The Federalist Society

The Federalist Society’s First-Ever Symposium Was A Gathering Of 200 Attendees To Criticize Abortion Rights Among Other Human Rights. “In 1982, a group of conservative students and professors gathered at Yale Law School giddy with the opportunity offered by Ronald Reagan’s presidency. They spent the time discussing the perils of federalism, decrying the cultural influence of ‘coastal elites,’ and listening to speakers who excoriated everything from New Deal politics to the legalization of abortion and its impact on ‘acceptable sexual behavior.’” [The Intercept, 5/10/22]

• At The 1982 Symposium At Yale Law School, Former U.S. Attorney General And Newly Appointed Federal Judge Robert Bork Lambasted Human Rights Recognitions Extended By SCOTUS. “Recent United States Supreme Court decisions have extended constitutional protection and Federal authority far beyond their proper bounds, Judge Robert Bork of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has said in an unusual criticism by a sitting Federal judge. Speaking Saturday at a symposium of the Yale Federalist Society, an organization of conservative law students, Judge Bork assailed the High Court’s decisions on abortion, sexual freedom and many types of free expression, echoing stands he took before he joined the Federal bench.” [The New York Times, 4/27/82]
• Bork Decried The U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade Decision. “Bork […] who had been a law professor at Yale and had just become a federal judge, spoke of ‘the onslaught of the New Deal’ and ‘the gentrification of the Constitution.’ Abortion and ‘acceptable sexual behavior,’ he said, should be “reserved to the states.” Pointedly, with Roe v. Wade, he said, the Supreme Court had ‘nationalized an issue which is a classical case for local control. There is simply no national moral consensus about abortion, and there is not about to be.’” [POLITICO Magazine, 8/27/18]

Federalist Society Members And U.S. Supreme Court Justices Alito, Barrett, Gorsuch, And Kavanaugh Attended The Federalist Society’s 2022 Gala. “Four of the five Supreme Court justices who overturned the constitutional right to abortion showed up at the conservative Federalist Society’s black-tie dinner marking its 40th anniversary.” [Associated Press, 11/11/22]

Alito Applauded The Group’s Outsized Influence. “Alito, in brief remarks at the organization’s 40th-anniversary gala near the Supreme Court, praised the influence the society has had on the legal landscape, with its members now spread throughout the federal judiciary. ‘And boy, is your work needed today,’ he said.” [NBC News, 11/10/22]

At The Gala, Alito Received A Standing Ovation For Overturning Roe. “Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the Supreme Court ruling that upended abortion rights, was given a boisterous standing ovation Thursday at an event hosted by the Federalist Society, an influential conservative legal group. […] The hundreds of lawyers and law students in attendance gave Alito another standing ovation when a speaker onstage, Stephen Markman, a former Michigan Supreme Court justice, praised his opinion in the June ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that had protected abortion rights.” [NBC News, 11/10/22]

The Federalist Society Formed Relationships With Anti-Abortion And Anti-LGBTQIA+ Hate Groups Focus On The Family And The American Family Association During The Confirmation Process For U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thomas. “During their narrow and politically costly victory in the 1991 confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas, the Federalist Society lawyers forged new ties with the increasingly sophisticated network of grass-roots conservative Christian groups like Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs and the American Family Association in Tupelo, Miss. Many conservative Christian pastors and broadcasters had railed for decades against Supreme Court decisions that outlawed school prayer and endorsed abortion rights.” [The New York Times, 1/30/06]

Former Federalist Society Vice President And Current Co-Chairman Leonard Leo Was Previously Listed On The Board Of Directors For The Anti-Abortion Group Students For Life Of America. [Students for Life of America, 5/13/22]

National Right To Life General Counsel James Bopp Is Co-Chairman Of The Federalist Society’s Election Law Subcommittee. [The Bopp Law Firm, PC, accessed 3/19/24]

• Bopp Is Responsible For Model Legislation That Would Criminalize Providing Information About How To Access An Abortion. “There’s one man behind the Federalist Society-induced death of Roe v. Wade whose name you’ve probably never heard. James Bopp Jr. has dedicated his life to ending legal abortion in America. A ‘pro-life’ conservative lawyer, Bopp spent more than three decades as general counsel for the National Right to Life Committee, which frequently brought legal challenges to Roe and coined the term that erroneously characterizes later abortions as ‘partial-birth abortions.’ More recently, the organization made news by releasing model legislation that would criminalize providing help to anyone seeking abortion care over the phone or internet.’” [Balls and Strikes, 7/12/22]
• Bopp Once Said A Child Rape Survivor Should Carry A Pregnancy To Term – And Would Be Mandated To Do So Under His Own Model Legislation. “The 10-year-old Ohio girl who crossed state lines to receive an abortion in Indiana should have carried her pregnancy to term and would be required to do so under a model law written for state legislatures considering more restrictive abortion measures, according to the general counsel for the National Right to Life. Jim Bopp, an Indiana lawyer who authored the model legislation in advance of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, told POLITICO on Thursday that his law only provides exceptions when the pregnant person’s life is in danger. ‘She would have had the baby, and as many women who have had babies as a result of rape, we would hope that she would understand the reason and ultimately the benefit of having the child,’ Bopp said.” [POLITICO, 7/14/22]

Bill Saunders, Formerly Of The Anti-Abortion Americans United For Life And The Hate Group Family Research Council, Chairs The Federalist Society’s Religious Liberties Practice Group. [The Federalist Society, accessed 3/19/24]

Multiple Federalist Society Law School Chapters Have Invited Representatives From Recognized LGBTQIA+ Hate Group Alliance Defending Freedom. “Yale hosted a representative from a recognized hate group. This prompted student protest because students, by and large, don’t really like hate groups. […] Texas A&M’s Federalist Society invited a different representative of the ironically named Alliance Defending Freedom, the same hate group from the Yale story, to give a little chat on religious liberty.” [Above the Law, 11/8/22]

Leonard Leo, Co-Chairman Of The Federalist Society And Former Vice President, Dismisses The Myriad Reasons For Having An Abortion. “According to Leo, the vast majority of abortions are a consequence of voluntary, consensual sexual encounters, an opinion that influences his view of the procedure.’We can have a debate about abortion,’ he told me. ‘It’s a very simple one for me. It’s an act of force. It’s a threat to human life. It’s just that simple.’” [The New Yorker, 4/10/17]

