Rise of the Machine

Summary

Master Plan Podcast: "Rise of the Machine" Episode Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: Master Plan
• Host/Author: The Lever
• Episode: Rise of the Machine
• Release Date: October 1, 2024
• Website: www.masterplanpodcast.com

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Introduction

In the premiere episode of "Master Plan," titled "Rise of the Machine," host David Sirota delves deep into the orchestrated strategy that transformed the U.S. judiciary into a bastion of conservative ideology. Drawing from an extensive transcript and exclusive documents, Sirota unveils the meticulous efforts of wealthy individuals and political ideologues to reshape American democracy over the past five decades.

The Conservative Judicial Strategy

The episode opens with a discussion on recent controversial Supreme Court rulings, highlighting the court's conservative tilt. Jeffrey Toobin notes, “The conservative majority once again flexing its clout...” (00:51), setting the stage for an exploration of how the judiciary has become a tool for entrenched wealth to influence public policy.

Sirota posits that the transformation of the Supreme Court into what some call a "kleptocracy" is not a series of isolated events but a coordinated effort spanning over fifty years. This narrative challenges the notion of judicial independence, suggesting instead that the court serves the interests of the elite at the expense of the broader public.

The Federalist Society's Rise

A pivotal moment in the episode is the examination of the Federalist Society, an organization that emerged in the early 1980s following the 1971 Powell Memo. Ronald Reagan's speech in 1988 underscores the society's foundational goals: “The judiciary may be the most important instrument for social, economic and political change” (13:09). Initially perceived as a fringe group advocating for constitutional originalism, the Federalist Society rapidly expanded, embedding itself within law schools and cultivating a network of conservative legal minds.

Leonard Leo, a central figure in this movement, is portrayed as a master planner whose efforts were instrumental in steering the judiciary towards a rigidly conservative stance. The Lever reveals how significant financial backing from oligarchs like Richard Mellon Scaife and the Koch brothers fueled the Federalist Society's expansion and influence.

The Bork Nomination and Its Aftermath

One of the episode's focal points is the failed Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork in 1987. Bork's confirmation hearing became a defining moment for the conservative legal movement. Despite his extensive credentials, Bork was vehemently opposed by Democrats who framed him as a figure devoid of empathy and progressive values: “There is no room at the Inn for blacks and no place in the Constitution for women” (16:46).

This rejection galvanized the Federalist Society, embedding the term “Borked” into conservative vernacular as a symbol of unfair attacks on ideological beliefs. Ed Meese recalls, “We don't want to appoint anyone other than sure things sure conservative votes to the Supreme Court” (12:17), highlighting the resolve to ensure future nominees aligned strictly with conservative doctrines.

Clarence Thomas and the Deepening of the Strategy

Following Bork's defeat, Clarence Thomas emerged as the next Supreme Court nominee, embodying the Federalist Society's ideals. The episode details his confirmation process, marred by allegations of sexual harassment from Anita Hill. Thomas reframed these attacks as part of a larger conspiracy against conservative judges: “This is a circus. It's a national disgrace...” (20:23).

Leonard Leo's role in coordinating support for Thomas is emphasized, showcasing the Federalist Society's sophisticated tactics in managing public perception and ensuring successful confirmations despite mounting opposition.

The Bush Era Judicial Push

The transition to George W. Bush’s presidency marked a significant escalation in the conservative judicial agenda. With Bush’s affirmation, “I believe in strict constructionists. And those are the kind of judges I will appoint” (24:05), the Federalist Society under Leonard Leo intensified its efforts to nominate and confirm conservative judges across all federal courts.

John Roberts, a key figure, is introduced as the embodiment of the forward-looking judicial machine: “Judges are like umpires... They make sure everybody plays by the rules” (06:57). Roberts’ strategic placement as Chief Justice is portrayed as a critical step in ensuring the judiciary's ideological alignment.

Email Revelations and Behind-the-Scenes Tactics

A significant portion of the episode uncovers leaked internal emails revealing the depth of coordination within the Bush administration. Leonard Leo’s interactions, often abbreviated as “bk,” demonstrate a meticulous and relentless push for judicial confirmations: “These activists, backed by huge money, were pleading for a high profile, jaw-dropping presidential act of some kind” (35:06).

These communications expose the integration of the Federalist Society within the White House, illustrating how they maneuvered to bypass traditional vetting processes, such as the American Bar Association, which they systematically sought to undermine.

