Much to the consternation of his Federalist Society colleagues,
#Leonard #Leo had also begun
🔥cannibalizing the organization’s own deep-pocketed donors to help finance some of his more personal initiatives
— and those of his friends.

In 2010, he co-founded along with Ginni Thomas an organization called "Liberty Central";

Thomas was the wife of his good friend Justice Clarence Thomas and they used a $500,000 donation from Dallas real estate billionaire #Harlan #Crow,
also a donor to the Federalist Society.

The group billed itself as “America’s Public Square,” promising to preserve freedom and reaffirm the core principles of the Founding Fathers.

The following year, he joined the board of "Chicago Freedom Trust", which had been set up by manufacturing billionaire #Barre #Seid as a pass-through
to anonymously channel funds to initiatives he wished to support
and to take advantage of the recent #Citizens #United ruling shielding big donors from disclosure.

Leo met Seid through #Eugene #Meyer, president of the Federalist Society, who envisioned the wealthy manufacturing tycoon as a potential donor to the law society.

Instead, Leo cultivated him as a funder of his own dark-money network.

The move brought Leo into contact with other central figures of the conservative dark-money world
— like #Whitney #Ball and #Adam #Meyerson,
the main actors behind #DonorsTrust, who were responsible for anonymously funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to various conservative grassroot groups,
including some linked to the far right.

He also used his influence there to divert funds to Opus Dei, with the pass-through soon becoming a regular donor to the Oakcrest School.

As Leo’s access to the world of dark money grew, his Opus Dei friends the Corkerys became critical as a front for the tens of millions of dollars streaming through Leo’s hidden network of nonprofits.

Neil and Ann had provided crucial cover for him during the campaign to secure the confirmations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito in 2005,

hiding the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to influence public opinion.

As more dark money poured in starting in 2010, they began to do the same again through various nonprofits such as the "Wellspring Committee" and the "Judicial Crisis Network".

Their importance only grew following Scalia’s death,
as Leo pumped his network for ever larger sums.

In the weeks after Scalia’s death, the Corkerys began opening the purse strings in what would eventually become a 🔥$17 million campaign to stop Obama from replacing Scalia
and instead ensure a reliable conservative filled the vacancy.

It was just the start.

Over the next five years, Leo and the Corkerys would oversee the transfer of almost 🔥$600 million of dark money to right-wing causes.

Their hidden ecosystem would eventually enable a conservative takeover of the Supreme Court that would disassemble
hard-won civil rights and turn back the clock on issues close to their hearts
— on abortion,
on affirmative action,
and on vast swathes of what they saw as a progressive agenda.

Biden urges port operators to increase wages after 45,000 workers go on strike

Joe Biden has urged port operators to give workers a “meaningful increase” in pay after tens of thousands went on strike,
prompting some of the busiest ports in the US to brace for crippling disruption.

About 45,000 port workers represented by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) began walking off the job after their contracts expired at midnight,
with 36 ports along the east and Gulf coasts affected.
They typically handle about half of the nation’s ocean shipping.

Talks over a new contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) have broken down,
and the union dismissed a last-ditch offer from operators hours before the strike was due to began.

Hours after the strike began, the White House issued a robust statement calling on USMX to negotiate a “fair” contract that reflects “the substantial contribution” of ports workers to America’s economy.

theguardian.com/us-news/2024/o…

#David #Adam #USMX

Biden urges port operators to increase wages after 45,000 workers go on strike

Strike – the first by port workers on US east coast since 1977 – threatens to shut down ports from Maine to Texas

^{Michael Sainato (The Guardian)}

Ports-strike CEO’s crude attacks on Biden and Democrats

An executive representing ports where tens of thousands of workers went on strike this week
made a series of critical and crude remarks about Joe Biden,
tied Kamala Harris to concerns about over-taxation,
and appeared to endorse a rightwing conspiracy theory.

#David #Adam, chairman and chief executive of the United States Maritime Alliance ( #USMX ),
👉attacked prominent Democrats in a string of social media posts uncovered by the Guardian.

It comes after about 45,000 dockworkers at ports along the US east and Gulf coasts walked off the job
– the first such strike since 1977
– as part of a dispute between the USMX and the International Longshoremen’s Association over pay and automation.

The sweeping strike,
disrupting 36 ports from Maine to Texas,
has already raised fears of supply shortages and price increases on the eve of November’s election.

A month ago, when a LinkedIn user suggested that “everything Biden has touched in the past is turning to shit!” -- Adam replied: “The runny kind….”
It was part of a discussion about how Biden’s student-debt relief plan was being held up in the courts.

In another comment on the thread, Adam wrote: “If ya can’t get an American Democrat to pay what they borrrowed [sic], how you gonna get a California illegal immigrant to pay back their $150K loan the CA Dems are offering?”

Three months ago, another user appeared to endorse a popular conspiracy theory surrounding the emergence of a totalitarian world government while commenting on a video of Biden discussing immigration. -- “Did I miss the vote America took in agreement of One World Order? Treasonous actions have consequences!” they wrote.
“I think Kerry and Gates voted two thumbs up on that a few years ago …” Adam replied.

theguardian.com/business/2024/…

Revealed: CEO at heart of US ports strike made crude attacks on Biden and Democrats

David Adam of USMX made coarse remarks about president and appeared to endorse rightwing conspiracy theory

^{Michael Sainato (The Guardian)}