Leo Wants To Wage A War On Progressive Culture, Which He Offensively Compares To The Ku Klux Klan. “Having reshaped the courts, Leo now has grander ambitions. Today, he sees a nation plagued with ills: ‘wokism’ in education, ‘one-sided’ journalism, and ideas like environmental, social and governance, or ESG, policies sweeping corporate America. A member of the Roman Catholic Church, he intends to wage a broader cultural war against a ‘progressive Ku Klux Klan’ and ‘vile and immoral current-day barbarians, secularists and bigots’ who demonize people of faith and move society further from its ‘natural order.’” [ProPublica, 10/11/23]

Federalist Society Member And Trump-Appointed Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk Is Transphobic And Homophobic. “Kacsmaryk is one of many Trump appointees to the federal bench who appears to have been chosen largely due to his unusually conservative political views. A former lawyer at a law firm affiliated with the religious right, he’s claimed that being transgender is a ‘mental disorder,’ and that gay people are ‘disordered.’ As Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said during his confirmation fight, ‘Mr. Kacsmaryk has demonstrated a hostility to the LGBTQ bordering on paranoia.’” [Vox, 12/17/22]

Federalist Society Member And Trump-Appointed Fifth Circuit Court Of Appeals Judge Kyle Duncan Once Claimed Legal Recognition Of Marriage Equality Would Place “Irreversible” “Harms” Upon Democracy. “Duncan wrote […] that if the Court recognized that same-sex marriage was a fundamental right, the ‘harms’ to our democracy ‘would be severe, unavoidable, and irreversible.’” [Alliance for Justice, 12/2019]

Federalist Society Member And Trump-Appointed Federal Judge On The Fifth Circuit Court Of Appeals James Ho Said Abortion Providers “Experience An Aesthetic Injury.” “Ho decided to argue that women need to be forced into unwanted pregnancies so there are more adorable sonogram pictures to gaze upon. […] ‘Unborn babies are a source of profound joy for those who view them,’ he wrote in his Wednesday opinion. ‘Expectant parents eagerly share ultrasound photos with loved ones.  Friends and family cheer at the sight of an unborn child. Doctors delight in working with their unborn patients—and experience an aesthetic injury when they are aborted.’” [Salon, 8/18/23]

Eugene Meyer is the president and CEO of the Federalist Society and has served in a leadership role at the organization for more than 40 years. When asked about how the Federalist Society will move forward in employing originalism to interpret the U.S. Constitution for the purpose of eroding human and civil rights, Meyer said “it would be fair to say there’s been some movement over time more in the direction of interpreting the Constitution and less in the direction of pure judicial restraint.” He is listed as a member of the conservative Council for National Policy. Meyer introduced Federalist Society co-chairman Leonard Leo to tycoon Barre Seid, which resulted in a secretive $1.6 billion gift, despite the Federalist Society’s being forbidden to engage in political activism due to its tax status.

Leonard Leo is the co-chairman of the Federalist Society’s board of directors and previously served as its vice president. An attorney and the architect behind the organization’s takeover of the U.S. Supreme Court, he is personally responsible for Trump’s three SCOTUS appointees – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett – and aided in the confirmations of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas. For the latter’s confirmation process, Leo worked to discredit Anita Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment by Thomas. Leo started at the Federalist Society in 1991 and was head of its lawyers’ division by 2001. Realizing that the Federalist Society did not have the public opinion on its side, Leo surmised the group needed to stack the courts. Leo left his full-time work in 2020 to focus on building a monied conservative network. Leo is a trustee for several organizations, both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofits and for-profits. He was previously listed as the co-chair of the board for Students for Life of America. Leo advocates for originalist interpretation of the law to cloak his anti-human rights agenda in a cloak of neutrality; he once said people should not be worried about the overturning of Roe but instead should be “worried about having judges who are really going to interpret the law as written.” He arranged for Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, to be paid thousands of dollars in consulting fees. Through questionable lobbying within the Federalist Society, Leo obtained a $1.6 billion windfall and became the sole trustee of Marble Freedom Trust. Tax filings show contributions from Marble Freedom Trust made their way to the anti-abortion group American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a plaintiff in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine.

Steven Calabresi is a co-founder of the Federalist Society and the co-chairman of its board of directors. Alongside Lee Liberman Otis and David McIntosh, Calabresi convened the first-ever Federalist Society symposium at Yale Law School in April 1982. Reminiscing on the group’s origins, Calabresi said “part of Reagan’s policy was to build up forces in battleground nations in order to topple enemy regimes, and I thought of us as kind of the same equivalent in law schools.” Calabresi clerked for both Robert Bork and Antonin Scalia, two early advisors of the Federalist Society. Calabresi authored an op-ed claiming then-SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh would not challenge established legal precedent, saying that if a sitting judge “suddenly announced that he was going to interpret the Supreme Court’s opinion in Roe v. Wade or the Civil Rights Act of 1964” that “we would call in a psychiatrist.” He previously argued for 18-year SCOTUS terms.

David McIntosh is a co-founder of the Federalist Society and the vice chairman of its board of directors. Alongside Lee Liberman Otis and Steven Calabresi, McIntosh convened the first-ever Federalist Society symposium at Yale Law School in April 1982. A former Indiana congressman,  McIntosh, alongside Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America leadership, is a signatory on the Mount Vernon Statement, a conservative manifesto conceived in response to Obama-era progressivism.

Lee Liberman Otis is a co-founder of the Federalist Society and its senior vice president. Alongside David McIntosh and Steven Calabresi, Liberman Otis convened the first-ever Federalist Society symposium at Yale Law School in April 1982.

Theodore Olson is a co-founder of the Federalist Society and serves on its board of visitors. He was previously Solicitor General of the United States and was Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel. Olson wrote an op-ed arguing that, because the Federalist Society does not file lawsuits or briefs, it is not an advocacy organization, despite the group concertedly engaging in political activism.

Spencer Abraham is a co-founder of the Federalist Society and a founder of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, the Federalist Society’s official journal. He previously served as a senator (where he sponsored anti-abortion measures) and as the Secretary of Energy under George W. Bush.