The 2002 Midterms and the Judicial Confirmation Push

The 2002 midterm elections emerged as a battleground for the conservative judicial agenda. With Republicans regaining control of the Senate, Bush seized the opportunity to push forward with stringent judicial nominations. The episode recounts a strategic retreat at the Turf Valley Resort, where Leonard Leo and allies crafted the “Judicial Confirmation Action Plan.” This comprehensive strategy aimed not only at selecting nominees but also at launching extensive public campaigns to secure their confirmations.

John Roberts' eventual nomination and swift confirmation, devoid of opposition (50:24), is highlighted as a triumph of the conservative legal machine. This success emboldened the Federalist Society to continue its aggressive push, now incorporating the Christian Right to amplify their influence.

Conclusion and Path Forward

"Rise of the Machine" concludes by setting the stage for future episodes, hinting at continued battles over judicial nominations and the strategic targeting of key Senate Democrats. The episode underscores the Federalist Society's evolution from a campus debate club to an all-powerful judicial force, fundamentally altering the American legal landscape.

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Notable Quotes:

• John Roberts: “Judges are like umpires... They make sure everybody, everybody plays by the rules. But it is a limited role.” (06:54)
• Clarence Thomas: “This is a circus. It's a national disgrace...” (20:23)
• Ed Meese: “No more suitors. We don't want to appoint anyone other than sure things sure conservative votes to the Supreme Court.” (12:17)
• President George W. Bush: “I believe in strict constructionists. And those are the kind of judges I will appoint.” (24:05)
• Leonard Leo: “We start with young, talented law students...” (21:45)

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Key Takeaways:

1. Strategic Infiltration: The Federalist Society systematically embedded itself within the judiciary and the White House to ensure the appointment of ideologically aligned judges.
2. Financial Backing: Wealthy donors and oligarchs played a crucial role in funding and supporting the Federalist Society’s expansion.
3. Definitive Failures and Motivated Successes: The rejection of Robert Bork served as a catalyst, strengthening the resolve to secure future nominees like Clarence Thomas and John Roberts.
4. Bypassing Traditional Gatekeepers: Efforts to undermine institutions like the American Bar Association facilitated the unchallenged confirmation of conservative judges.
5. Comprehensive Strategy: The formation of groups like Progress for America and actions such as the Judicial Confirmation Action Plan exemplify the multifaceted approach to reshaping the judiciary.
6. Long-Term Vision: The episode illustrates a long-term plan aiming to transform the judiciary into a permanent conservative stronghold, impacting legislation and public policy for generations.

Next Episode Preview: The episode concludes by teasing the next installment, which will explore the targeting of Senate Democrats and further consolidation of conservative power within the judiciary, all set against the backdrop of South Dakota’s political landscape.

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Credits:

• Written by: Jared Jakang Mehr and David Sirota
• Production Team: Laura Krantz, Ula Culpa, Arjun Singh, Ronnie Riccabening
• Editor: Ron Doyle
• Fact-Checking: Chris Walker
• Original Music: Nick Byron Campbell
• Mixing: Louis Weeks
• Special Thanks: Jeffrey Toobin and Lisa Graves

Listen and Subscribe: Master Plan is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and other major platforms. For ad-free episodes, exclusive bonus content, and full access to The Lever’s investigative archives, visit Levernews.com to subscribe.

Transcript

[David Sirota]

Before we dive in, just a reminder that this is the free version of Master Plan, but our paid subscribers get episodes early and ad free and you get bonus content, interviews, documents and videos. More importantly, if you become a paid subscriber, you'll help fund this show and the investigative journalism we do at the Lever. Right now we're offering a huge 50% off forever discount on a paid subscription. If you want bonus content and if you want to support our journalism, please go right now to lever news.com/50 that's lever news.com/50 to get the deal right now again, that's lever news.com/5 0 now onto the episode the Lever.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

The conservative majority once again flexing its clout on the sharply divided High court Supreme Court ruling that significantly expected the right to carry a gun.

[Leonard Leo]

Justices released their decision effectively overturning the constitutional right to an abortion.

[David Sirota]

That was a 6 to 3 ruling blocking President Biden's student loan forgiveness program. I probably don't have to tell you that the U.S. supreme Court has been in the news a lot lately.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

A defiant judgment from Supreme Court Justice.

[David Sirota]

Samuel Alito today, like a lot, a.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Lot, conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas finally discloses one of his controversial trips. At least 38 destination vacations, including a yacht trip around the Bahamas, 26 private.

[David Sirota]

Jet flights, eight private helicopter rides paid.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

For by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.

