{"id":13161,"date":"2023-11-05T13:53:25","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T18:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/au.org\/?page_id=13161"},"modified":"2025-10-22T10:43:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:43:31","slug":"leonard-leo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/leonard-leo\/","title":{"rendered":"Leonard Leo"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"13161\" class=\"elementor elementor-13161\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-32b5142 e-flex e-con-boxed ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"32b5142\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-19ad2ba e-con-full e-flex ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-child\" data-id=\"19ad2ba\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-28d0c00 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"28d0c00\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Leonard Leo<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b260150 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b260150\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The political powerbroker\u00a0at the center of the Shadow Network\u2019s efforts to undermine church-state separation and our democracy<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-535f0b9 e-con-full e-flex ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-child\" data-id=\"535f0b9\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7d923d3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"7d923d3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/EXPOSED-6-r88yyombf7vhafvcdffbnrleyuzdhrm2jh5ty8mneo.webp\" title=\"Leonard Leo\" alt=\"Leonard Leo\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-fd04ec0 e-flex e-con-boxed ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"fd04ec0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-01bb775 e-con-full e-flex ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-child\" data-id=\"01bb775\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-42a4b57 white-text-link elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"42a4b57\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Puppetmaster: Leonard Leo<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-21b370c white-text-link elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"21b370c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>When we talk about the billion-dollar Shadow Network attacking church-state separation, religious freedom and the rights we hold dear, one name rises to the top: Leonard Leo.<\/p><p>Leo is a political powerbroker at the center of a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/au.org\/the-shadow-network\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tangled web of conservative organizations<\/a>, dark-money groups, and for-profit consulting firms, which sought to capture the courts so they could achieve victory in their crusade against abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, public education, racial justice and democracy.<\/p><p>One former aide described Leo\u2019s strategy: \u201c[Leo] figured out twenty years ago that conservatives had lost the culture war. Abortion, gay rights, contraception \u2013 conservatives didn\u2019t have a chance if public opinion prevailed. So, they needed to stack the courts.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-4f499dd e-flex e-con-boxed ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"4f499dd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-91f9a63 e-con-full e-flex ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-child\" data-id=\"91f9a63\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-350b59d black-text-link elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"350b59d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Stacking the courts<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b08e222 black-text-link elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b08e222\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Stack the courts he did. Over three decades leading the Federalist Society, leveraging the Judicial Crisis Network and other lobbying organizations, advising former presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, and cultivating personal friendships with current justices, Leo gets the lion\u2019s share of credit for securing lifetime Supreme Court appointments for five of the six members of the court\u2019s ultra-conservative bloc. Not to mention the 200+ federal judges Trump appointed \u2013 nearly one-third of the federal judiciary. Leo-linked groups spent more than a half-billion dollars packing the courts from 2014 to 2020.<\/p><p>There\u2019s a reason Justice Thomas called Leo the \u201cNumber 3 most powerful person in the world.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-8312589 e-flex e-con-boxed ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"8312589\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-884319c e-con-full e-flex ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-child\" data-id=\"884319c\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70ca24f white-text-link elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"70ca24f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Funding anti-democratic policies at all levels of government<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f2b7621 white-text-link elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f2b7621\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Leo\u2019s new project involves the\u00a0 Teneo Network, which ProPublica described as \u201ca Federalist Society for everything.\u201d Teneo has been funded by other Leo-linked groups, one of which made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/dark-money-leonard-leo-barre-seid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news in 202<\/a>2 for receiving a $1.6 billion donation \u2013 believed to be the biggest single donation to a political nonprofit ever.<\/p><p>Leo\u2019s takeover of the courts benefited members of the Shadow Network, some of which he has direct ties to:<\/p><ul><li aria-level=\"1\">Teneo\u2019s cofounders include two attorneys who worked for or were affiliated with the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/au.org\/alliance-defending-freedom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alliance Defending Freedom<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/au.org\/becket-fund\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Becket Fund for Religious Liberty<\/a>. Leo himself sits on Becket\u2019s board and reportedly twice saved Becket from financial insolvency by tapping his network for huge cash infusions.