Leonard Leo Is The Trustee Of The 501(c)(4) Marble Freedom Trust, Formed In 2020. [Marble Freedom Trust’s 2020 Form 990]

• Leo Obtained The $1.6 Billion Windfall Gain From Barre Seid… “An elderly, ultra-secretive Chicago businessman has given the largest known donation to a political advocacy group in U.S. history — worth $1.6 billion — and the recipient is one of the prime architects of conservatives’ efforts to reshape the American judicial system, including the Supreme Court. Through a series of opaque transactions over the past two years, Barre Seid, a 90-year-old manufacturing magnate, gave the massive sum to a nonprofit run by Leonard Leo, who co-chairs the conservative legal group the Federalist Society. […] In practical terms, there are few limitations on how Leo’s new group, the Marble Freedom Trust, can spend the enormous donation.” [ProPublica, 8/22/22]
• …Via An Introduction Through Federalist Society President Eugene Meyer. “Leonard Leo, who helped to choose judicial nominees for former President Donald Trump, obtained a historic $1.6 billion gift for his conservative legal network via an introduction through the Federalist Society, whose tax status forbids political activism. Leo first met Barre Seid, the now 91-year-old manufacturing magnate turned donor, through an introduction arranged by Eugene Meyer, the longtime director of the Federalist Society. At the time, Leo was the society’s executive vice president, and he is currently its co-chair. Meyer envisioned Seid as a contributor to the society, according to a person familiar with the introduction. Instead, Leo cultivated Seid as a funder of his own dark money network. The result was a $1.6 billion gift announced last year — which is believed to be the largest political donation ever.” [POLITICO, 5/2/23]

Leonard Leo Is The Chairman Of The For-Profit Public Relations Firm CRC Advisors, Formerly Creative Response Concepts Public Relations, Formed In 2020. [Open Corporates, accessed 4/8/24]

The Federalist Society Is A Client Of CRC Advisors. “Best known for its work with the Swift Boat Veterans in 2004, CRC bills itself as a full-service communications firm “specializing in media relations, social media and issues management,” according to its website. It has long been the go-to communications firm for conservative organizations in Washington and across the country. Its current clients include the Federalist Society and the Judicial Crisis Network, the chief outside groups working to help confirm Kavanaugh.” [POLITICO, 9/21/18]

Across Ten Years, Leonard Leo Routed $104 Million From His Affiliated Nonprofits To His For-Profit Public Relations Firm CRC Advisors – Including $12 Million From The Federalist Society. [Accountable.US, 2/2024]

The Federalist Society Began With A Modest Size Of Approximately 200 Students. “In 1982, a group of conservative students and professors gathered at Yale Law School giddy with the opportunity offered by Ronald Reagan’s presidency. […] This relatively small crew of around 200 began the process of building a language and a culture around constitutional originalism, a designed approach of interpreting the Constitution very narrowly based on what the framers — all white, all men, all Christian — supposedly meant at the time they wrote it.” [The Intercept, 5/10/22]

By The 1990s, The Federalist Society Had Already Amassed Tens Of Thousands Of Members. [Vox, 6/3/19]

In 2024, The Federalist Society Claimed To Have 90,000 Members. “It is an organization of 90,000 lawyers, law students, scholars, and other individuals.” [The Federalist Society, accessed 3/19/24]

More Than 200 Law Schools Have Federalist Society Chapters. “The Federalist Society’s Student Division continues to be the premier ideas-driven student organization on over two hundred law school campuses nationwide.” [The Federalist Society, accessed 3/19/24]

The Federalist Society Has 90 Professional Chapters Across The Country. “The Lawyers Division reaches the legal community through over 90 Lawyers Chapters located in virtually every major city in the United States.” [The Federalist Society, accessed 3/19/24]

Future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Scalia Served As Advisor To The Federalist Society. “Many Justice Department lawyers, White House attorneys, Supreme Court clerks and judges are affiliated with the group. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was a close adviser to the organization while he was a University of Chicago law professor.” [The Washington Post, 7/29/05]

Current Member Of The Board Of Directors And Reagan-Era U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III Served As A Key Mentor For The Early Federalist Society. “From 1985 to 1988, Reagan Attorney General Edwin Meese—an early supporter of the society—helped groom and credential young conservative lawyers by giving key positions in the Justice Department to early leaders of the society.” [Slate, 1/31/17]

• Meese Once Said He Hoped Roe Would Be Thrown On “The Ash Heap Of Legal History.” “In May 1987, Attorney General Edwin Meese III traveled to St. Louis and spoke before a group of clergy members opposed to abortion. Denouncing Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling on abortion rights, he told them that he saw reason to hope that “in our lifetimes” it would be thrown on “the ash heap of legal history.” Thirty-five years later, a leaked draft opinion suggests that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority is poised to overturn Roe, permitting states to outlaw abortion. Liberals may be aghast, but for the conservative legal movement, of which Mr. Meese was a key early figure, a long-sought moment of triumph appears to be at hand.” [The New York Times, 5/3/22]

Six Of The Current Nine SCOTUS Justices – Including All Three Of Trump’s Confirmations – Are Members Of The Federalist Society. “​​Trump’s three eventual Supreme Court appointees — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — have or have had ties to the society, as do fellow conservative justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. According to the Washington Post, Chief Justice John Roberts’s name was reportedly listed on membership documents in the 1997-1998 directory, though he has said he doesn’t remember joining.” [Teen Vogue, 11/15/22]

• Chief Justice John Roberts Was Listed In The Federalist Society’s 1997-1998 Leadership Directory. “Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. has repeatedly said that he has no memory of belonging to the Federalist Society, but his name appears in the influential, conservative legal organization’s 1997-1998 leadership directory. […] Over the weekend, The Post obtained a copy of the Federalist Society Lawyers’ Division Leadership Directory, 1997-1998. It lists Roberts, then a partner at the law firm Hogan & Hartson, as a member of the steering committee of the organization’s Washington chapter and includes his firm’s address and telephone number.” [The Washington Post, 7/24/05]

At Least 43 Of Trump’s 54 Federal Appeals Court Appointees Throughout His Presidential Term Belong To The Federalist Society. “President Trump has appointed judges to the federal appeals courts at a record-setting pace. […] All but eight had ties to the Federalist Society, a legal group with views once considered on ‘the fringe.’ Now, as he seeks a second term, Mr. Trump can boast of having named more than a quarter of all judges on the appeals courts, 51 to date.” [The New York Times, 3/14/20]

• This Is A Sharp Increase From George W. Bush’s Rate Of Federalist Society Appointees, Showcasing The Group’s Increasing Influence. “According to the Senate Judiciary Committee, 15 of the 41 appeals court judges confirmed under Mr. Bush have identified themselves as members of the group.” [The New York Times, 8/1/05]

