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In our 20th (!!) episode of This F*cking Guy, Erin and Alyssa take a look at a guy who may not be a household name but has played a leading role in creating the current hellscape of American politics. His name is Leonard Leo and as one of the leading architects of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 he has been a key player in securing the conservative majority on the Supreme Court and drowning our elections in dark money. Join us for a deep dive into his efforts to impose a right-wing Christian agenda onto all of America and how he is now setting his sights on the entertainment and tech industries.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:33 Early Life
3:23 DC Internship and The Federalist Society
6:16 The Judicial Confirmation Network
10:31 “The Honest Elections Project”
11:14 Leonard’s Judges and Their Luxury Gifts
15:02 Dark Money and Trump’s Judges
17:23 Ad Break
19:19 Leonard’s Lavish Lifestyle
21:26 CRC Advisors and “$1.6 Billion is a cross”
23:41 Cafeteria Catholicism
28:14 Moves into Influencing the Entertainment Industry
31:30 Electoral Failures
33:58 Rating Leonard Leo
SOURCES
https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-leo-supreme-court-supermajority
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/leonard-leo
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/05/05/leonard-leo-clarence-thomas-ginni/
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/opus-dei-leonard-leo-supreme-court-moneybags-kid-1235115538/
https://jacobin.com/2023/07/leonard-leo-dark-money-abortion-lgbtq-maine-church
https://www.propublica.org/article/dark-money-leonard-leo-barre-seid
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/magazine/roe-v-wade-christian-network.html
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/inside-the-mind-of-leonard-leo-trumps-supreme-court-right-hand-man
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/07/20/leonard-leo-clarence-thomas-paoletta/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/05/04/leonard-leo-clarence-ginni-thomas-conway/
https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court
https://www.axios.com/2020/01/07/leonard-leo-crc-advisors-federalist-society
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-adviser-leonard-leo-details-plans-to-overhaul-judiciary
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/releases/whitehouse-durbin-ask-leonard-leo-and-right-wing-billionaires-for-full-accounting-of-gifts-to-supreme-court-justices
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/apr/12/billionaire-leonard-leo-rejects-senate-subpoena-supreme-court-gifts
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/10/ginni-thomas-leonard-leo-citizens-united-00108082
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/12/how-leonard-leos-dark-money-network-orchestrated-a-new-attack-on-the-voting-rights-act/
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/05/leonard-leo-federalist-society-voter-fraud.html
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/12/supreme-court-moore-v-harper-federalist-society-leonard-leo/
https://jacobin.com/2024/08/leonard-leo-voter-suppression-swing-states
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/magazine/roe-v-wade-christian-network.html
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/28/leonard-leo-firm-received-21-million-from-leo-linked-group-00128884
https://www.levernews.com/tag/leonard-leo/
https://www.levernews.com/how-dark-money-bought-a-supreme-court-seat/
https://www.levernews.com/how-a-secretive-billionaire-handed-his-fortune-to-the-architect-of-the-right-wing-takeover-of-the-courts/
https://www.propublica.org/article/leonard-leo-scotus-elections-nonprofits-discrimination
https://jacobin.com/2024/11/dark-money-election-leo-trump
https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-secretly-attended-koch-brothers-donor-events-scotus
https://www.propublica.org/article/leonard-leo-teneo-videos-documents
https://maplightarchive.org/story/new-dark-money-group-led-by-trump-judicial-adviser-tied-to-network-promoting-his-court-picks/
https://www.propublica.org/article/dark-money-leonard-leo-barre-seid
https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/leonard-leo-tied-nonprofits-businesses-88-million/
Political commentator and comedy writer Erin Ryan and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco are joined by a bicoastal squad of funny, opinionated women to talk through everything from reproductive rights to romcoms. They break down the political news of the week, plus the topics, trends, and cultural stories that affect women’s lives. New episodes drop every Thursday. Get in touch: hysteria@crooked.com.
Photos courtesy of AP Photo Archive
