1). “We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 1”, September 29, 2023, ProPublica reporters Andrea Bernstein, Andy Kroll, and Ilya Marritz investigate far-right judicial activist Leonard Leo, On the Media, at < https://www.wnycstudios.org/
2). “We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 2”, October 6, 2023, 2023, ProPublica reporters Andrea Bernstein, Andy Kroll, and Ilya Marritz continue to investigate far-right judicial activist Leonard Leo, On the Media, at < https://www.wnycstudios.org/
Introduction by dmorista: ProPublica, that made a big splash with a number of articles revealing the lavish gifts given to the ultra-right members, of the now sadly Discredited Partisan Hack U.S. Supreme Court; is now working, in cooperation with On the Media, to bring an excellent and informative 3-part series on the Eminence Gris of far-right legal strategy, Leonard Leo. So far two episodes have been broadcast on FM radio on a variety of public-supported radio stations. A third episode is due out next week.
The first episode discusses Leo's early life, when he already knew he wanted to be an attorney when he was 10 years old (it is not clear if he already envisioned working for powerful wealthy patrons to strip the populace of their rights and social protections as he has done). It also discusses his rise to become the leader of The Federalist Society and the hardline proponent of placing extremely dangerous reactionaries as Federal Judges and Supreme Court Justices.
The Second Episode discusses further developments and particularly the grooming of young right-wing attorneys to move up in State and Federal Government. It addresses the roles of State Attorneys General and State Solicitors General, in furthering the agenda of the reactionary billionaires. A couple of aspects of the role of Billionaire Hedge Fund owner Paul Singer are discussed, his lawsuit that went to the Supreme Court when he was trying (successfully in the end) to collect billions of dollars off of defaulted Argentine Bonds. Singer bought the defaulted bonds at just a couple of cents on the dollar and then schemed to collect 100% of the nominal face value. He used the U.S. Court System to force the issue but still could not collect until a right-wing government won an election in Argentina and agreed to pay his extravagant demands. This has been a tactic of his for years, the Argentine Bonds were just the largest example. The narrative mentions the, now relatively well-known fishing trip to Alaska, during which Samuel Alito accompanied Singer and a group of rich reactionaries. The episode mentions that Alito later claimed, in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, that the seat would have been empty had he not ridden along with his wealthy patrons and pals to enjoy a wilderness fishing trip in Alaska. Singer is just one funder and host for extravagant vacations for the Supreme Court Justices, along with a variety of far-right Texan Oil and Real Estate bilionaires and other wealthy reactionaires. These include Harlan Crow, heir to a multi-billion dollar real estate fortune; Paul “Tony” Novelly, an oil tycoon; David Sokol, a former top executive at Berkshire Hathaway; and H. Wayne Huizenga, a billionaire who turned Blockbuster and Waste Management into national goliaths. Of course, this is just a tiny selection of the large number of wealthy people; who find it useful to contribute funds and gifts to people in government, to influence their decisions on issues they have a financial stake in.
(The material about Crow, Novelly, Sokol, and Huizenga was from “Clarence Thomas’ 38 Vacations: The Other Billionaires Who Have Treated the Supreme Court Justice to Luxury Travel”, Aug 10, 2023, Brett Murphy and Alex Mierjeski, ProPublica, at < https://www.propublica.org/
Unmentioned in this podcast 2 of the “We Don't Talk About Leonard” series, however, is the fact that Singer himself is also an Israel First activist; who has funded efforts and furthered initiatives to move significant amounts of U.S. High Tech research and investment to Israel. This move of investment comes from companies such as Google, Microsoft and Intel Corporation that continued collecting Federal Subsidies for high tech operations, while moving much of their research and development activities to Israel. This resulted in many American high-tech workers losing their jobs. This has been reported in a variety of sources including Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and The Times of Israel. Singer did this by setting up an initiative called “Start-Up Nation Central”. He set this up in response to the successes of the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement; in an attempt to make it impossible for many companies and countries to participate in BDS as their own High-Tech sectors would be completely interconnected with Israel. (See “How NeoCon Billionaire Paul Singer Is Driving The Outsourcing of U.S. Tech Jobs to Israel”, July 31, 2019, Whitney Webb, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, at < https://www.wrmea.org/2019-
Below are links to the podcasts, and the descriptions posted by WNYC for their broadcast of the On the Media program.
1). “We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 1”, September 29, 2023, ProPublica reporters Andrea Bernstein, Andy Kroll, and Ilya Marritz investigate far-right judicial activist Leonard Leo, On the Media, at < https://www.wnycstudios.org/
In this first episode of our new miniseries, We Don't Talk About Leonard, ProPublica reporters Andrea Bernstein, Andy Kroll, and Ilya Marritz investigate the background of the man who has played a critical role in the conservative takeover of America's courts — Leonard Leo. From his humble roots in middle class New Jersey, to a mansion in Maine where last year he hosted a fabulous party on the eve of the Supreme Court decision to tank “Roe.”
Part 1: Leonard Leo Throws a Party
Part 2: Most Likely to Succeed
Part 3: Leo Turns His Attention to State Supreme Courts
1. The night before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Leonard Leo threw a lavish party at his house in Maine. Listen.
2. Leonard Leo's journey from a high-schooler with the nickname "Moneybags Kid" to a high-ranking member of the Federalist Society. Listen.
3. Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society turn their attention to the state supreme courts. Listen.
2). “We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 2”, October 6, 2023, 2023, ProPublica reporters Andrea Bernstein, Andy Kroll, and Ilya Marritz continue to investigate far-right judicial activist Leonard Leo, On the Media, at < https://www.wnycstudios.org/
Leonard Leo realized that in order to generate conservative rulings, the Supreme Court needs the right kind of cases. In this episode of “We Don’t Talk About Leonard,” ProPublica reporters Andrea Bernstein, Andy Kroll, and Ilya Marritz investigate the machine that Leonard Leo built across the country to bring cases to the Supreme Court and fill vacant judgeships, and the web of nonprofits he’s created through which to funnel dark money into judicial races.
Part 1: A Bobblehead Doll of Leonard Leo
1. The rise of a conservative lawyer through the ranks demonstrates the growing importance of state solicitors general. Listen
2. Leonard Leo cultivates wealthy donors, and a fishing trip sets off a Supreme Court ethics scandal. Listen.
3. Leonard Leo gains power and prominence as the author of former President Trump's list of potential Supreme Court appointees, and a Federalist Society donor becomes disillusioned. Listen.
These podcasts were created in partnership with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.
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