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The Daily Insight

Who is Leonard Leo? SCOTUS judge Clarence Thomas pictured with right-wing Federalist Society leader in lavish resort

Author

Sarah Richards

Published Jan 21, 2026

A work of art of Clarence Thomas and Leonardo Leo from around quite a while back has reemerged
Thomas acknowledged Harlan Crow’s extravagant outings all over the planet for over twenty years
Leonard A. Leo is a moderate legitimate lobbyist and legal advisor from the US

A canvas of Clarence Thomas and Leonardo Leo from around a long time back of the two men at Camp Topridge, a rich hotel, sitting outside while smoking stogies close to moderate political agents, has reemerged in the midst of reports that Thomas acknowledged Harlan Crow’s sumptuous excursions all over the planet for over twenty years.

Leo, a 56-year-old whose Catholic confidence is against fetus removal, stays an obscure figure to most of the US public, notwithstanding disclosures that he is the head of a political association that has gotten a surprising $1.6 billion gift to propel moderate causes, incorporating political race fixing in 2022, and supposedly getting more than $73 million north of a long time from non-benefit associations that might be unlawfully redirecting cash to his organizations.

Who is Leonard Leo? Leonard A. Leo is a moderate legitimate dissident and attorney from the US. He filled in as the Federalist Society’s VP for a long time and is presently co-executive of the association’s directorate with Steven G. Calabresi.

Leo is a Roman Catholic. He has seven kids with his better half Sally. Margaret, their 14-year-old little girl, died of spina bifida in 2007.

Leo was brought up in rural New Jersey by a rehearsing Catholic family in the wake of being born on Lengthy Island, New York. His granddad was a VP of Streams Brothers and was an outsider from Italy. To learn at Cornell College, Leo.

Leo began an understudy part of the Federalist Society while he was a regulation understudy at Cornell in 1989, and in 1991 he moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the association. While functioning as a Requests Court representative, he experienced Clarence Thomas, and the two immediately developed close. To help Thomas during his affirmation procedures for the High Court, Leo deferred his beginning date at the Federalist Society. Leo worked at the Federalist Society for over 25 years in various jobs.

4/at Crowe’s invitation only, fully paid for resort “Topridge shows him in conversation with Leonard Leo, the Federalist Society leader regarded as an architect of SCOTUS’s recent turn to the right. access to the justice extends to anyone the businessman chooses to invite along.

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) April 6, 2023

Leo put a hold on from the Federalist Society to facilitate the exercises for John Roberts and Samuel Alito’s High Court designations. Leo attempted to progress Miguel Estrada’s arrangement to the legal executive by the Shrubbery government.

Crusade for Responsibility, a non-benefit guard dog association situated in Washington, required an examination concerning seven non-benefit bunches connected to Leo that it claims are abusing a great many dollars for the individual advantage of insiders, disregarding their expense excluded status, in April 2023.

Leo “caused” various recently settled non-benefits to “pay him (straightforwardly or by implication) more than $73m north of a six-year time span from 2016 through 2021,” as indicated by the report’s decision.

It go on by expressing that there is some evidence that Leo’s for-benefit organizations, BH Gathering and CRC Counsels, which got a huge number of dollars for indicated counseling, exploration, or advertising administrations, “may have either not have offered those types of assistance by any means or may have offered types of assistance at a level not comparable with the installments got.”