Leonard Leo, who operates a vast network of conservative nonprofits, called on his groups to “weaponize” ideas he said people on the left have been espousing for years.
letter sent to groups Leo’s 85 Fund backed by the fund said Wednesday that it would conduct a “comprehensive review” of the organizations it supports, and “adjust the extent of funding for ideas and policy development.” According to Leo’s letter, the goal is to ensure that their philanthropic efforts are not overly focused on “ideas,” or as Leo describes it, “the development and education of conservative ideas and policies.” Instead, Leo wants his groups to adopt more aggressive strategies that “weaponize” their ideas and produce more concrete results, something he suggested liberals have advocated for their causes less effectively.
“The left built powerful networks of activists, academics, journalists, and philanthropists, as well as professionals from other disciplines, who could collaborate to influence public attitudes and exert political pressure on government officials,” Leo said. “They invested in talent pipelines to fill the power centers inside government, where policy would be implemented. They promoted litigation as a means of leveraging the law to bring about change. And, beyond politics and law, Left-wing philanthropy built or occupied vast infrastructures to control various cultural barriers.”
“On the contrary,” Leo added, “grossly inadequate funds are being spent to implement and weaponize (conservative) ideas and policies to crush liberal dominance.”
Leonard Leo speaking at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast on April 23, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Leo, the co-chairman and former executive vice president of the Federalist Society, a group focused on advancing the principles of a limited, constitutional government, controls a $1.6 billion war chest, money given to him by industrialist Barre Seid to fund his network of conservative groups.
Leo’s letter states that Financed by George Soros The Tides Foundation and the Hansjörg Wyss-backed Arabella Advisors are examples of groups that “run action-oriented campaigns.” He pointed to his support for nationwide NGOs like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). SJP has been at the forefront of promoting anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses across the country since the October 7 Hamas terror attack that killed over a thousand innocent Israelis and took hundreds hostage. Meanwhile, WPATH has been at the forefront of the transgender movement, publishing standards of care that doctors and public officials have used to justify “gender-affirming care” for minors.
“Donors like Hansjörg Wyss and the Arabella Advisors Network have billions of dollars at their disposal, so the left is able to spend far more than the conservative movement to change American society,” Leo told Fox News Digital. “As a result, if we want to succeed, we need to do more with less, focusing on leveraging the talents of the conservative movement.”
Leo is credited with turning the Federalist Society into a powerful lawfare organization that today has more than 70,000 members. Meanwhile, Leo is considered one of former President Trump’s biggest influences. Supreme Court Nominations. Prior to Trump’s selection of Federalist Society-backed judges Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, Leo compiled a list of potential judges that Trump released during his 2016 campaign.
Leonard Leo warns that Biden-Harris efforts to overhaul Supreme Court ‘could backfire’
From left: Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson attend a private ceremony held for the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court on December 18, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Jacqueline Martin-Pool/Getty Images)
After Trump was elected, Leo stepped away from his daily duties with the Federalist Society, but remains its co-chair. Meanwhile, in 2022, Leo’s Marble Freedom Trust received a $1.6 billion gift from American businessman and GOP donor Barre Seed. Leo still has about $1 billion left to spend, The Financial Times reported After analysing public financial disclosures this week, Leo’s representative declined to say how many NGOs in total receive financial support from the 85 funds.
“If we want to succeed, we need to do more with fewer resources, and focus on leveraging the talents of the conservative movement to make an impact.”
“We expect to increase our support for organisations that denounce companies and financial institutions that have succumbed to the awareness virus spread by regulators and NGOs, so that they pay a price for putting far-left ideology ahead of consumers,” Leo said in a rare interview with the Financial Times.
Leo told the outlet that his Marble Freedom Trust is focusing on “conscious” banks and China-friendly entities in a number of sectors such as food production and artificial intelligence. Leo also indicated that he plans to invest in local media in the US next year.
Protester displays a sign opposing conservative billionaire philanthropist Leonard Leo.
Leo’s calls for his groups to “implement” and “weaponize” their ideas have sparked outrage from liberal critics.
“Leonard Leo’s brazen call to ‘arm’ the conservative movement exposes his strategy of using his dark money network to impose his right-wing agenda on ordinary Americans while stacking the cards in favor of the powerful few.” Carolina Ciccone said, The president of the NGO watchdog Accountable.us said, “Let us be clear: this is not just about shaping conservative views — it’s about weaponizing the institutions set up to protect the rights of ordinary Americans to serve right-wing special interests.”
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J. Willis, The former GQ writer and current editor-in-chief of the progressive commentary website Balls & Strikes accused Leo of attempting to rebrand as an “Elon Musk-style culture warrior who yells about the ‘woke brain virus.'”