[David Sirota]

And the news has been about some pretty shady stuff.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Billionaires who are invested heavily in influencing the Supreme Court have been caught giving enormous secret gifts to individual justices.

[David Sirota]

When you doom scroll through story after story, it can be overwhelming. By issuing subpoenas to conservative political activist.

[Leonard Leo]

Leonard Leo Today, 18 Democrats from the.

[David Sirota]

House Judiciary Committee signed a letter to Chief Justice Roberts. Sometimes it's helpful to step away from your phone and computer and dust off your old VCR and go back in time to when the Supreme Court wasn't such an obvious horror show of scandal and corruption.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Let's take those some of those issues.

[David Sirota]

You mentioned a lot of interesting Check out this VHS tape. It's a recording of Capital Conversation. It was a public affairs TV program from the Clinton era. You probably don't remember it unless you were one of the cool kids who spent Sunday mornings watching dry political talk shows on Channel 8 in the Dallas Fort Worth area. This particular episode aired on July 2, 2000, and the guest being interviewed was a 40 something lawyer, dark suit, side part haircut. Standard aesthetic of a seasoned litigator who represents corporate clients before the Supreme Court.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Looking back at the recently completed Supreme Court Session. What do you think were the most.

[John Roberts]

Important things that it did, taking this term as a whole? I think the most important thing it did was make a compelling case that we do not have a very conservative Supreme Court.

[David Sirota]

Now this lawyer, he's a smooth talker, he comes across as smart, calm, maybe some would even say judicious. But it's clear that Mr. Judicious is a conservative. And from that perspective, the Republican appointees on the Supreme Court of the late 1990s and early 2000s had been a huge disappointment.

[John Roberts]

Take the three biggest headline cases, you know, Miranda, school prayer, abortion, conservative view lost in each of them. How can that be after we have.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Nine justices, of whom seven were appointed.

[John Roberts]

By Republican presidents and only two by Democratic presidents? Well, it's an old story that the appointees, once they're on the court, they tend to go their own way.

[David Sirota]

And it was an old story, at least among right wing activists at that time. Squishy so called conservative judges who just refused to get with the program. But there was a glimmer of hope for the conservative legal movement at this particular moment. After seven years of Republicans being locked out of the White House, the 2000 presidential race was in full swing. The TV host asks, what would it mean to have Texas Republican Governor George W. Bush win the election?

[John Roberts]

You know, it's hard to tell because you never know if the nominees that they select are going to carry out any particular point of view, or if, as has been the case with many nominees in the past, they chart a different course.

[David Sirota]

I'm not just playing this old tape from 2000 because I think VHS is a superior format and headed for a comeback. I'm playing it because it gives a nod to the master planners. Big problem at this particular moment, they knew it wasn't enough to just win legislative elections or bring lawsuits. They knew they had to change the judges or their agenda was doomed. They needed judges who weren't casually conservative. They had to install inculcated ideologues on the bench who would be guaranteed to deliver the rulings. They want rulings that help big business disempower workers and of course deregulate the campaign finance system. And they needed to be ready to install their judicial picks when a seat opened up.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Justice Stevenson has been one of the.

[John Roberts]

More liberal members of the court, is.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

I think, the oldest member of the.

[John Roberts]

Court, and there's some others also.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Justice O'Connor, maybe Justice Rehnquist. Sure.

[John Roberts]

And depending upon which ones of those step down and who is appointed in their place, it could well make A.

[David Sirota]

Difference that would prove to be quite an understatement, especially coming from this particular guest who would soon after disappear from the media and only pop up again a few years later, this time in front of a much bigger audience.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

We have 23 photographers in the well, five more waiting. We may revise our procedures to swear you in at the start of the proceeding. If you would raise your right hand.

[David Sirota]

And that lawyer on Dallas TV was none other than John Roberts. And five years after that television appearance, he was nominated Chief justice of the Supreme Court by George W. Bush. During his confirmation hearing, Roberts didn't reveal a desire to install conservative judges who would be guaranteed to deliver ideological rulings. Instead, Mr. Judicious promised he would be completely impartial.

[John Roberts]

Judges and justices are servants of the law, not the other way around.

[David Sirota]

To make his point, Roberts made a now famous baseball analogy.

[John Roberts]

Judges are like umpires.

[David Sirota]

Can we get some music here?

[John Roberts]

Umpires don't make the rules, they apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody, everybody plays by the rules. But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ballgame to see the umpire.