<\/li><li aria-level=\"1\">Through the Judicial Crisis Network, Leo is tied to former Justice Thomas clerk Carrie Severino and her husband Roger, who also worked at Becket. Following Roger\u2019s stint in the Trump administration \u2013 during which AU fought his policies that attempted to deny people health care on the basis of others\u2019 religious beliefs \u2013 he\u2019s back at the Heritage Foundation, where he previously led a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/au.org\/the-latest\/church-and-state\/articles\/glancing-back-and-looking-ahead-2022-saw-unprecedented-assaults-on-church-state-separation-heres-how-americans-united-responded-and-a-glimpse-at-what-waits-in-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DeVos-funded initiative to weaponize religious freedom<\/a>.<\/li><li aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/au.org\/first-liberty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First Liberty Institute<\/a>, the Christian Nationalist legal group that opposed AU in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/au.org\/how-we-protect-religious-freedom\/legal-cases\/cases\/kennedy-v-bremerton-school-district\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Kennedy v. Bremerton School District<\/i><\/a>\u00a0Supreme Court case last year, has paid Leo\u2019s for-profit consulting firm at least several hundred thousand dollars for consulting work in recent years. First Liberty\u2019s president and Leo both are members of the influential\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/au.org\/the-latest\/articles\/cnp-secret-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Council for National Policy<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 what AU\u2019s Rob Boston called the \u201cscariest Christian Nationalist group you\u2019ve never heard of.\u201d Justice Thomas\u2019 wife, Ginni, is also a CNP member.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-2e94870 e-flex e-con-boxed ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2e94870\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-819cb8f e-con-full e-flex ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-child\" data-id=\"819cb8f\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-7e0bbba e-con-full e-flex ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7e0bbba\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-db9d704 elementor-blockquote--skin-clean elementor-blockquote--align-left elementor-widget elementor-widget-blockquote\" data-id=\"db9d704\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"blockquote.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<blockquote class=\"elementor-blockquote\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-blockquote__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\"White Christian Nationalism doesn't want a more religious society. It wants to create two classes of people: conservative, white Christians and everyone else. The goal is to codify white Christian privilege.\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-q-footer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"elementor-blockquote__author\">RACHEL LASER, PRESIDENT AND CEO<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-88b94f6 e-con-full e-flex ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-child\" data-id=\"88b94f6\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-26499f0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"26499f0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Rachel-cropped.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-13173\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Rachel-cropped.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Rachel-cropped-281x300.jpg 281w, https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Rachel-cropped-187x200.jpg 187w, https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Rachel-cropped-468x500.jpg 468w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-abb6164 e-flex e-con-boxed ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"abb6164\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-d2460cc e-con-full e-flex ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d2460cc\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-a7b737b e-con-full e-flex ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a7b737b\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1fab3cd elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"1fab3cd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"378\" src=\"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/GettyImages-466355311.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-13284\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/GettyImages-466355311.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/GettyImages-466355311-300x236.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/GettyImages-466355311-250x197.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"has_ae_slider elementor-element elementor-element-bb95440 e-con-full e-flex ae-bg-gallery-type-default e-con e-child\" data-id=\"bb95440\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d7b894e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d7b894e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Americans United is fighting corruption, dark money, and an overfunded crusade against the separation of church and state. We need your support.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9246e9f elementor-mobile-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"9246e9f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/secure.au.org\/a\/shadownetwork\" title=\"Donate\" id=\"donate-home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">DONATE TODAY<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leonard Leo The political powerbroker\u00a0at the center of the Shadow Network\u2019s efforts to undermine church-state separation and our democracy The Puppetmaster: Leonard Leo When we talk about the billion-dollar Shadow Network attacking church-state separation, religious freedom and the rights we hold dear, one name rises to the top: Leonard Leo. Leo is a political powerbroker [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"issue_tax":[],"class_list":["post-13161","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13161\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13161"},{"taxonomy":"issue_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_tax?post=13161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}