Federalist Society co-chairman and former Govt Vice President Leonard Leo speaks to media at Trump Tower in New York, Nov. 16, 2016.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
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Carolyn Kaster/AP
Leonard Leo will not be a family identify, however odds are most individuals within the nation know his signature achievement:
Leo was a key architect of the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court docket that rolled again the federal proper to an abortion.
The conservative activist suggested President-elect Donald Trump throughout his first time period on the nominations of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. The three picks gave conservatives their 6-3 majority on the excessive court docket. And all of them voted to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights determination.
For many years, as a number one determine within the Federalist Society and different conservative authorized teams, Leo recognized and promoted the careers of legal professionals and legislation clerks who shared his views of the structure.
He supported the confirmations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Affiliate Justice Samuel Alito. Now, having finished a lot to affect American jurisprudence, Leo has set his sights on reshaping American tradition.
His plans contain the Teneo Community, which describes itself as a “expertise pipeline” for the conservative motion, with ambitions to affect Hollywood, Silicon Valley and different cultural energy facilities that he and fellow conservatives see as dominated by liberals. The proposed method is just like Leo’s community of judicial nominees: elevating cash from conservative donors to assist establish, join and promote the careers of like-minded individuals. Within the language of Teneo’s one-page web site, the group exists “to Recruit, Join, and Deploy gifted conservatives who lead opinion and form the industries that form society.”
Leo spoke to Morning Version host Steve Inskeep in regards to the alternative he anticipates to exert extra conservative affect on the judiciary below a second Trump presidency and his plans to “crush liberal dominance” of American tradition.
Steve Inskeep: I wish to start with the second that we’re in with a brand new administration coming in and a really explicit new administration coming in. What is the alternative you see for the judiciary on this new administration?
Leonard Leo: Effectively, as within the first administration, you understand, President Trump has a chance to place extra people on the bench who’re dedicated to decoding the Structure because it’s written and it was understood by the founding fathers. You understand, there aren’t as many vacancies as there have been within the first time period, however there are a number of on the courts of appeals and a few fairly vital components of the nation. In all probability about 5 or 6 of these. And also you by no means know. There’s at all times the potential of a Supreme Court docket emptiness. So it is a chance for the president to form of additional solidify an originalist constitutionalist method to the legislation within the federal courts.
Inskeep: Are you assuming that there shall be some justice who will not less than take into consideration retiring within the subsequent few years?
Leo: I believe it is most likely unlikely. Simply given the place the court docket at the moment is and the ages of the justices and their respective well being. However you by no means know. It is at all times a risk. And each administration I’ve ever identified has at all times ready for that contingency simply to verify.
Inskeep: I wish to be aware for individuals, you converse loads in regards to the rule of legislation. You are within the rule of legislation. The president elect has appointed judges and justices whose view of the legislation you very very like, but additionally tends to determine for himself what he thinks is prohibited or correct and in addition desires to punish his critics. Are you involved in regards to the rule of legislation on this second?
Leo: Effectively, happily, we have now a constitutional system that protects in opposition to any rash or hasty motion by presidents or by different public leaders. The separation of powers helps loads in that regard and an impartial judiciary, and so do the checks and balances between Congress and the manager. So there’s at all times that danger in any system of presidency. But it surely’s the most effective system of presidency I believe we have ever seen on the planet when it comes to actually making it laborious for these issues to occur.
Inskeep: The president’s critics, as you understand, really feel that there are a variety of justices and judges that dominated in his favor repeatedly in numerous these felony circumstances that he has confronted. Do you consider that the justices that you just did a lot to carry to the Supreme Court docket would in actual fact, rule independently of the president who appointed them within the years forward?
Leo: I believe the conservative justices of the court docket have persistently proven that they rule independently. In 2020, in the course of the earlier election, the Supreme Court docket and the decrease federal courts dominated within the election circumstances the best way they noticed it. And that was largely not in step with on the time President Trump’s views. And there are many different cases the place his appointees and others on the court docket have made choices that he hasn’t been totally thrilled with.
