By Freddy Brewster, THE LEVER
https://www.levernews.com/deploying-to-scotus-big-oils-dark-money-army/
Right-wing dark money groups and Big Oil are pressuring the Supreme Court to shield the fossil fuel industry from paying for climate change-related damages.
Dark-money conservative groups and Big Oil interests have quietly mobilized behind a landmark Supreme Court case that could restrict when and how states and municipalities can seek climate damages from fossil fuel companies. At the center of the case is an oil and gas company linked to a major Trump donor and personal ally of Justice Samuel Alito.
Suncor Energy Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County will decide whether states and local municipalities can sue oil and gas companies that knew fossil fuels contributed to worsening natural disasters and hid it from the public. Suncor is partially owned by Elliott Investment Management — a private equity firm led by Trump donor Paul Singer, who has vacationed with Alito — and has attracted the attention of the dark money network associated with Leo Leonard, the billionaire-backed architect of the far-right Supreme Court.
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Immediately after a Boeing airplane suffered a mid-flight cabin breach, The Lever uncovered documents filed in federal court alleging that former employees at the company’s subcontractor had repeatedly warned corporate officials about serious production issues and were told to falsify records.
Our reporting received wall-to-wall coverage and helped lead to federal prosecutors levying additional sanctions against Boeing.
The Lever followed the money behind the architect of the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court, Leonard Leo — and uncovered that his operation had been supercharged by a record-breaking $1.6 billion secret tax-free donation from Chicago businessman Barre Seid.
In the aftermath, President Biden highlighted the donation in a major speech urging Congress to pass a bill getting dark money out of politics.
In April 2025, The Lever released its investigation into how several firms in the tax industry donated more than $137,000 to Trump’s nominee to lead the IRS—which conveniently absolved him of virtually that exact amount of debt from a failed 2022 senate race.
The next month, a group of senators released a letter demanding more information about the donations, repeatedly citing The Lever’s original reporting in their demands.
