Federalist Society’s Leonard Leo Shows Contempt For Subpoena

He does have a lot of friends in some very high places.
The post Federalist Society’s Leonard Leo Shows Contempt For Subpoena appeared first on Above the Law.

Steve Bannon is about to go to jail for ignoring a congressional subpoena. Despite that on-point example, the Federalist Society’s Leonard Leo is betting he can do better ignoring a subpoena of his own.

Leo is, of course, the man most responsible for the current federal judiciary. While for years Leo peddled his influence in relative obscurity, known only by legal nerds, his role has received increased attention. And with that focus has come headlines about dark money, billionaires, and Leo’s ballooning personal wealth.

He’s in receipt of an April 11th Senate subpoena trying to get to the bottom of all those wildly expensive trips that have been gifted to conservative Supreme Court justices by billionaires who *coincidentally* have business before the Court. As reported by Slate:

The Senate has subpoenaed Leo to learn the facts about the lavish travel, lodging, and transportation gifts he arranged for Supreme Court justices, most notably Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni, and Samuel Alito. In 2008, for example, Leo organized a trip to Alaska that included a private jet flight for Alito, paid for by Paul Singer, a hedge fund billionaire and Leo donor with interests before the court.

Leo — the aforementioned king of judiciary dark money — lashed out at the “lawless” subpoena as being “the left’s dark money effort to silence and cancel political opposition.” JFC, every accusation is a confession with these guys, isn’t it?

Perhaps Leo believes he’s directly responsible for the careers of enough members of the judiciary that he’s better off than Bannon at flouting a congressional subpoena. Or, like the former president, is just trying to run the clock hoping that the results of the 2024 election make this all a moot point.

Leo may believe he can simply continue to defy compliance. So far, the Judiciary Committee has not referred him for contempt. Leo is banking on delay in the hope that the Republicans win the Senate in the 2024 election, and in the next session drop the subpoena against their generous benefactor. His refusal, however, is not just a political game. It is a cover-up of the corruption of the highest court in the land. Leo’s contempt exposes his cynicism about the rule of law, no matter the hypocritical name of his dark money group. Allowing Leo to defy the subpoena would only validate what he already believes to be true: that he, and his powerful friends, are above the law, untouchable, and unaccountable to anything but their own ideology.

As if we need more riding on the results of Election Day 2024.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.