded nonprofit regulations. Leo vowed not to cooperate.
In recent years, Leo, who co-chairs the Board of Directors of the Federalist Society, has amassed significant influence in conservative legal circles, including advising former President Donald Trump on judicial choices. The role also brought greater scrutiny to his financial activities.
He also received a massive $1.6 billion gift from businessman Barre Seid to fund Leo’s agenda through a group called the Marble Freedom Trust. The Marble Freedom Trust, with Leo as its director and chairman, transferred tens of millions of dollars to the Concord Fund. The Concord Fund also paid millions of dollars to Leo’s for-profit businesses.
From July 2022 to the end of June 2023, the Concord Fund, also known as the Judicial Crisis Network, received approximately $52.8 million. From May 2022 to the end of April 2023, the Marble Freedom Trust reported contributing $55.5 million to the Concord Fund.
Schwalb, a Democrat, questioned whether the Leo Group’s activities violate nonprofit tax laws. Republican lawmakers have launched their own investigation into the attorney general’s investigation. Representatives Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, respectively, requested documents related to their investigation.
The Concord Fund reported spending $140,000 lobbying Congress on “issues related to government oversight, law enforcement, public advocacy and the rule of law” since registering to lobby in late 2023, not long after news of the investigation broke. I did.
Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network (a nickname for the Concord Fund), did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CRC Advisors, through its attorneys, denied that anything in the 990 provided evidence of “self-enrichment.” In a statement, the company called Politico’s reporting “irreparably biased” and “unreliable.”
The Concord Fund’s filing also reveals how the grantmaking agency has funded national efforts to impede abortion access through other groups, including groups opposing an Ohio constitutional amendment protecting access to abortion care. It shows.
The Concord Fund donated $8.8 million to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a leading anti-abortion group, and $3 million to Protect Women Ohio Action, a group fighting an amendment to the Ohio state constitution that would mandate abortion access. donated. The amendment was finally passed.
The Concord Fund also gave $6 million to the Republican Governors Association and $4 million to the Republican Attorney Generals Association. This is an additional $3 million in support for groups supporting the defeated Republican candidate for Kentucky Governor David Cameron.
The large gift to the Republican Attorney General’s Association is notable in part. That’s because a number of Republican attorneys general also questioned Schwalb’s investigation into Leo.
The Concord Fund also gave $500,000 each to the Florida Political Committee, then called Friends of Ron DeSantis, and a nonprofit called Advancing American Freedom founded by former Vice President Mike Pence. He also donated $300,000 to a non-profit organization founded by former presidential candidate and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
Accountable.US President Caroline Ciccone criticized the Concord Fund, saying it was an important part of the machine that transferred money to Leo’s own businesses.
“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,” Ciccone said.
The Concord Fund reported in financial filings that it produced “radio and television advertisements on important legal and civic issues, court packing, executive branch appointments, federalism, and civic responsibility.” CRC Advisors was the multi-million dollar Concord Fund’s largest independent contractor, although it also reported paying about $3.8 million to media buying firm Mentzer Media for “Advocacy.”
The 85 Fund, which is also part of the Schwalb investigation, paid Leo’s consulting firm $21 million in 2022.