One Study Found That 56 Percent Of Trump’s Appointees To Lower Federal Courts Belonged To The Federalist Society. “Mr. Trump’s appointees to the lower federal courts, the study found, voted in favor of claims of religious liberty more often than not only Democratic appointees and but also judges named by other Republican presidents. […] Trump appointees were […] much more likely to be members of the Federalist Society, the conservative legal group, than other Republican appointees: 56 percent versus 22 percent.” [The New York Times, 7/17/23]

President Biden Planned To Nominate A Federalist Society Member To A Lifetime Judgeship On The Day Roe Was Overturned. “President Joe Biden no longer plans to nominate a Republican who has defended abortion restrictions to become a federal judge in Kentucky because Republican Senator Rand Paul of that state has declined to support him, the White House said on Friday. […] [Chad] Meredith […] is a member of the conservative Federalist Society and has defended abortion restrictions in Kentucky. Yet, e-mails made public by Democratic Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s office show a White House aide on June 23 said Biden planned to nominate Meredith to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The next day, though, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision recognizing a nationwide right to abortions, and the nomination did not occur that day as planned.” [Reuters, 7/15/22]

Throughout Its History, The Federalist Society Has Acted As A Gatekeeper For Judicial Appointments. “The example that I like to give is George W. Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court vacancy left by Sandra Day O’Connor. […] [She] is nominated because she’s a close family friend of the Bush family. She has very little judicial record. She’s not known at all to the Federalist Society. She hasn’t been at meetings. […] And that hurt her. And the way that it hurt her — as soon as she was nominated, many of these sort of more vocal Federalist Society types rebelled against it and published op-eds. And so they made enough noise that George W. Bush actually withdrew Miers from consideration and nominated Samuel Alito, [who] is one of these Federalist Society mainstay types who comes up through the organization, works in the Reagan Justice Department alongside many of the founders, and is very much a known commodity to the Federalist Society.” [Vox, 6/3/19]

• A Judicial Appointee’s Devotion To Overturning Abortion Rights Was Crucial In Getting A Stamp Of Approval From The Federalist Society. “You have to look forward and think about abortion rights. Harriet Miers is selected to replace Sandra Day O’Connor. O’Connor is of course a Reagan nominee, but she’s the nominee that didn’t overturn Roe v. Wade. Harriet Miers — we don’t know anything about her record. But she might have been another O’Connor. We know everything about where Alito stands on the right to choose an abortion. And given the opportunity, every time it’s come up, he would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. He believes it’s constitutionally ungrounded. So that’s one area where I think it’s been hugely consequential.” [Vox, 6/3/19]

George H.W. Bush Entrusted Federalist Society Co-Founder Lee Liberman Otis With Judicial Picks. “Following a similar path, the George H.W. Bush administration gave responsibility for judicial selection in the White House Counsel’s office to Lee Liberman Otis, a founder of the society.” [Slate, 1/31/17]

Federalist Society Board Co-Chairman And Former Vice President Leonard Leo Served As Trump’s Judicial Advisor, Handpicking His Shortlist Of Judicial Nominees. “Trump initially released a list of 11 potential justices in May 2016. He added 10 names during the general election in September, including Neil Gorsuch, the man Trump successfully tapped in January to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the high court. […] The Federalist Society’s Leonard Leo played an outsize role in helping vet Trump’s original list of judges, as well as in selecting Gorsuch for the Supreme Court seat left vacant by Scalia’s death in 2016.” [POLITICO, 11/17/17]

• Leo Worked Alongside The Influential Anti-Abortion And Anti-LGBTQIA+ Conservative Organization The Heritage Foundation. “The Republican nominee promised that, if he were elected president, his judicial nominees would ‘all [be] picked by the Federalist Society.’ Trump likewise acknowledged he had turned to the ‘Federalist people’ and the Heritage Foundation to assemble a list of 21 potential Supreme Court nominees.” [Slate, 1/31/17]
• Working Alongside Leo In Devising The List Was White House Counsel Donald McGahn – Yet Another Federalist Society Member. “To allay concerns that he would pick idiosyncratic judicial nominees, like celebrity lawyers he saw on television, Mr. Trump promised to make Supreme Court nominations from a list he released of conservative judges. The list was devised by his top legal adviser and future White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II — a longtime Federalist Society member — working with advisers like Leonard Leo, then the group’s executive vice president.” [The New York Times, 5/3/22]
• The Shortlist Represented A Mutually Beneficial Arrangement – Trump’s Presidential Campaign Success And The Federalist Society’s Ability To Push The Courts Even Further To The Right. “What began with 11 names continued to grow and change throughout Trump’s 2016 campaign and eventual presidency. The list helped Trump sway skeptical conservative voters who were unsure if he would represent their beliefs in office — especially anti-abortion beliefs.” [NPR, 6/30/22]

In A Closed Meeting, Leonard Leo Told The Conservative Council For National Policy That Judicial Confirmations Are “Like Political Campaigns” And That The Conservative Movement Had To Mobilize In “Very Unprecedented Ways.” “For two decades, Leo has been on a mission to turn back the clock to a time before the U.S. Supreme Court routinely expanded the government’s authority and endorsed new rights such as abortion and same-sex marriage. Now, as President Trump’s unofficial judicial adviser, he told the audience at the closed-door event in February that they had to mobilize in ‘very unprecedented ways’ to help finish the job. ‘We’re going to have to understand that judicial confirmations these days are more like political campaigns,’ Leo told the members of the Council for National Policy, according to a recording of the speech obtained by The Washington Post. ‘We’re going to have to be smart as a movement.’” [The Washington Post, 5/21/19]  

Leonard Leo Said That, Because Of The Federalist Society’s Orchestration, Confirmation Hearings “Matter So Much Less Than They Once Did.” “The Federalist Society does more than pick the judges. They prepare them. They study the prospective nominees, and the senators who will ask them questions. They gather murder boards for nominees to practice for confirmation hearings. Mr. Leo is proud of this operation. During the confirmation hearing for Justice Neil Gorsuch, Leo told Toobin with considerable satisfaction, I’ll quote him here, ‘You know, the hearings matter so much less than they once did. We have the tools now to do all the research. We know everything they’ve written. We know what they’ve said. There are no surprises.’” [Office of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, 3/28/19]

