| Formation | 2005 (2005) |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(4) |
| 20-2303252 | |
| Location | |
| Leader | Carrie Severino |
Key people | Leonard Leo |
| Affiliations | The 85 Fund CRC Advisors |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | Judicial Crisis Network |
TheConcord Fund (formerly theJudicial Crisis Network and theJudicial Confirmation Network)[1] is an Americanconservative advocacy organization. Its president isCarrie Severino, a formerlaw clerk for Supreme Court justiceClarence Thomas.[2] In 2020,OpenSecrets described the organization as having "unmatched influence in recent years in shaping the federal judiciary."[3] It is among a network of organizations associated withLeonard Leo, a co-chair of theFederalist Society, that are funded mostly by anonymous donors, with funding distributed by Concord and a related group,The 85 Fund.[4][5]
The organization was founded in 2005 to promote the judicial appointees of then presidentGeorge W. Bush.[6] Fundraiser and lawyer Ann Corkery, along with California real estate magnate Robin Arkley II, were key to the beginning of the organization.[7]
The current leader is Carrie Severino.[8][9] She was previously alaw clerk toUnited States Supreme Court JusticeClarence Thomas and to JudgeDavid B. Sentelle of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[10] She is a contributor toNational Review.[11][12] She is married toRoger Severino.
Severino received herJ.D. degree fromHarvard Law School, where she was a student whileElena Kagan was dean.[13] Severino has been involved with constitutional challenges to theAffordable Care Act.[14][15]
The leading funder of Concord is the Wellspring Committee, which is directed by Ann Corkery.[6] Wellspring was part of theKoch political financing network leading up to the 2008 elections, then was later used by Leonard Leo's associates to direct money to Concord's predecessor organizations.[16] Wellspring, which does not disclose who funds it, gave close to $7 million to Concord in 2014;[17] between 2012 and 2015, it reported giving Concord more than $15 million.[18] Concord's tax return for the period July 2015 to June 2016 shows that one $17.9 million donation, whose source was not reported, accounted for 96.6 percent of the organization's revenue.[18]
In 2013, Concord ran ads in Alaska that were critical of U.S. senatorMark Begich's votes to approve all of presidentBarack Obama's federal judicial nominees.[19] The group also ran advertisements that were critical ofMary Landrieu andMark Pryor's votes for president Obama's court picks.[20] In 2014, the group ran digital advertisements critical ofChris Christie's judicial appointments.[2][21] Concord has been active in Michigan and North Carolina supreme court elections.[22]
In 2015, the Judicial Crisis Network donated $600,000 to Nebraskans for the Death Penalty, a group promoting reinstatement ofcapital punishment in Nebraska.[23][24]
In 2016, Concord ran a negative advertisement aboutJane L. Kelly, a federal appeals judge from Iowa who was on a White House list of possible nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court.[25]
Also in 2016, Concord bought advertisements across the country to oppose president Obama's supreme court nominee, chief judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia CircuitMerrick Garland.[6] In November 2016, afterDonald Trump was elected president of the United States, Concord ran television advertisements praising senate judiciary chairmanChuck Grassley for holding the line against Garland.[26] The group also spent over $500,000 on advertisements thanking Trump for his campaign promises regarding the types of justices he would select for the nation's high court. Concord's advertisements asked viewers to thank Trump for pledging to nominate conservative jurists in the mold ofAntonin Scalia to the Supreme Court.[27][28]
On January 31, 2017, the Judicial Crisis Network committed to spending $10 million on advocacy ads in favor of presidentDonald Trump's firstSupreme Court of the United States nominee,Neil Gorsuch.[29]
The Judicial Crisis Network spent $4.5 million in ad buys supportive of the confirmation ofBrett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.[30] In 2019, the watchdog groupCampaign for Accountability accused Concord of sending illegalrobotexts to Indiana residents about the Supreme Court nomination of Kavanaugh.[31]
In September 2020, after the death of Supreme Court JusticeRuth Bader Ginsburg, Concord launched a $2.2 million campaign to support President Trump's right to appoint a judge prior to the November 2020 presidential election.[32][33][34]
In 2022, Concord donated $350,000 to Consumers Defense, the501(c)4 arm ofConsumers' Research, a conservative advocacy group that opposes corporateenvironmental, social, and governance policies.[35]
In 2024, Concord donated $1 million to a campaign against an amendment legalizingabortion in Missouri and $5 million to Will Scharf's unsuccessfulMissouri Attorney General primary campaign.[36] Concord also donated to anti-abortion groups and candidates in Ohio, Kentucky, and South Dakota.[37][38]
The 85 Fund, formerly known as theJudicial Education Project, is closely aligned with the Concord.[3]
The largest donation in July came from the conservative, Washington-based Judicial Crisis Network, which gave $200,000. Nebraskans for the Death Penalty relied on a combination of paid and volunteer petition circulators, and was aided by an Arizona-based strategist who specializes in ballot campaigns.