Inskeep: That is true.
Leo: You understand, so I believe they’ve proven their independence fairly properly. I do know numerous individuals disagree with a number of the choices they’ve made, however my very own view is that they’re calling them the best way they see them in accord with the Structure.
Inskeep: Mr. Leo, I would like individuals to find out about one thing referred to as the Teneo Community, if I am saying it appropriately. There’s been some reporting on this, an effort that you just’re concerned with to carry conservative affect to companies Wall Avenue, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, in the identical means that you just introduced extra conservative influences to the judiciary, will you assist me perceive what you are doing there? With judges, you recognized younger legislation clerks, younger legal professionals to attempt to promote them into the judiciary. What are you doing with, say, Hollywood?
Leo: It is essential, in my opinion, to create pipelines of expertise and networks of very pushed, strategic individuals in all sectors of American life. If you wish to introduce, you understand, the Western cultural custom and conventional values. So within the case of Hollywood, for instance, the concept is to recruit and establish gifted younger professionals who’ve a knack for content material creation and different features of the manufacturing of leisure. Individuals who consider in a form of family-centered leisure, the place there is a excessive demand. And Hollywood acknowledges that. After which actually serving to them discover alternatives to make use of their expertise to create that sort of leisure within the Hollywood house and past. And there are quite a lot of younger professionals in leisure and in journalism and in enterprise and finance who’re in search of alternatives to inject their conventional values and the Western cultural custom into different features of American social and cultural life.
Inskeep: ProPublica obtained a video of you selling this challenge and saying you needed to “crush liberal dominance.” Is that what you wish to do?
Leo: Sure! And the rationale Steve – and I might actually name your consideration to the phrases I used: I wish to crush liberal dominance. In different phrases, I wish to make it possible for there is a stage enjoying subject for the American individuals to make decisions in regards to the lives that they wish to have of their nation. I am completely glad having a world the place individuals could make decisions between varied sorts of issues. However what I do not need is a system the place our leisure system or our world of reports media or our enterprise and finance worlds are closely dominated by left ideology that both chokes out different methods of excited about issues, or that simply creates a system the place form of inappropriate political and coverage choices are being made in locations the place politics and coverage do not actually have a correct place.
Inskeep: It sounds to me like you’re doing one thing very analogous to the judiciary. You’ve got recognized what you are feeling are energy facilities, the place liberals have nice cultural energy and also you wish to change them and get people who find themselves in your facet additional up into them. Is that right?
Leo: Sure. That is a very reasonable characterization of quite a lot of what I believe that the Teneo Community is making an attempt to attain. And that is why I am very supportive of it.
Inskeep: Do you see this as a multi-decade challenge, quite just like the challenge for the judiciary has been?
Leo: Effectively, I believe these sorts of adjustments do take time, though I’ve to say I’m impressed by how shortly the Teneo Community has been capable of construct pipelines of expertise in these locations. And I’m additionally very impressed with how shortly you are seeing efforts, for instance, within the journalism and leisure areas, the standing up of latest manufacturing studios and information platforms. Very impressed with the pace with which the talk about ESG has sort of flipped and altered. And so, sure, this stuff do take a very long time. However I’m struck by the pace with which a few of this has occurred previously two or three years. And I can not clarify why it’s. But it surely does appear to be quicker than what I noticed within the legislation, Steve.
Inskeep: ESG – environmental, social and governance – the concept of getting socially accountable investing. That is a factor you wish to change, you are saying.
Leo: Yeah. That is the opposite space the place we have seen some actually fast adjustments. Proper. You understand, we’ll stroll again from corporations and finance corporations for doing and once more, it is a pace of change that we actually did not see within the legislation. Once more, I can not clarify why that’s, nevertheless it does appear to be that there is a barely totally different dynamic in play if you see these different networks increase in these different sectors of American life.
The radio model of this story was edited by Jan Johnson and produced by Ana Perez.
