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Leonard Leo & the Stained Glass Curtain He’s Hiding Behind [1]
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Date: 2025-04-20
Leonard Leo & the Stained Glass Curtain He’s Hiding Behind
by Tom Carter
None of this trump shit happened without Leonard Leo.
I challenge anyone to name an individual or organization, religious or secular, or billionaire more responsible for our current state of affairs than Leonard Leo.
A publicity shy, extreme right wing Catholic zealot, Leo spent more than 35 years and $600 million corrupting the US federal judiciary, in a Holy War crusade to create a Catholic Christofascist America.
There is no trump or Musk or Doge gutting democracy without collaborator Leo judges.
Christian nationalism is often characterized as a white evangelical movement, but it would be nowhere without ultraconservative Catholics.”
Christian Nationalist expert Katherine Stewart in an interview w Salon — Feb 18, 2025
"His mission is to eradicate 'woke Jesus'": How money, lies and religion are abused to gut…
Journalist Katherine Stewart's "Money, Lies, and God" takes readers into Trump's movement to end Americawww.salon.com
Citizens United, Dobbs, Chevron, voting rights, immunity for the king and dozens more rulings are all attributable to the Leonard Leo Supreme Court that has bulldozed its way through the US Constitution and 250 years of American law.
It is no exaggeration to say that without Leonard Leo, the rapist #krasnov could not have been elected in either 2016 or in 2024.
Leo picked, vetted and installed six Supreme Court justices and hundreds lower court judges to the federal bench — each dedicated to one degree or another to Catholic Integralism — the 1000 year old Catholic legal philosophy that opposes separation of church and state and grants the king, president or der Führer immunity for any and all crimes.
“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” trump declared Feb. 15, 2025, echoing the Leo Supremes and numerous historical despots, claiming to be above the law.
On March 4, 2025, trump personally thanked John Roberts for the Leo Court’s protection. “Thank you again, I won’t forget,” he told Roberts.
Integralism is the “natural law” theology of Thomas Aquinas, the Inquisition, the Papal States, Franco Spain, Carl Schmitt and Nazi Germany.
It is no coincidence that the Leo Supreme Court is made up of extreme right Catholics, that Project 2025 is run by Opus Dei Catholics and JD Vance is a recent convert to this militant anti-Pope Francis branch of Catholicism.
Drawing from just one pew, Leo never anoints Evangelicals or Seven Mountains Dominionists or other Christian Nationalists at the Federalist Society. Only extreme Catholics need apply.
Leo had lots of help, for sure, but I challenge anyone to name another individual, or right wing organization, religious group or techbro or libertarian oil billionaire more influential or directly involved in birthing trump’s Maga fascism, which would be nowhere without ultraconservative Catholics.
Under the pretext of “originalism” Leo Supremes ruled for Citizens United, allowing billionaire dark money to flood politics. Dobbs, Chevron and ultimately handing immunity to trump for his J6 treason and stealing classified documents — all from Leo judges.
Occasionally, the mask slips. Alito went full medieval in justifying overturning Roe, citing a 12th century religious penalty for abortion.
You know what else began in the 12th Century?
The Inquisition.
Supreme deceit: How Sam Alito snuck medieval state Christianity into the Dobbs opinion
Alito's opinion overturning Roe is literally built on fake history - and a sneak attack on the First Amendmentwww.salon.com
Leonard Leo’s Catholic Integralism Coup: Timeline
1991 — Leonard Leo is hired by the Federalist Society, just another one of thousands of rumpled, nondescript DC lobbyists.
Oct 23, 1991 — After bruising Senate hearings exposing Clarence Thomas to be morally and ethically unfit, he is installed on Supreme Court. Leo was a Hill sherpa and Thomas confidant during the Anita Hill Senate hearings. They remain close.
2004 — Greg Mueller, an extremist Catholic and close collaborator of Leo’s, runs the 2004 Swiftboating of John Kerry smear. Mueller, head of CRC — Creative Response — a far right public relations group, heads the op and is funded by Harlan Crow. It is widely credited w sinking Kerry’s campaign, getting Bush elected and giving Leo his first slots to fill on the Supreme Court. “Swiftboating” has become synonymous for blatantly false, scorched earth political smears.
The Battle Over Kerry's Vietnam War Record
In the latest Politically Speaking column, NPR Correspondent Peter Overby examines the controversy over a new ad…www.npr.org
July 17, 2005 — US News & World Report — identifies Leo as one of the George Bush “Four Horsemen” vetting and picking Bush judges.
Sept 29, 2005 — Leonard Leo picks and installs far right extremist Catholic John Roberts on Supreme Court.
(July 1, 2024 — the Leo/Roberts court gives trump immunity, allowing him to avoid prosecution for J6 treason. March 4, 2025, hot mic catches trump thanking Roberts for protection. Without the Roberts protection, trump could not have been elected.)
Jan. 31, 2006 — Leonard Leo installs Sam Alito, widely believed to be Opus Dei, on Supreme Court
By the time George W Bush left office Jan. 20, 2009, he’d appointed 320 judges to the federal bench, most personally vetted and approved by Leonard Leo.
