Federalist Society contact secures $1.6 billion donation for Leonard Leo.

Leonard Leo, co-chair of the Federalist Society, obtained a $1.6 billion donation for his conservative legal network through an introduction arranged by the society, whose tax status forbids political activism. Leo has used his dark money network to donate millions of dollars to the society and to pay at least $1.54 million to one Federalist Society employee and $775,000 to an entity run by another, according to federal disclosure forms. Leo's dual roles as activist and society leader have prompted increasing tensions between him and his fellow co-chair, Northwestern University Law Professor Steven Calabresi, and Meyer, who has been executive director or president for more than 30 years.