[David Sirota]

In our last episode, you heard about how the Master Planners had a World Series level loss in the McCain Feingold campaign finance case, underscoring their political problem within the nation's highest court. But they knew the old saying, there's.

[Leonard Leo]

No crying in baseball.

[David Sirota]

So when the Master planners lost the McCain Feingold case, they weren't really shedding any tears. That was just one court case. By then, they were already working on the bigger plan, changing the courts and the law from the inside out. This is part one of a double header about the creation of a new Supreme Court, the Roberts Court. In the first of two episodes, we're going to show how a nerdy college campus debate club became an all powerful force in the American judicial system. Through a series of events and hundreds of previously unreleased emails, we'll show you how the Master Planners gained power, embedded their operatives in the White House, and began permanently altering the judiciary. I'm David Sirota and this is Master Plan.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

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[David Sirota]

When John Roberts appeared on TV in 2000 and aired his lament about squishy Supreme Court justices, he was echoing a longtime grievance of conservatives that Republican appointed Supreme Court justices tended to become less consistently conservative with age. And in the early 2000s, this became a glaring problem for the master planners, especially on their pet cause of deregulating the campaign finance system and legalizing corruption. Less than a year before Robert's TV appearance in a case that would preview the McCain Feingold decision from last episode, Republican appointed justices helped block an attempt to destroy campaign contribution limits. Here's one of them. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, spotlighting the problem of soft corruption during the oral arguments of that case.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

I suppose the most likely scenario for a significant contribution would be the notion that I will give this money and expect in return that if and when I ever call this particular official, if the official is elected, they'll pay attention to me. They'll receive that call, respond, get in touch with me, and take seriously what I have to say.

[David Sirota]

Republican appointees David Souter, John Paul Stevens, and Chief Justice William Rehnquist joined O'Connor to uphold the legality of campaign contribution limits at the state level. Justice Stevens went even further in a concurrence declaring that, quote, money is property. It is not speech. Those were fighting words to the master planners trying to legalize corruption, as were all of the other rulings where these Republican appointees deviated from conservative doctrine. And the master planners, they were pissed.

[Ed Meese]

David Souter, John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, all of them had been appointed by Republican presidents. And yet Roe v. Wade was still the law of the land. And that was a tremendous source of frustration on the right.

[David Sirota]

That's Jeffrey Toobin, a legal analyst and bestselling author of several books that cover the inner workings of the Supreme Court. He says that conservatives were particularly traumatized by Justice David Souter, who betrayed the cause by eventually taking positions that supported civil liberties, reproductive rights and campaign finance reforms. By the early 2000s, conservatives even had a mantra.

[Ed Meese]

No more suitors. We don't want to appoint anyone other than sure things sure conservative votes to the Supreme Court. And that was a major, major priority.

[David Sirota]

No more suitors. Okay, well that sounds catchy and all, but how exactly do you prevent future suitors? How do you start installing people like Roberts, a conservative lawyer who seemed to be really frustrated with the situation? On the surface, Roberts warp speed ascent from corporate lawyer in 2000 to Chief justice of the United States Supreme Court in 2005. That might seem like a random fluke or an overnight success. But as listeners probably know by now, in this story, nothing is random. There was a plan that started decades earlier. Let's remember the Powell memo from 1971.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

The judiciary may be the most important instrument for social, economic and political change.

[David Sirota]

Following the memo's guidance, conservative activists spent the 1980s and 1990s building a formidable network of well funded think tanks and academic institutions. One of those institutions would become extremely significant in the legal sphere. A group that's been in the news a lot lately. The Federalist Society.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Thank you very much.

[David Sirota]

This is Ronald Reagan in 1988 speaking to the Federalist Society. The group first emerged as a college campus based legal organization nurturing conservative law students. The group championed philosophies like constitutional originalism that in the early 1980s was basically regarded as far right nonsense within legal academia. But as the Federalist Society built hundreds of chapters at law schools around the country, their once fringe legal theories were soon championed and mainstreamed by Republican politicians.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

How far we've come these last eight years, not only a transformation the operations of government, not only in transforming the departments and agencies and even the federal judiciary, but also in changing the terms of national debate. And nowhere is that change more evident than in the rise of the Federalist Society on the campuses of America's law schools.