Future Justices Could Be Seen Putting On Performances For These High-Profile Roles, Flattering The Federalist Society In The Process. “In his final years as a lower court judge, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote several opinions laying out his plans to shift power from federal agencies to the judiciary — a high-priority issue for the Federalist Society, which played a key role in picking Trump’s judges and justices. These opinions reportedly ‘proved decisive’ in the Trump White House’s decision to give Gorsuch a big promotion. Similarly, in his final year as a lower court judge, Justice Brett Kavanaugh — who previously had a thin record on abortion — went out of his way to convey both in a published opinion and in a speech to a conservative think tank that he opposed Roe v. Wade. Trump picked Kavanaugh for the next seat to open up on the Supreme Court.” [Vox, 8/26/23]

The Federalist Society’s Membership Directory Serves As An Anti-Human Rights “Rolodex” To Fill Clerkships And Judgeships Across The Country. “During the next four decades, the conservative legal movement set about radically changing the way that the law was talked about. They promoted a mode of legal interpretation that was purportedly value-neutral, based on their understanding of what the Founders wrote. The movement’s most powerful tool was its people: the Federalist Society started functioning as a kind of Rolodex for legal jobs around the country, especially clerkships and judgeships.” [The New Yorker, 7/24/22]

Its Members, Known As “Federalists,” Now Fill The United States’ Judicial And Political Ecosystem. “It turned out that young and ambitious legal minds who had an antipathy to Roe v. Wade were far more likely to be on board with the full agenda to assert control and maintain the status quo of right-wing power. Edwin Meese, a top aide to Reagan, hired many ‘Federalists,’ as they came to call themselves. Other GOP operatives helped young, newly graduated Federalist Society lawyers find jobs.” [The Intercept, 5/10/22]

The Federalist Society Is Responsible For Promoting The Legal Interpretation Method Of Originalism. “[T]he group is also credited with popularizing methods of legal analysis now widely advocated by many conservatives and employed by an increasing number of judges. Theories such as originalism, which holds that the Constitution has a fixed and knowable meaning rather than an evolving meaning that should adapt to contemporary times, is an idea put forward by many Federalist members. Using that standard, some judges have challenged previous court rulings allowing broad federal control over states on regulatory and civil rights issues, and maintaining the legal wall separating church and state.” [The Washington Post, 7/29/05]

• While The Federalist Society Claims Originalism Provides A Neutral Interpretation Of The Law… “When confronted by a Washington Post Magazine reporter with the idea that originalism is designed to promote conservatism, Leo denied it, saying that originalism is practiced correctly without a partisan political motive.” [Teen Vogue, 11/15/22]
• …Ironically, Federalist Society Members On The U.S. Supreme Court Are Writing Deliberately Ahistorical Opinions. “We are dismayed that the court declined to take seriously the historical claims of our [Dobbs amicus curiae] brief. Instead, the court adopted a flawed interpretation of abortion criminalization that has been pressed by anti-abortion advocates for more than 30 years. The opinion inadequately represents the history of the common law, the significance of quickening in state law and practice in the United States, and the 19th-century forces that turned early abortion into a crime.” [American Historical Association, 7/2022]

Originalism Doctrine Narrowly Interprets The Constitution Under The Guise Of Neutrality. “Originalism is a school of thought that believes justices must interpret the US Constitution on the meaning of its language at the time it was written. Under Scalia’s early influence, originalism became a core value of the Federalist Society and gained popularity on the right. Proponents of originalism claim their philosophy is politically neutral, arguing that the Constitution’s meaning should not be decided on a judge’s whim but on the document’s fixed meaning. But the philosophy has been used to promote radically conservative points of view: Originalism informed the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, and, as some of Thomas’s previous rulings suggest, could be used to overturn federal child labor laws. Originalism has been described as a movement explicitly aimed at pushing back against progressive victories.” [Teen Vogue, 11/15/22]

• Originalist Interpretations Often Lead To Conservative Decisions. “While originalism may sound intuitive and straightforward, many in the legal world feel cynical about its true aims. Critics of the conservative legal movement view the approach as a theoretical fig leaf used to justify decisions that line up with conservatives’ policy preferences. When I asked [former Justice Alito clerk and Federalist Society member Sherif] Girgis about this, he said that originalism is supposed to achieve the opposite: it’s a way to make sure the law doesn’t just reflect the preferences of the ruling party. (Or, as Girgis put it, to guarantee that judges ‘don’t cheat.’)” [The New Yorker, 7/24/22]
• Originalism Is Designed To Disenfranchise Minority Groups. “One common critique of originalism is that reading the Constitution through an 18th-century lens ultimately hurts people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, and women. Some argue that the Federalist Society is working backwards, using originalism to best fit its socially regressive aims. ‘This method of interpretation systematically disenfranchises minorities,’ says Nancy Scherer, associate professor of political science at Wellesley College. ‘Our Constitution was made to promote liberty, freedom, equal rights, things like that, and nothing they do contributes to those principles at all.’” [Teen Vogue, 11/15/22]

The Federalist Society Employs Originalism As An Excuse To Overturn Legal Precedent It Deems Incorrect. “This has been a heady week for the pro-life movement. […] Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court’s long-time conservative swing vote, announced his retirement. […] Kennedy has not won many ardent admirers among advocates and scholars with firm positions on abortion. ‘He has not adhered to conservative, constitutionalist principles when it comes to the issue of abortion,’ said Catherine Glenn Foster, the president and CEO of Americans United for Life. Her group, along with other conservative legal organizations like the Federalist Society, are looking for a replacement who is ‘originalist [and] textualist,’ she said-someone ‘who would recognize that when it comes to flawed precedent … there should be room and space for re-argument.’” [The Atlantic, 6/28/18]

Federalist Society Members Filled High-Profile Positions In The Executive Branch During The George W. Bush Years. “The Society’s status is reflected in the list of people who are members of, or otherwise affiliated with it. This list includes: Attorney General John Ashcroft; Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham; Department of the Interior Secretary Gail Norton; […] Solicitor General Theodore Olson; former Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr; and former Christian Coalition President Donald Hodel, who also served as secretary of the Energy and Interior departments under President Reagan.” [People for the American Way Foundation, 8/2002]

It Became The New Normal For Conservative Presidents To Appoint Members Of The Federalist Society To High Ranking Positions. “In a new Washington ritual, President Bush has repeatedly drawn from the Federalist Society for cabinet members, senior aides and judges. And perhaps to deflect what many conservatives call unfair attacks by liberals, the nominees have repeatedly claimed to know little about the group’s beliefs.” [The New York Times, 8/1/05]

