(RepublicanDaily.org) – Conservative activist and big-money Republican donor Leonard Leo has defied a summons from the judiciary committee of the U.S. Senate, saying that the inquiry into possible ethics violations stemming from lavish gifts to Supreme Court justices – a number of which come from him – is politically motivated.
In a statement sent to news outlet the Washington Post, Leo slammed what he called the “left’s dark money effort to silence and cancel political opposition,” naming Democratic senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island as the masterminds behind the said effort.
The Supreme Court, which is suffering from historically low approval ratings from the public, has been rocked by revelations that conservative high magistrates such as Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas received expensive gifts from what Democrat lawmakers are calling “rightwing dark money.” Such gifts include luxury vacations and stays at expensive resorts, and the like. Justices Alito and Thomas deny any wrongdoing.
Aside from Leo, Senate Democrats are also ostensibly looking into gifts bought by Harlan Crow, a billionaire entrepreneur from Texas who is known to collect Nazi memorabilia. While Leo has confirmed receiving a subpoena from the Senate, a representative from Crow said that the Texas businessman has not.
Liberal activists and left-leaning government watchdogs have long set their sights on individuals such as Leo and Crow. Leo, in particular, has long been a member of the Federalist Society, a right-wing organization that leftist activists say was responsible for advising then-president Donald Trump that resulted in the appointments of conservative Supreme Court justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch. The appointments of Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch created a conservative supermajority in the country’s highest court. Liberal activists have lamented this fact, which they blame for decisions that favor the right, such as the overturning of the landmark Roe vs. Wade pro-abortion ruling.
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