[David Sirota]

Reagan understood that the Federalist Society wasn't just some kooky, low budget campus debate club. This was a group funded by master planners that we've mentioned before. John Merrill, Olin, Richard Mellon Scaife and the Koch brothers. They took seriously the Powell memo's call to build a counterforce of smart young minds who could fight on behalf of free enterprise. These oligarchs delivered millions of dollars to the Federalist Society to help provide a safe space to cultivate and promote conservative lawyers. People like Ronald Reagan's Attorney General, Ed Meese.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

I'm very proud that the founders and leaders of this organization, many of them are in fact serving with me in the Department of Justice.

[David Sirota]

Mies, a longtime Reagan confidant and an early advisor to the Federalist Society, was obsessed with getting conservative judges onto the courts. He'd succeeded with Reagan's 1986 appointment of Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court. And when another seat opened up a year later, Reagan offered it to another ideological warrior, the guy who fired the Watergate prosecutor, the guy whose subterfuge helped weaken post Watergate campaign finance legislation, a name we've mentioned many times in this podcast. Yes, conservative legal icon Robert Bork.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Bork. Bork, Bork.

[David Sirota]

But Bork's confirmation hearing wasn't exactly smooth sailing. It quickly became a fiasco when Democrats did something unexpected. They actually fought back and held Bork accountable.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

I said yesterday that I did not break the law in Watergate. There is no existing court opinion that says I did. I did not even know the principal characters in that. I've never met them. You said there's no existing opinion. There certainly is. There isn't. There's not. That was a vacated opinion, Senator. But the pinion is there. Well, it's in print. It has been declared to have no legal force or effect whatsoever.

[David Sirota]

Citing Bork's own writings on various issues, Democrats made him look like a real life Dr.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Evil in Robert Bork's America. There is no room at the Inn for blacks and no place in the Constitution for women. And in our America, there should be no seat on the Supreme Court for Robert Bork.

[David Sirota]

Bork became the first Supreme Court nominee to be voted down by the Senate in almost two decades. And that rejection became a catalyzing moment for the conservative legal movement, as recounted here by Ed Meese.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

The Democrats had just taken over the Senate. You had all of these very left wing groups, special interest groups that were spoiling for a scalp. And so you had all of this come together to attack Bob Bork at.

[David Sirota]

His Federalist Society speech. In the wake of Bork's defeat, Reagan told the organization to redouble its efforts to pull the judiciary to the right.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

So this is my message to you today, to hold the torch high, to stay in the battle. Too much is left to do. The battle is far from over, and all is yet to win or lose.

[David Sirota]

Bork's rejection would quickly become the Federalist Society's villain origin story with its own iconic verb that entered the vernacular. It's called being Borked.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Borking.

[Leonard Leo]

Borked.

[David Sirota]

Borking.

[Leonard Leo]

Bork.

[David Sirota]

To be Borked. Meant one who is unfairly attacked for their conservative beliefs. Federalist Society leaders and other master planners were incensed. But they had a chance to avenge Bork when only a few years later, another Federalist Society darling got his own nomination to the Supreme Court. Ladies and gentlemen, the one you've been waiting for, Clarence Thomas.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Conservatives need to realize that their audience isn't simply lawyers. Our struggle is not simply another litigation piece or technique. This is a political struggle.

[David Sirota]

This was Thomas speaking at a Federalist Society student symposium in 1988. The political struggle he's talking about is part of his encouragement to his Federalist Society brethren to use the courts as a vehicle for their conservative activism. With Clarence Thomas nomination in 1991, the Master Planners didn't just wait around to be borked. They instead launched a preemptive attack. Conservative groups funded ads against Democratic senators who'd been questioning Thomas ethics.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Judge Clarence Thomas, endorsed by the U.S. senate as a fighter for civil rights, nominated to the Supreme Court.

[David Sirota]

This ad was sponsored by a political action committee called Citizens United. Yes, the same conservative group that would prompt the infamous Citizens United Supreme Court case 20 years later. Don't worry, we'll get to that case in a future episode.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

But who opposes Clarence Thomas? The liberal special interests and the soft on crime crowd. They call Clarence Thomas not qualified to sit on the super Supreme Court just because he won't bow to their liberal litmus tests. Call your senator and urge support for Judge Clarence Thomas. His values are our values.

[David Sirota]

Another set of groups launched ads touting Thomas as a model American. Clarence Thomas life has been exemplified by.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Hard work, discipline and self reliance. He is a role model to whom we can all look with pride.

[David Sirota]

By the time Thomas confirmation hearings began scrutinizing Anita Hill's allegations of sexual harassment, an emboldened Thomas wasn't interested in answering questions. He focused on portraying himself as another Bork being wrongly persecuted.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

This is a circus. It's a national disgrace. It is a high tech lynching for uppity blacks. And it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you.