Federalist Society Members Have Been Given Key Positions In The DOJ To Be Professionally Groomed As Anti-Human Rights Actors In Their Early Careers. “From 1985 to 1988, Reagan Attorney General Edwin Meese—an early supporter of the society—helped groom and credential young conservative lawyers by giving key positions in the Justice Department to early leaders of the society.” [Slate, 1/31/17]

Roger Severino, Trump-Era Director Of The HHS’ Office For Civil Rights, Told The Federalist Society His Office Would Reverse Obama-Era Decisions On The Weldon Amendment, Making It Harder For People To Receive Health Insurance Coverage For Abortion Care… “Already, OCR has reversed decisions of its Obama-era predecessor. In 2016, for example, OCR concluded that a California law requiring that health insurance plans include coverage for elective abortions did not violate the Weldon Amendment—a measure barring federal funding to those that discriminate against professionals or institutions for not providing, or otherwise assisting patients in obtaining, abortions. In a call with members of the conservative Federalist Society in February, Severino said OCR no longer stood by that 2016 decision.” [The Daily Beast, 3/6/18]

…As Well As Ignore Gender Identity And Pregnancy Protections Under Section 1557 Of The Affordable Care Act. “OCR has also said it will not enforce Section 1557’s protections based on gender identity—the same protections Severino railed against in his 2016 paper—as well as its protections based on ‘termination of pregnancy.’ Officials have attributed that decision to an injunction by a federal judge. Asked whether the conscience-protection efforts would shield those who object to hormone therapy or other treatments for transgender patients, Severino told Federalist Society members the office was abiding by the judge’s injunction ‘to the fullest extent.’ He added that he had never heard of anyone citing conscience-protection laws in such a case.” [The Daily Beast, 3/6/18]

Justin Butterfield, Trump-Era OCR Senior Advisor For Conscience And Religious Freedom, Was Invited To Speak At The Federalist Society’s Texas Lawyers Chapter During His HHS Appointment. [American Oversight, 11/30/20]

Former Ranking Republican On The Senate Judiciary Committee Orin Hatch Is A Longtime Member Of The Federalist Society. “‘I am on the board of advisers of the Federalist Society, and I am darn proud of it,’ said Senator Orrin G. Hatch, a Utah Republican on the Judiciary Committee. Mr. Hatch called the society a group of lawyers ‘who are just sick and tired of the leftward leanings of our government.’” [The New York Times, 8/1/05]

• Federalist Society Members Have Historically Gained Control Of The Senate Judiciary Committee. “During the Clinton administration, Federalist Society members and allies had come to dominate the membership and staff of the Judiciary Committee, which turned back many of the administration’s nominees. ‘There was a Republican majority of the Senate, and it tempered the nature of the nominations being made,’ said Mr. [Spencer] Abraham, the Federalist Society founder who was a senator on the Judiciary Committee at the time.” [The New York Times, 1/30/06]

The Former Solicitor General Of Texas, The Architect Of Texas’ Six-Week Abortion Ban, SB 8, Is A Federalist Society Member. “[O]ne name has been missing from the list of those who gave life to the so-called Heartbeat Act, the one that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, the moment when those who oppose abortion claim a fetus’s heartbeat can be heard. The man who crafted the unusual legal strategy that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, at least for now, is one Jonathan Franklin Mitchell. […] Mitchell has been a member of the conservative Federalist Society.” [Texas Monthly, 9/5/21]

Florida’s Ultra-Conservative Supreme Court Is Stacked With Federalist Society Members. “The [Florida Supreme Court] had taken a sharp right turn after DeSantis selected three new justices with the help of Federalist Society board co-chair Leonard Leo. Leo led a secret panel of advisers that vetted DeSantis’s judicial nominees before he took office. […] DeSantis has named five of the court’s seven members, all of whom are members of the Federalist Society.” [The Intercept, 7/3/23]

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, A Federalist Society Member, Attempted To Block The State’s Proposed Constitutional Amendment To Protect Abortion Rights. “Attorney General Ashley Moody urged the Florida Supreme Court to reject a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to ensure abortion rights, describing the measure as an effort to ‘hoodwink’ voters.” [Orlando Sentinel, 11/1/23]

Behind The Scenes, The Federalist Society Attempted To Put An Anti-Abortion Judge Onto Missouri’s Supreme Court. “As chief of staff to Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, Ed Martin turned the office into a political operation, using his position to galvanize special-interest groups on issues such as abortion and the judiciary, hundreds of e-mails released this week show. […] However, Martin’s attack on the judicial selection system backfired when Blunt chose Patricia Breckenridge to fill a Missouri Supreme Court vacancy. For months, Martin had teamed with conservatives to pressure the governor to reject all three nominees. When Blunt picked Breckenridge, an angry Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society in Washington told Martin: ‘Your boss is a coward and conservatives have neither time nor patience for the likes of him.’” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/16/08]

Federalist Society Members On The Bench Write Anti-Abortion And Anti-LGBTQIA+ Opinions

All Six Federalist Society Members On The Supreme Court Concurred In The Judgment To Overturn Roe With Dobbs. [Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, SCOTUS No. 19–1392, 6/24/22]

Federalist Society Member Matthew Kacsmaryk Issued A Preliminary Injunction Invalidating The FDA’s Approval Of Mifepristone In FDA v. Alliance For Hippocratic Medicine. “A federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary ruling invalidating the Food and Drug Administration’s 23-year-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.” [The New York Times, 4/8/23]

Kacsmaryk Was Also The First Federal Judge To Challenge Title X In Deanda v. Becerra. [Deanda v. Becerra, Case No. 2:20-cv-00092-Z, 12/8/22]

• This Was The First Attempt Since Dobbs To Challenge The Federal Right To Contraception. “Kacsmaryk became the first federal judge since the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion to attack the right to contraception. Kacsmaryk’s decision in Deanda v. Becerra targets Title X, a federal program that provides grants to health providers to fund family planning and contraceptive care. He claimed that the program is unlawful because it doesn’t require grant recipients to get parental permission before treating teenage patients. Lest there be any doubt, his opinion is riddled with obvious legal errors. Kacsmaryk didn’t even have jurisdiction to hear the Deanda case in the first place.” [Vox, 12/17/22]

Federalist Society-Member Kyle Duncan Of The Fifth Circuit Court Of Appeals Served As Lead Counsel In The Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Case, Striking Down The Affordable Care Act’s Contraceptive Mandate For Private Companies. “Duncan has dismissed the importance of access to contraception. For example, he has accused the government of treating ‘contraceptives as “the sacrament of our modern life,” and has criticized what he considers the idea that contraceptives are ‘necessary for “the good life,” health and economic success of society, particularly women.’” [Alliance for Justice, 12/2019]

