Meet The Man Who Helped Build The Court That May Overturn Roe
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 21 June 2022
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
However the court rules, this moment is the culmination of a decades-long effort by conservative activists around the country. One man in particular has played an outsized role in that effort: Leonard Leo, Co-Chairman of the Federalist Society. He's devoted his career to getting conservatives appointed to the country's most powerful courts.
We look at how he came to have so much sway.
In this episode, you'll hear excerpts from the interview NPR's Deirdre Walsh conducted with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | These could be the last remaining days of a constitutional right to an abortion in the US. |
| 0:06.3 | As soon as this week, the Supreme Court could rule on dobs of ejects and women's health |
| 0:10.5 | organization. |
| 0:11.5 | Elite draft opinion in that case showed a majority of the court agreeing to overturn |
| 0:17.2 | Roe v. Wade. |
| 0:19.2 | So how did we get to this moment and who brought us here? |
| 0:23.2 | Well, you could say it's former President Trump. |
| 0:25.6 | He did nominate three of the justices who sign on to that leaked draft opinion. |
| 0:29.8 | The justices that I'm going to appoint will be pro-life. |
| 0:33.9 | They will have a conservative bent. |
| 0:35.7 | But if you ask Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, he does give some credit to Trump, |
| 0:40.9 | but he just frames it a little differently. |
| 0:43.5 | Well, I think he took good advice. |
| 0:47.6 | Honestly, he was not familiar with this issue at all. |
| 0:50.8 | Remember, it was Mitch McConnell who blocked Merrick Garland, former President Obama's nominee |
| 0:55.6 | to the Supreme Court in 2016. |
| 0:58.2 | That held a seat open for one of Trump's nominees. |
| 1:01.4 | And McConnell told MPR that he mainly credits Trump's White House lawyers for sending Trump |
| 1:06.6 | great recommendations. |
| 1:08.6 | People of like mine who came out of the Federalist Society network around the country. |
| 1:15.4 | And so it was like a farm team of potential judges. |
| 1:19.0 | The Federalist Society. |
... |
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