July 5, 2007 — One of Leo’s children, Margaret Mary, dies of complications from spina bifida. Leo is deeply affected and redoubles his faith. Leo, an Opus Dei board member, and CRC’s Mueller donate tens of thousands to renovate DC’s K St Opus Dei offices, a few blocks from the White House. Leo commissions a large portrait of Margaret Mary and Jesus to hang at the entrance. The Opus Dei center distributes free prayer cards of the portrait and a prayer asking Margaret Mary’s intercession.
June 30, 2009 — Leo announces, in a USCIRF government press release, that he is a Knight of Malta, an extreme Catholic anti Muslim “charity” founded in 1050, during the Crusades. One of his first acts as US “international religious freedom” chair is to fire a Muslim employee for being Muslim.
March 22, 2010 — Leo surrogate announces Carrie Severino to run his Judicial Crisis Network. Severino is extreme right Catholic convert, former clerk of Clarence Thomas and wife of Roger Severino, who penned the anti-GLBTQ chapter in Project 2025. Leo collaborators Opus Dei Ann and Neil Corkery will launder $600 million in dark money through JCN, funding the installation of six Leo Catholics on the Supreme Court.
Jan. 21, 2010 — Citizens United — In a 5–4 decision the Supreme Court opens the door for billions in dark money to corrupt US democracy. Leo and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wife, Ginni Thomas, a recent convert to extreme right Catholicism — register a new organization called Liberty Central. Leo and Ginni are among the first to recognize the potential of Citizens United.
It will be 13 years before DC journalist Heidi Przybyla reports the Leo connection and sleight of hand.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/10/ginni-thomas-leonard-leo-citizens-united-00108082
June 19, 2010 — My first email to David Corn, Mothers Jones, warning that Leo is a danger to democracy. Corn rejects my pitch. It is the first of thousands of emails and more than 40 meetings w top DC reporters, over the next 15 years, asking that reporters investigate Leo. Almost all failed to see the story.
Three Emails & a Captured Supreme Court
The following are three emails I sent to a top DC reporter — two in 2010 and one in 2011 — regarding Leonard Leo and…medium.com
2012 — I begin contacting New York Times reporters and New York Times begins more than a decade of covering for Leonard Leo and what the NYT DC bureau chief in 2019 calls DC’s Catholic mafia. While NYT does regular, glowing profiles on numerous conservative elites, like MTG and Charlie Kirk, as of 2025 still nothing of substance on Leo.
A decade of failing to persuade the New York Times to pay attention to Leonard Leo
By Tom Cartermedium.com
Feb 13, 2016 — Antonin Scalia dies. Leonard Leo and Mitch McConnell collaborate successfully to block Gorsuch or any Obama nominee to replace him.
March 2016 — Leonard Leo gives trump a list of Leo approved judges to pick from, if he’s elected in November. Leonard Leo’s list persuaded Evangelicals, until then reluctant to support a rapist, small fingered vulgarian, on board. The white Evangelical vote gives trump the White House.
White evangelicals voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, exit polls show
It's the highest for a GOP candidate since George W. Bush.www.washingtonpost.com
In his first term 2016–2020 — Trump put 234 judges on the federal bench, including three Supremes — - Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett — all vetted and approved by Leonard Leo, giving extremist Catholics a six to three majority on the Supreme Court.
Counting the Bush years, by the end of trump’s first term, out of 833 judges on the federal bench, approximately 520 were picked, vetted and approved by Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society. Also, Leo upends the judiciary in Florida, picking judges for right wing Catholic Gov. Ron Desantis.
The 2024 Stakes for Judges
How the election could change the courts.www.nytimes.com
July 30, 2019 — During a book tour to promote “Confirmation Bias” re Kavanaugh’s confirmation, author and NYT bureau chief Carl Hulse and NYT columnist Maureen Dowd joke about the Catholic mafia controlling DC.
As of 2025, NYT has still never run a serious profile on Leo.
New York Times columnist, chief Washington correspondent warn Catholic 'mafia' has infiltrated the…
Never let it be said the right-wing has a stranglehold on conspiracy theories. The New York Times' chief Washington…www.washingtonexaminer.com
Nov. 12, 2020 — Inexperienced Leo protege Aileen Cannon is installed on federal bench of Southern Florida. In 2024, she uses her position to stall, delay and protect trump from prosecution in secret documents case.
Oct 14, 2021 — Heritage Trustees, including extreme right wing Princeton Catholic, Robert George, hire Kevin Roberts, the Opus Dei Cowboy Catholic to run Heritage and Project 2025. George is a close collaborator and confidant of Leonard Leo.
Kevin Roberts, architect of Project 2025, has close ties to radical Catholic group Opus Dei
Heritage Foundation leader has long received spiritual guidance from group and his policy goals align with its…www.theguardian.com
June 24, 2022 — The Leo Supreme Court announces Dobbs v Jackson, the Leo six all voting to overturn Roe v Wade — reversing 50 years of precedent, established law and stripping US women of the right to bodily autonomy. Every Leo justice who voted to overturn Roe purjured themselves under oath in confirmation hearings, promising that Roe was settled law and they would not overturn.