Federalist Society Members Among The Federal Judiciary Cite Federalist Society Scholarship To Justify Anti-Human Rights Decisions

In Writing His Opinion For Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Federalist Society Member Justice Alito Circularly Cited Federalist Society Scholarship. “The Dobbs case also illustrates the Federalist Society’s broader influence beyond judicial appointments. The conservative movement now has a legal intelligentsia of academics, writers, and national advocacy groups who fundamentally shaped how Roe was overturned. […] [Alliance Defending Freedom] general counsel, Kristen Waggoner, a Federalist Society member, told me that the firm closely monitored the scholarship on abortion while shaping Mississippi’s litigation strategy—which was led by another Federalist Society regular, Mississippi’s solicitor general, Scott Stewart. The Court depends on this scholarship, too; the Dobbs decision is heavy with footnotes debating the minutiae of how abortion was historically viewed.” [The New Yorker, 7/24/22]

Federalist Society Members Litigate Cases That Erode Human And Civil Rights

Federalist Society Members Litigating Cases Are Responsible For Weakening Abortion Rights, Among Other Human Rights. “[O]ne need only review changes that litigators linked to the Federalists have wrought upon the law. They have weakened or rolled back statutes on civil rights and affirmative action; voting rights; womens rights and abortion rights; workers rights; prisoners rights; and the rights of consumers, the handicapped, and the elderly.” [Washington Monthly, 3/1/00]

Federalist Society Members Bring Forth Cases To Oppose LGBTQIA+ Rights As Well As Abortion And Contraception Access. “The dockets of the federal and state courts (including the Supreme Court) are brimming with test cases brought or defended by Federalist Society members to challenge government regulation of the economy; roll back affirmative action; invalidate laws providing access to the courts by aggrieved workers, consumers, and environmentalists; expand state support for religious institutions and programs; oppose marriage equality; increase statutory impediments to women’s ability to obtain an abortion; and otherwise advance conservative ideas.” [The Chronicle of Higher Education, 4/15/13]

John Bursch, One Of The Attorneys Who Argued Before SCOTUS In Obergefell v. Hodges That Same-Sex Marriage Should Not Be Recognized At The Federal Level, Is A Federalist Society Member. [The Federalist Society, accessed 4/8/24]

Bursch Is Also Representing The State Of Idaho In Idaho v. United States, Which Asks If States With Abortion Bans Can Prevent People From Receiving Emergency Abortion Care Under The Federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). “The Supreme Court hears yet another abortion case on Wednesday. This one tests whether a state can prevent a pregnant woman from receiving what her doctors say is essential medical treatment, including the termination of a pregnancy, if her health, but not her life, is in grave danger. […] John Bursch, one of the lawyers representing Idaho in the Supreme Court, blames the Biden administration for issuing new guidance on how to carry out the federal law on pregnancy-related emergencies. ‘What’s different about EMTALA is that it’s built on the Medicare Act, and the Medicare Act is built on a foundation of state law,’ Bursch asserts. ‘It says hospitals must assure that their personnel meet applicable standards required by state or local laws.’ He is adamant that ‘EMTALA does not enforce a national standard of care.’” [NPR, 4/24/24]

As A 501(c)(3) Organization, The Federalist Society Is Not Allowed To Engage In Lobbying. [The Federalist Society’s Form 990 for Fiscal Year 2022, filed 8/15/23]

From 2014-2017, Various Leonard Leo Nonprofit Outfits Collected More Than $250 Million, Which Was Spent On Right-Wing Policies And Judges. “Even as Leo counseled Trump on judicial picks, he and his allies were raising money for nonprofits that under IRS rules do not have to disclose their donors. Between 2014 and 2017 alone, they collected more than $250 million in such donations, sometimes known as ‘dark money,’ according to a Post analysis of the most recent tax filings available. The money was used in part to support conservative policies and judges, through advertising and through funding for groups whose executives appeared as television pundits.” [The Washington Post, 5/21/19]

Across Ten Years, Leonard Leo Routed $104 Million From His Affiliated Nonprofits To His For-Profit Public Relations Firm CRC Advisors – Including $12 Million From The Federalist Society. [Accountable.US, 2/2024]

Judicial Crisis Network (FKA The Concord Fund), A Conservative Legal Advocacy Group Leo Is Intimately Connected To, Recently Registered To Lobby. “The nonprofit linked to conservative judicial activist and major fundraiser Leonard Leo has registered to lobby. The Concord Fund said in a filing that it will lobby on ‘Issues related to government oversight and reform.’ The conservative firm OnMessage will lobby on its behalf. […] According to the registration, OnMessage began lobbying for the Concord Fund in early September.” [POLITICO, 10/19/23]

• The Concord Fund Poured $6 Million Into Fighting Abortion Rights Ballot Measure Issue 1 In Ohio. “Protect Women Ohio, the leading group spending money opposing Issue 1, reported raising $9.9 million, with $7.7 million of it coming from its affiliated action fund. The Concord Fund, one of many nonprofits linked to Federalist Society board Chairman Leonard Leo, gave over $6 million to Protect Women Ohio Action, while SBA Pro-Life America gave over $1.4 million.” [The 19th, 11/2/23]

Leonard Leo Is The Trustee Of The 501(c)(4) Marble Freedom Trust, Formed In 2020.

