Tax Filings Indicate a Law Firm With Ties to Justice Clarence Thomas Received $33.5M in Dark Money

Tax filings indicate that Consovoy McCarthy, a conservative law firm with ties to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and President Donald Trump, received more than $33.5 million (£25.7 million) from nonprofit organisations whose ultimate donors are not publicly disclosed, according to research by True North Research.

More than $29 million (£21.71 million) came from nonprofits associated with conservative legal activist Leonard Leo, according to the research. The payments do not show that Thomas, Leo or Consovoy McCarthy violated any law. They do show how nonprofit funding can support litigation before the Supreme Court while leaving some ultimate donors unidentified.

'You've got money funnelled through a nonprofit organisation, you don't really know if there's a wealthy mega-donor or special interest helping bankroll the legal arguments that are appearing before a court,' said Michael Beckel, money-in-politics reform director at Issue One.

Consovoy McCarthy and the nonprofits named in the research did not immediately comment, according to the report.

Millions Funded Major Conservative Cases

The largest individual payment identified was more than $1.8 million (£1.35 million) from Students for Fair Admissions in 2018. The organisation founded by conservative activist Edward Blum paid Consovoy McCarthy nearly $8.8 million (£6.59 million) in total, according to the tax records reviewed by True North Research.

Students for Fair Admissions was the principal organisation behind Supreme Court challenges to race-conscious admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. In 2023, the court ruled against the programmes, effectively ending race-conscious admissions at many US universities.

The firm also received $5.65 million (£4.23 million) from the 85 Fund between 2016 and 2023. Formerly known as the Judicial Education Project, the organisation is associated with Leo and has funded conservative legal and policy efforts.

Other payments included more than $7.3 million (£5.46 million) from Speech First between 2018 and 2024, $4 million (£2.99 million) from Defending Education since 2021 and more than $1.4 million (£1.05 million) from Do No Harm in 2022 and 2024.

The Project on Fair Representation paid the firm more than $544,000 (£407,000). America First Legal Foundation, co-founded by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, paid nearly $235,000 (£175,000) in 2022, while the US Chamber Litigation Center paid close to $200,000 (£149,000).

These were payments to a law firm, not necessarily political contributions. The filings also do not establish that any undisclosed donor directed a particular legal argument.

Thomas Connection Runs Through Former Clerks

Consovoy McCarthy was founded in 2014 and has represented clients in politically consequential cases involving voting rights, race-conscious policies and administrative law.

True North Research reported that six of the firm's 11 partners had clerked for Thomas, while another had clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts. The firm's own biographies confirm that several lawyers have clerked for Thomas, including partner Taylor Meehan.

A former judicial clerk's relationship with a justice does not by itself establish special access, improper influence or a conflict of interest. The filings cited in the research do not establish such conduct.

Consovoy McCarthy also represented Trump in Trump v. Mazars USA, the Supreme Court litigation over congressional access to his financial records. Supreme Court records identify the firm's lawyers among Trump's counsel.

Leo Network Leaves Donors Out of View

Leo has helped build a network of nonprofit organisations supporting conservative litigation and policy advocacy. Some organisations in that network do not publicly identify all their donors, meaning the ultimate sources behind particular payments may not be visible in public tax filings.

True North Research deputy director Alyssa Bowen described Consovoy McCarthy as a 'go-to' firm for conservative causes and accused it of 'enriching themselves with Leo cash and cash from other far-right dark-money operatives'.

Those are Bowen's characterisations and are not findings by a court or regulator. Donor anonymity can also be defended as a means of protecting political participation from retaliation or harassment.

The funding model is not unique to conservative organisations. Progressive nonprofits, unions, civil-rights groups and business organisations also use nonprofit structures and outside law firms to support strategic litigation.

The Filings Show Payments, Not Judicial Influence

The filings show the scale of payments to a firm closely associated with the conservative legal movement, while leaving some of the donors behind those payments undisclosed.

They do not establish that Thomas intervened in a Consovoy McCarthy case, that the firm received favourable treatment at the Supreme Court or that any donor influenced a judicial outcome.

What remains visible is the money paid to the firm. What remains hidden is who ultimately financed those payments.