Investigating Power
One of Leonard Leo’s funding vehicles is once again the top contributor to the Republican Attorneys General Association, according to an analysis of the group’s latest 2023 IRS filing by the Center for Media and Democracy.
Republican state lawmakers, corporate lobbyists, and right-wing operatives are descending on Orlando this week for the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council ready to fight “woke capitalism,” extend a lifeline to big polluters, ban ranked-choice voting, attack bodily autonomy, and consider an array of other model policies.
The Center for Media and Democracy filed an emergency motion with the Ohio Supreme Court yesterday asking the Court to stop Attorney General Dave Yost’s office from further destroying its controversial communications with the Republican Attorneys General Association and the Rule of Law Defense Fund.
Trump’s “judge whisperer” Leonard Leo, the Christian conservative largely responsible for moving the federal court system to the far right in the past decade, is deploying his powerful network to get a friend and former employee elected as Missouri’s next attorney general.
Koch Industries and its funding vehicles funnel millions to groups that are decrying “woke capitalism” and attacking the investment giant BlackRock for its leading role in ESG investing. Yet that hasn’t stopped the company’s subsidiaries from partnering with BlackRock to invest in technology startups.
A group tied to the influential anti-abortion activist Leonard Leo gave $3 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association in the fourth quarter, making it the largest contributor to the organization in 2022.
West Virginia’s Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R), a leading critic of investing that incorporates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, is considering a U.S. Senate rematch against incumbent Senator Joe Manchin (D) in 2024.
At last week’s States and Nation Policy Summit, the American Legislative Exchange Council doubled down on its latest strategy of protecting the fossil fuel industry by blacklisting “woke” companies that embrace climate protection goals.
DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund, the favorite donor conduits of the Koch political network, distributed $123 million in grants in 2021 to right-wing advocacy groups, litigation centers, media outlets, climate deniers, extremists, pro-gun groups, and other tax-exempt organizations that make up America’s right-wing infrastructure, the latest tax filings from both groups detail.
Republican treasurers, auditors, and staff from 23 states will arrive in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13 to meet with corporate lobbyists and an array of right-wing groups during the Fall National Meeting of the State Financial Officers Foundation. Over the course of three days, they will discuss “the rising threat from China,” inflation, “true diversity,” and anti-ESG investing efforts.