[Marble Freedom Trust’s 2020 Form 990]

• Leo Obtained The $1.6 Billion Windfall Gain From Barre Seid… “An elderly, ultra-secretive Chicago businessman has given the largest known donation to a political advocacy group in U.S. history — worth $1.6 billion — and the recipient is one of the prime architects of conservatives’ efforts to reshape the American judicial system, including the Supreme Court. Through a series of opaque transactions over the past two years, Barre Seid, a 90-year-old manufacturing magnate, gave the massive sum to a nonprofit run by Leonard Leo, who co-chairs the conservative legal group the Federalist Society. […] In practical terms, there are few limitations on how Leo’s new group, the Marble Freedom Trust, can spend the enormous donation.” [ProPublica, 8/22/22]
• …Via An Introduction Through Federalist Society President Eugene Meyer. “Leonard Leo, who helped to choose judicial nominees for former President Donald Trump, obtained a historic $1.6 billion gift for his conservative legal network via an introduction through the Federalist Society, whose tax status forbids political activism. Leo first met Barre Seid, the now 91-year-old manufacturing magnate turned donor, through an introduction arranged by Eugene Meyer, the longtime director of the Federalist Society. At the time, Leo was the society’s executive vice president, and he is currently its co-chair. Meyer envisioned Seid as a contributor to the society, according to a person familiar with the introduction. Instead, Leo cultivated Seid as a funder of his own dark money network. The result was a $1.6 billion gift announced last year — which is believed to be the largest political donation ever.” [POLITICO, 5/2/23]
• Marble Freedom Trust Is Financially Connected To The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists (AAPLOG), A Group Attempting To Remove The Abortion Medication Mifepristone From The Market. “Much of the money Leo controls is in Marble Freedom Trust, a conservative nonprofit group he was tapped to lead when it was formed in 2020 […] Marble Freedom Trust was also channeling money to various causes during the same time period via Donors Trust. Between May 2020 and April 2021, Marble Freedom Trust gave at least $41 million to Donors Trust, CNN reported, citing tax filings. Donors Trust in 2021 contributed $17.1 million to the 85 Fund and $2.2 million to [the Catholic Association Foundation], tax filings show. CAF, in turn, donated $500,000 to AAPLOG — one of the named plaintiffs in the mifepristone case — in the tax filing years of 2021 and 2022, making up nearly half of its contributions in both years, records show.” [The 19th, 1/4/24]

Between 2008 And 2020, The Federalist Society Spent Nearly $5.5 Million In Europe To Promote Anti-Abortion And Anti-LGBTQIA+ Campaigns. “US Christian Right groups, many with close links to the Trump administration, have spent at least $280m in ‘dark money’ fuelling campaigns against the rights of women and LGBTIQ people across five continents, openDemocracy can reveal today. Organisations led by some of Donald Trump’s most vocal allies and supporters have spent increasing amounts of money globally to influence foreign laws, policies and public opinion in order ‘to stir a backlash’ against sexual and reproductive rights. […] Federalist Society […] $5,425,566” [openDemocracy, 10/27/20]

The Federalist Society Is A Registered 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Incorporated In Washington, DC, And Had Over $33,866,191 In Revenue In Its Fiscal Year 2022.

[The Federalist Society’s Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 2022, filed 8/15/23]

The Federalist Society Has Big-Name Individual Donors

Hedge Fund Manager And Chair Of The American Principles Project Sean Fieler Donated To The Federalist Society. “And he’s unwavering in his opposition to abortion. ‘To have Roe overturned is just fantastic,’ Fieler says of last summer’s Supreme Court decision that reversed the constitutional right to an abortion. He’s been a significant donor to anti-abortion groups for nearly two decades. […] He has given to the Federalist Society, which is credited with funneling anti-abortion judges to the bench.” [The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 3/7/23]

The Federalist Society Receives Backing From Traditionally Conservative Groups

The Federalist Society Began With A $15,000 Grant From The Irving Kristol-Backed Institute for Educational Affairs. “The Institute for Educational Affairs, a group backed by the Olin, Earhart, JM, Scaife, and Smith Richardson foundations, provided a grant of $15,000 in 1982 to underwrite a legal conference on federalism put on by law students with an interest in conservative politics.” [Philanthropy Roundtable, accessed 4/2/24]

The Federalist Society Has Received Money From Several Conservative Foundations – The Same Foundations Making Grants To Policy Organizations Fueling Anti-Abortion Sentiment And Anti-LGBTQIA+ Hate. “As the Society grew in influence, it grew in wealth. A year after founding the first student chapters in 1982 at Yale and University of Chicago law schools, student leaders received $25,000 for their first national symposium, the seed money coming from the Institute for Educational Affairs, overseen by the influential neoconservatives William Simon and Irving Kristol. By 1998, the annual contribution total had soared a hundredfold to $2,600,000–a third from core conservative underwriters like the John M. Olin Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and the Lilly Endowment, whose sustained patronage has nurtured the tightly linked constellation of think tanks and advocacy groups that form the spine of the conservative movement. Under Simons leadership, the Olin Foundation is a principal patron of the Federalist speakers bureau.”  [Washington Monthly, 3/1/00]

In FY 2021 Alone, Nonprofit Donors Trust, A Group Intimately Connected To Leonard Leo, Gave $3.68 Million To The Federalist Society. [Accountable.US, accessed 4/8/24]

The Hate Group Alliance Defending Freedom Has Historically Given To The Federalist Society. [The Federalist Society, 2012]

Between 2004-2012, Knights Of Columbus Bankrolled The Federalist Society $210,000 … [Catholics for Choice, 2013]

… And More Recently Gave The Organization $50,000 In 2022. [Knights of Columbus, 2023]

Larger Corporations Have Historically Donated To The Federalist Society

Microsoft Has Donated To The Federalist Society. “In 1999, Microsoft for the first time gave the Federalist Society $75,000. ‘The Microsoft case: Legal and Political Implications’ was a featured panel topic in Federalist meetings.” [Washington Monthly, 3/1/00]

Google, Chevron, Verizon, Facebook, And Time Warner Have All Donated To The Federalist Society. “The program booklet includes prominent recognition of the dinner’s corporate sponsors, stating that ‘The Federalist Society gratefully acknowledges the following firms and corporations for their generous support of the 2013 Annual Dinner.’ There was a lengthy list of ‘gold,’ ‘silver’ and ‘bronze sponsors.’ ‘Gold’ sponsors included Chevron, Google, and Verizon. ‘Silver sponsors’ included Facebook and Time Warner, plus 24 law firms. (All of those corporations also supported The Federalist Society in 2012, according to its Annual Report. Chevron gave at least $50,000 in 2012, while Google and Verizon each donated at least $25,000 and Facebook and Time Warner gave at least $10,000.” [Common Cause, 12/5/13]

Between At Least 2015 And 2021, Facebook And Google Have Donated To The Federalist Society Each Year. “A review of public disclosures from Facebook, Google, and Amazon shows the tech giants have for years funded some of the most influential conservative political organizations and dark money groups responsible for the war on abortion rights. […] Chief among these groups is The Federalist Society, a hyper-conservative nonprofit bent on stacking the federal bench with anti-abortion judges. The group, whose leadership has over the years raised hundreds of millions of dollars for efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade, has received donations from Google and Facebook every year since 2015.” [The Daily Beast, 9/9/21]