The Supreme Court Has A Billionaire Problem

On this week’s episode of Lever Time, David Sirota and Andrew Perez are joined by ProPublica’s Justin Elliott, who recently co-authored an exposédetailing how Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito failed to disclose luxury gifts provided by billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer.  This story follows ProPublica’s reporting from earlier this year about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who also failed to disclose gifts he received from his own billionaire benefactor, Harlan Crow. 

David, Andrew and Justin discuss how these new revelations raise questions about the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, why a lack of judicial oversight contributes to the problem, and how powerful GOP  operative Leonard Leo ties all of these stories together. 

A transcript of this episode is available here. Links:Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court (ProPublica, 2023)Alito Could Deliver Another Ruling For Billionaire Benefactor (The Lever, 2023)Clarence Thomas And The Billionaire (ProPublica, 2023)BONUS: This past Monday's bonus episode of Lever Time Premium, exclusively for The Lever’s supporting subscribers, featured our interview with Brandon Tizol, a New York-based organizer who was part of the campaign that helped pass a transformative renewable energy bill in the state.

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