society are given credit for the confirmations of neil gorsuch, brett kavanaugh, and amy coney barrett. it was leo who was in the driver s seat of those nominations. leo is the person who can raise the money and has the background to put in place judges who will build a conservative judicial infrastructure around the country. leonard leo now has an unprecedented amount of cash to spend on whatever political projects he likes. and while the donation was meant to be kept secret, name and address withheld on the irs form, cnn has confirmed the source as 90-year-old businessman and philanthropist barry side, who donated the entire stock of his company to marvel freedom trust, which turned around and sold it for $1.6 billion. cnn has attempted to reach mr. side without response. his donation will leave behind a dark money political legacy that could last decades. already, marble freedom trust has given more than $200 million to other causes. including $40 million to donors tru
already, marble freedom trust has given more than $200 million to other causes. including $40 million to donors trust, which has doled out millions to conservative causes. in a statement to cnn, leonard leo said it s high time for the conservative movement to be among the ranks of george soros and other left-wing philanthropists going toe to toe in the fight to defend our constitution and its ideals. jake, that is an understatement. this amount of money dwarfs any previous dark money single contribution we could find, and certainly dwarves the liberal funds leonard leo is referencing. one other note of significance, according to tax experts we talked to, this deal looks like it s set up so an entire company is donated and then sold tax-free by everyone involved. a $1.6 billion transaction with no tax. jake. of course. drew griffin, thanks. turning to breaking news now in our paltics lead.
elections. this irs document obtained by cnn is evidence of the largest anonymous dark money political donation ever reported. $1.6 billion. it is, according to experts, a staggering amount. i m just stunned. we re talking about income that is many multiples larger than the largest dark money groups ever found. it s going to a new organization called marvel freedom trust. while you have probably never heard of it or the man in charge of it, the whole country is familiar with his work. his name is leonard leo, a devout catholic known as donald trump s supreme court whisperer. there are lot of really smart people who can serve on the u.s. supreme court. dozens and dozens. but you need people who have courage. leo helped usher in the most conservative supreme court in decades. along with helping block merrick garland from the court, he and his colleagues at the federalist
society are given credit for the confirmations of neil gorsuch, brett kavanaugh, and amy coney barrett. it was leo who was in the driver s seat of those nominations. leo is the person who can raise the money and has the background to put in place judges who will build a conservative judicial infrastructure around the country. leonard leo now has an unprecedented amount of cash to spend on whatever political projects he likes. and while the donation was meant to be kept secret, name and address withheld on the irs form, cnn has confirmed the source as 90-year-old businessman and philanthropist barry side, who donated the entire stock of his company to marvel freedom trust, which turned around and sold it for $1.6 billion. cnn has attempted to reach mr. side without response. his donation will leave behind a dark money political legacy that could last decades.