They consider it leakage

You gotta know that a guy who raises money to help you pack the federal courts with neoconfederate cranks, even if you take care of him real well, I mean, he’s gonna steal a little bit extra for himself. Makes sense, don’t it? Right?

Conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo’s consulting firm received $21 million in 2022 from a group that is a pillar of Leo’s aligned nonprofit network, according to a new tax filing.

That group, The 85 Fund, is part of an umbrella of nonprofits under investigation by the Washington, D.C. attorney general for potentially violating tax laws. Carrie Severino, a former law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, is a director of the group.

The tax filing, obtained by the watchdog group Accountable.US, shows that last year, The 85 Fund’s highest paid contractor was CRC Advisors, the for-profit firm where Leo is chairman.

The revelation comes as D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb is looking into the finances and expenditures associated with The 85 Fund and as Leo faces enhanced congressional scrutiny for his role in bolstering the conservative legal movement. This includes gifts he may have arranged to Supreme Court justices after reports that he assisted in setting up a gift for Justice Samuel Alito.

The Federalist Society and its associated entities constitute one of the most mutually profitable circle-jerks ever devised by man.

…Paul in comments:

I’ll say this for the Mafia: Nobody involved is under the delusion that shakedowns and bust outs are forms of public service.

For that, you need law professors.