Leo tells “save it for the book” NYT reporters that his Catholic Supreme Court announcing Dobbs overturning Roe was a sign from God, as it was announced on the Catholic Feast of the Sacred Heart, dedicated to a saint Leo’s daughter cherished.
Right-Wing Money Man Says Chief Justice ‘Maybe’ Timed Abortion Decision for Holy Day
Leonard Leo tells the authors of “The Fall of Roe” that the Supreme Court’s John Roberts might have been thinking of…www.thedailybeast.com
ProPublica reports Oct. 2023, that Leo had a lavish Gatsby-esque party, with cases of French champagne, at his Maine mansion the night before Dobbs was announced, suggesting that his Catholic Captured Court had given him advance information that Roe would be overturned.
Numerous reports in the weeks after describe Catholic Crusader battle flags flying over Leo’s Maine masion.
We Don’t Talk About Leonard: The Man Behind the Right’s Supreme Court Supermajority
The inside story of how Leonard Leo built a machine that remade the American legal system — and what he plans to do…www.propublica.org
August 22, 2022 — NYT “breaks” story that Barre Seid gave $1.6 BILLION to Leonard Leo, no strings attached, to wage war on US democracy. Voting rights, civil rights, public schools, climate change, gun control all come under the Leo and Leo Court gun. ProPublica was working on the story for weeks, but Leo slips it to a favored NYT reporter, Ken Vogel, who “breaks” the blockbuster.
March 9, 2023— ProPublica breaks story that Leonard Leo and his new organization, Teneo, has set sights on reforming US culture. In cahoots with fellow billionaire Peter Thiel, who was mentored and groomed by Opus Dei priest Arne Panula at Stanford, Leo takes aim at film, media, the arts.
Inside the "Private and Confidential" Conservative Group That Promises to "Crush Liberal Dominance"
Leonard Leo, a key architect of the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority, is now the chairman of Teneo Network, a…www.propublica.org
June 26, 2023 — After four interviews with three ProPublica reporters and five hours of recording at my house, ProPublica makes the editorial decision that Leonard Leo’s militant Catholic faith driven politics is irrelevant in DC politics and not newsworthy.
ProPublica Blows Leonard Leo Story
By Tom Cartermedium.com
Nov 17, 2023 — Leonard Leo identified by NBC as THE primary backer and funder of Project 2025. More than 50% of all Project 2025 orgs received Leo funding, staff or consultants.
No other individual or organization comes close. Leo’s involvement in Project 2025 is almost never mentioned in legacy mainstream media.
Donations have surged to groups linked to conservative Project 2025
The advisory board for Project 2025 includes representatives from conservative groups led by veterans of the Trump…
July 1, 2024 — The Leonard Leo Carl Schmitt Supreme Court gives trump immunity, allowing him to avoid prosecution for J6 Insurrection treason. Schmitt was a Catholic Nazi who paved the way for Hitler, declaring in times of chaos, a leader needs immunity. He is beloved by Catholic Integralists, including Adrian Vermeule. The Roberts Court ruled according to classic Carl Schmitt Catholic Integralism legal theory.
July 6, 2024 — trump picks JD Vance as his vice president running mate. JD is a recent convert to extremist Leonard Leo Catholicism. Catholics Patrick Deneen, Tim Busch (Opus Dei member and founder of Napa Institute) and Dominic Legge, Dominican honoree of Opus Dei 2024, groom and convert JD in 2019. JD’s political rise is funded by Peter Thiel, who was groomed by Opus Dei at Stanford. JD becomes the Catholic Integralist Trojan Horse, aiming for the White House.
What is Catholic Integralism?
Catholic Integralists believe that religious values - specifically Christian ones - should guide government policies…theconversation.com
Oct 1, 2024 — Simon & Schuster releases the blockbuster “Opus” by Gareth Gore, a British financial reporter, detailing the history of international trafficking in Opus Dei and the Leonard Leo, Opus Dei takeover of DC. Newspapers around the world react with banner headlines, interviews and a 4-part series on HBO.
In DC, New York and the United States, the book is all but ignored by legacy mainstream media. Nina Burleigh is the sole exception.
How Opus Dei Conquered Washington, D.C.
A new book - not The Da Vinci Code - shows just how much sway the mysterious right-wing Catholic group has - and might…nymag.com
Nov 5, 2024 — trump is elected. Despite a so-called rift between trump and Leo, the rapist-conman staffs his cabinet and administration with dozens of extreme right, Leonard Leo aligned Catholics, more than 30% of the administration by some estimates.
The Trump Administration: More Catholic Than You Know
COMMENTARY: From what I've seen, the president's team is earnestly striving to apply the precepts of our faith to the…www.ncregister.com
And here we are.
Again, I challenge anyone to name any individual or organization more central to creating the Christofascist nightmare the US faces under trump and Musk, than Leonard Leo.
None of this shit happened or is happening without Leonard Leo.
Welcome to the American Inquisition.
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