Leonard Leo Rejects Senate Ethics Subpoena

Due to his work with the Federalist Society — first as vice president, now as co-chairman of their board of directors — attorney Leonard Leo has played a major role in pushing the US federal and state courts to the far right, as reported by Alex Henderson for AlterNet.

Leo's attorney, David Rivkin, according to Fritze and Cole, sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) declaring that he is "not complying" with an "unlawful and politically motivated subpoena." I Photo: Cornell Law School

On Thursday, Senate Democrats issued a subpoena to Leo as part of an investigation of ethics-related controversies at the High Court. But Leo, according to CNN, has vowed not to comply with it.

CNN reporters John Fritze and Devan Cole explain: "Calling the subpoena 'unlawful' and 'politically motivated,' Leo said in a statement to CNN that he was 'not capitulating' to what he described as the 'left's dark money effort to silence and cancel political opposition."

Leo's attorney, David Rivkin, according to Fritze and Cole, sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) declaring that he is "not complying" with an "unlawful and politically motivated subpoena."

In November 2023, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to authorize subpoenas for Leo and billionaire Republican megadonor Harlan Crow — who, according to a series of damning reports in ProPublica, treated US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to luxury vacations.

ProPublica also reported that billionaire Paul Singer treated Justice Samuel Alito to a fishing trip in Alaska.