Conservative activist Leonard Leo was hit with a subpoena from Senate Democrats on Thursday as part of a probe into Supreme Court ethics and whether individuals or groups used luxury gifts to access justices.
The subpoena from the Senate Judiciary Committee arrives months after it was authorized, CNN reported. “Mr. Leo has played a central role in the ethics crisis plaguing the Supreme Court and, unlike the other recipients of information requests in this matter, he has done nothing but stonewall the committee,” Durbin said in a statement to the outlet. “This subpoena is a direct result of Mr. Leo’s own actions and choices.”
Leo, who sits as board co-chairman of the influential Federalist Society, told CNN that he would not comply with the subpoena, calling it “unlawful” and the “left’s dark money effort to silence and cancel political opposition.”
In February, watchdogs told Rolling Stone that Leo was building out his dark-money network: A counsel at one of his primary nonprofits had registered two new dark-money organizations with subsidiaries baring names similar to groups through which Leo has run effective activism campaigns. “As Leonard Leo faces increasing scrutiny for his shady nonprofit network, it’s no surprise he’s desperately trying to rebrand,” said Caroline Ciccone, president at the watchdog group Accountable.US. “But no matter how many sketchy new groups he comes up with, he can’t rebrand the extreme agenda he’s still attempting to force on everyday Americans.”
During his time as then-President Donald Trump’s judicial adviser, Leo helped build the Supreme Court’s conservative 6-3 supermajority. Leo, an anti-abortion zealout, fostered a network that has spread money in efforts to bring cases before the Supreme Court, determine which cases the justices consider, and influence the court’s decisions.
In November, the high court adopted its first-ever code of ethics. The move came in the wake of increased scrutiny into Justice Clarence Thomas‘ close relationship with Nazi-obsessed billionaire and GOP donor Harlan Crow, including gifts and trips funded by Crow that Thomas failed to disclose.
However, Democrats called out the lack of a mechanism to enforce the code, allowing justices to police themselves.
Other justices have faced criticism along with Thomas. Justice Samuel Alito reportedly accepted a vacation at an Alaskan luxury fishing lodge from Republican donors that he did not disclose, and Justice Sonja Sotomayor’s staff reportedly urged public institutions where she held speaking engagements to buy her memoir or children’s books.
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