Chuck Darwin<p>Much to the consternation of his Federalist Society colleagues, <br><a href="https://c.im/tags/Leonard" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Leonard</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Leo" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Leo</span></a> had also begun <br>🔥cannibalizing the organization’s own deep-pocketed donors to help finance some of his more personal initiatives <br>— and those of his friends. </p><p>In 2010, he co-founded along with Ginni Thomas an organization called "Liberty Central"; </p><p>Thomas was the wife of his good friend Justice Clarence Thomas and they used a $500,000 donation from Dallas real estate billionaire <a href="https://c.im/tags/Harlan" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Harlan</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Crow" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Crow</span></a>, <br>also a donor to the Federalist Society. </p><p>The group billed itself as “America’s Public Square,” promising to preserve freedom and reaffirm the core principles of the Founding Fathers. </p><p>The following year, he joined the board of "Chicago Freedom Trust", which had been set up by manufacturing billionaire <a href="https://c.im/tags/Barre" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Barre</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Seid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Seid</span></a> as a pass-through <br>to anonymously channel funds to initiatives he wished to support <br>and to take advantage of the recent <a href="https://c.im/tags/Citizens" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Citizens</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/United" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>United</span></a> ruling shielding big donors from disclosure. </p><p>Leo met Seid through <a href="https://c.im/tags/Eugene" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Eugene</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Meyer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Meyer</span></a>, president of the Federalist Society, who envisioned the wealthy manufacturing tycoon as a potential donor to the law society. </p><p>Instead, Leo cultivated him as a funder of his own dark-money network. </p><p>The move brought Leo into contact with other central figures of the conservative dark-money world <br>— like <a href="https://c.im/tags/Whitney" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Whitney</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Ball" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Ball</span></a> and <a href="https://c.im/tags/Adam" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Adam</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Meyerson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Meyerson</span></a>, <br>the main actors behind <a href="https://c.im/tags/DonorsTrust" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DonorsTrust</span></a>, who were responsible for anonymously funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to various conservative grassroot groups, <br>including some linked to the far right. </p><p>He also used his influence there to divert funds to Opus Dei, with the pass-through soon becoming a regular donor to the Oakcrest School. </p><p>As Leo’s access to the world of dark money grew, his Opus Dei friends the Corkerys became critical as a front for the tens of millions of dollars streaming through Leo’s hidden network of nonprofits. </p><p>Neil and Ann had provided crucial cover for him during the campaign to secure the confirmations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito in 2005, </p><p>hiding the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to influence public opinion. </p><p>As more dark money poured in starting in 2010, they began to do the same again through various nonprofits such as the "Wellspring Committee" and the "Judicial Crisis Network". </p><p>Their importance only grew following Scalia’s death, <br>as Leo pumped his network for ever larger sums. </p><p>In the weeks after Scalia’s death, the Corkerys began opening the purse strings in what would eventually become a 🔥$17 million campaign to stop Obama from replacing Scalia <br>and instead ensure a reliable conservative filled the vacancy. </p><p>It was just the start. </p><p>Over the next five years, Leo and the Corkerys would oversee the transfer of almost 🔥$600 million of dark money to right-wing causes. </p><p>Their hidden ecosystem would eventually enable a conservative takeover of the Supreme Court that would disassemble <br>hard-won civil rights and turn back the clock on issues close to their hearts <br>— on abortion, <br>on affirmative action, <br>and on vast swathes of what they saw as a progressive agenda.</p>