Trump is unleashed in Leonard Leo and the federalist society for a pricing decision

New York (AP) – Conservative legal activist Leonard Leo helped the president Donald Trump Transform the federal judicial power during its first mandate. He closely advised Trump on his choices from the Supreme Court and is widely recognized as the architect of the conservative majority responsible for the reversal of ROE C. Wade.

But Trump last week was unleashed in Leo, accusing his former adviser and the group that Leo was heading to encourage him to appoint judges who now block his agenda. Trump called Leo, the former long -standing chief of the conservative federalist company, a “real” Sleazebag “” and “a bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America”.

Trump’s broad came after A panel of three judges At the American Court of International Trade blocked its radical prices, judging that he had exceeded his authority when he invoked the 1977 International economic powers law To declare a national emergency and take prices on imports from almost all countries of the world.

While a court of appeal quickly intervened and As much the administration To continue to collect the prices while the legal fight takes place, the decision – and the fury of Trump in Leo – stressed the extent to which the judicial power serves as rare verification on the power of Trump while it pushes the limits of the executive authority. The judiciary intervened while he ordered mass deportations, deep cuts to university funding and the dismissal of mass federal workers.

Trump’s words reflect his large frustrations with the judiciary, including members of the Supreme Court which he appointed on the recommendation of Leo, which allowed some of his most controversial efforts to move forward, but blocked others.

Trump’s rhetoric also seemed to be a tactic to blame the setbacks on his program – this time, pointing his finger on a person who helped Trump strengthen credibility with the conservative voters. But we don’t know what – if anything – Leo had to do with the tariff decision.

Leo declared that neither he nor the federalist company had been involved in the preparation of appointments in the commercial court. He did not praise Trump.

“I am very grateful to President Trump who transforms the federal courts, and it was an involved privilege,” he said in a statement. “There is more work to do, that’s for sure, but the federal judiciary is better than ever in modern history, and it will be the most important heritage of President Trump.”

Trump’s attacks

Trump’s fury came via social truth after the court tried to stop the Central Plate of the President’s economic agenda: radical prices This has shook the global financial markets, dismayed for long -standing business partners and has aroused higher prices and inflation warnings.

In response, Trump published a long and angry missive criticizing the judges of the decision, accusing them of “destroying America” ​​and of saying that he hoped that the Supreme Court would quickly reverse “this horrible and threatening the threat decision”.

Trump then referred to his first mandate as president, saying that he “was new to Washington, and it was suggested to use the federalist company as a recommended source on the judges. I did it, openly and freely, but I then realized that they were under the thumb of a real “ Sleazebag “named Leonard Leo, a bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America, and obviously his own separate ambition. ».

“I am so disappointed with federalist society because of the bad advice they have given me on many judicial appointments,” he wrote. “This is something that cannot be forgotten!” He added: “the” Hustlers “behind should not be allowed to destroy our nation!”

Some conservatives, including legal researchers, have been among those who repel against Trump’s trade wars, arguing that the Constitution clearly shows that the power of the bag belongs to the congress, not to the president.

In April, the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a non -profit group that Bloomberg Law said is affiliated with Leo and Charles Koch, filed a prosecution contesting Trump’s prices on Chinese importsAlso accusing him of having acted in violation of the international law on the economic powers of emergency.

This movement won the anger of Trump donors like Laura Loomer, who accused Leo and the Federalist Society of working in Saper the President.

The panel that Trump attacked included the judges appointed by presidents Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as well as Timothy Reif, which Trump appointed the commercial court during his first mandate. Reif, a democrat, had previously worked for the US trade representative in the Obama and Trump administrations.

In A questionnaire submitted to the Senate Judicial Committee As part of its confirmation process, Reif described working on a long list of democratic campaigns. He volunteered on the presidential campaign of Edward Kennedy in 1980, leading the press van to the Kennedy procession. He was a press secretary for the John Lindsay Senate campaign in 1980 and volunteered for the re -election effort of the representative of New Jersey Rush Holt in 2000, when his responsibilities included “the conduct and support of the mother of the candidate for the campaign.”

He also volunteered for John Kerry in 2024 and Obama in 2008, and gave small amounts years ago to The Clinton and the campaign committee of the Democrat Congress.

He seems to have participated in an event affiliated to the federalist society: A panel on international trade in 2011 owned by the Georgetown Law Student Chapter.

The Federalist and Reif company did not respond to requests for comments on Friday.

The White House did not answer the questions about the reasons why Trump blamed Leo and the federalist society for the decision, but Taylor Rogers, a spokesperson for the White House, has doubled, calling Leo “a bad person who cares more about his personal ambitions than of our country”.

“These judges must abandon their corrupt allegiance to Leonard and do the right thing for the American people before completely destroying the credibility of our judicial branch,” she said.

Who is Leonard Leo?

Leo is not a familiar name, but few people have done more to advance conservative legal causes in the United States via a sprawling network of conservative groups.

Decades ago, he began to execute a plan to build a pipeline for conservative talents, work to identify, support and promote the students and lawyers of law faculties who shared his originalist vision of the Constitution and help them reach the most powerful courts in the country. Such efforts have reshaped the courts and republican policyculminating in the first term of Trump with the Appointment of three judges from the Supreme Court conservative. Leo’s work also has encouraged protests Outside his house.

The federalist society made its debut on university campuses when Reagan was president. It was conceived as a means of countering what its members considered as a liberal domination of the country’s faculties of the nation.

During his 2016 campaign, while Trump worked to win on the suspicious social conservatives to elect a three -time married businessman, he promised that federalist society would supervise his judicial appointments, ensuring their non -liberal good faith.

“We are going to have great judges, conservatives, all chosen by the federalist company,” Trump told Breitbart News Radio.

And indeed, the three judges of the Supreme Court, Trump, were appointed had presented themselves on a list compiled by Leo, who took a leave as the company’s executive vice-president to serve as an external advisor in the selection process.

Leo has since fallen from federalist society and now works to extend its scope beyond the courts with the Teneo networkwhich He described As an effort to “crush liberal domination” and create conservative talent pipelines “in all sectors of American life”, including Hollywood, entertainment, business and finance.