'Dark money network': Inside one conservative activist’s push to take over the courts

In an article for Rolling Stone published Monday, journalist Ryan Bort argued that conservative legal activist Leonard Leo is not just a behind-the-scenes organizer, but the architect of America’s conservative judiciary takeover.

From sculpting the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority to unleashing a new wave of dark‑money powerbrokers, Leo’s influence stretches from the highest bench to key state elections. According to Bort, Leo’s web of anonymous funding hasn’t just shaped policy, but reshaped the very structure of political power.

"Leo and his dark money network have continued to spend millions to advance his conservative agenda," the article said.

Bort chronicles how dark‑money vessels like the Lexington Fund have funneled $2 million into various First Principles groups, set up by Leo’s lieutenants and registered in Tennessee just last November. These networks aggressively targeted state-level races.

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In Wisconsin, for example, over $600,000 was spent to sway the Supreme Court election — the most expensive in U.S. history. This came atop tech billionaire Elon Musk’s own $20 million push for a conservative win, but Democrat Susan Crawford still prevailed.

In Missouri, Leo backed Will Scharf, a lawyer who had defended President Donald Trump’s immunity before the Supreme Court, as his chosen attorney general. Though Scharf lost the Republican primary to Andrew Bailey, that didn’t slow the machine: Bailey was appointed deputy director at the FBI, and Scharf landed a seat in the Trump administration as White House staff secretary.

Meanwhile, Leo’s money was also sustaining Alabama’s conservative legal machine. First Principles Action poured over $1 million into Katherine Robinson’s campaign for Attorney General — Robinson is chief counsel to Steve Marshall, who once ran the Rule of Law Defense Fund, the dark‑money arm behind post-2020 “Stop the Steal” robocalls.

Even as Trump publicly lambasted Leo, calling him a “sleazebag” who “probably hates America," Leo’s influence didn’t falter. Trump’s outburst, allegedly sparked by frustration with Leo’s judicial picks allegedly unwilling to bend legal principles for political convenience, hasn’t stopped Leo’s network from expanding its grip on both national and state-level institutions.

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