[David Sirota]

The conservatives pressure campaign and strategy paid off. The Senate, which was controlled by Democrats at the time, narrowly confirmed Clarence Thomas on October 23, 1991. One of the conservative activists working on Thomas confirmation team was an ambitious 25 year old from New Jersey named Leonard Leo, who had formed his own Federalist Society chapter at Cornell University around the time of the Bork fiasco and who would become friends with Thomas while clerking for a Judge Thomas brutal confirmation process left an indelible mark on Leo. He immediately took a job with the Federalist Society to expand its assault on the judiciary. He focused on recruiting and nurturing lawyers for the conservative judicial machine. I like to imagine a factory assembly line like in the movie Terminator. This factory was cranking out these conservative robots who could pass as regular humans during confirmation hearings, but who would never deviate from their ideological programming once they're on the court. Here's Leo describing that assembly line in a Federalist Society video.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

We start with young, talented law students.

[David Sirota]

Move them through our campus chapters, integrate.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Them into our lawyers chapters around the.

[David Sirota]

Country of upon graduation, and provide a.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Community that's the backbone for finding opportunities.

[David Sirota]

To foster the application of our principles. Emboldened after successfully installing Thomas on the high court, conservatives eyed new opportunities to install more Republican judicial nominees on the lower courts. But Democrats who controlled the Senate at the time seem to realize how ridiculous they looked in letting Thomas get on the high court. So they put their foot down. They halted almost all of Bush Sr. S other nominees in 1992, including a young John Roberts, whose first nomination for a judgeship didn't even get a hearing. And then later that year, Bill Clinton unseated Bush in the 1992 election. So the conservative legal movement played defense and began working with Senate Republicans to block the new Democratic president's judicial nominee, while also moving young conservative lawyers into prominent clerkships, jobs at big D.C. law firms and conservative think tanks. All of them poised to fill top government positions as soon as Republicans won another presidential election and retook the White House. Now, they didn't pull off a win in 1996, and they lost the popular vote in 2000. But. But then something happened in the US state that keeps coming up in our podcast.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Welcome to our program. Here in Florida, the presidential contest gets tighter by the hour.

[David Sirota]

Up next, Florida and the cursed 2000 election. In the 2000 presidential election, the master planners seemed set for a twofer. Their campaign finance nemesis, John McCain, was defeated in the Republican primary, and the party's nominee, George W. Bush, offered a chance to change the courts forever. During his presidential campaign, Bush used dog whistle language to signal that he would do the conservative legal movement's bidding when it came to judicial appointments.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

I don't believe in liberal activist judges. I believe in strict constructionists. And those are the kind of judges I will appoint.

[David Sirota]

All Bush had to do was just win the election, which.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Well, a big call to make. CNN announces that we call Florida in the Al Gore column. This is a state both campaigns desperately wanted to win.

[David Sirota]

But then, stand by, stand by.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

CNN right now is moving our earlier declaration of Florida back to the too close to call column.

[David Sirota]

And by too close to call, we're talking photo finish, hundred meter dash, everything on the line. Too close to call. An action squad of lawyers from Republican aligned legal firms descended on Tallahassee to scrutinize how the paper ballots were being processed by election officials. The American public was begrudgingly introduced to technical terms like a hanging chad. The final category is the pregnant chad. That is, the chad was pierced with.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

A hole, but not detached at all.

[David Sirota]

Kids, if you're curious what a pregnant chad is, ask a parent or a trusted adult. Now, the Republicans here, Cokie, seized on all of this confusion. They said, see, we told you this is a deeply flawed process. It must stop. One of those lawyers who got the call was that clean cut, judicious lawyer from the start of this episode, John Roberts. He assisted the Bush campaign with their lawsuit to stop the vote recount, a case that went all the way to.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

The top behind the scenes at the United States Supreme Court, one of the most secret places in American public life.

[David Sirota]

In the end, Roberts and other Bush lawyers secured the infamous Bush v. Gore ruling. In this particular case, enough of the Republican appointees, including the squishier ones like O'Connor and Rehnquist, they stuck together in a 5 to 4 opinion that halted the vote count and installed popular vote loser George W. Bush into the White House. The implications of that ruling for the future of the court itself were obvious from the moment the decision was handed down.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Now that the court has jumped into the middle of presidential politics, experts fear more questions about the court's independence.

[Leonard Leo]

And with George Bush perhaps nominating future.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Justices, Democrats tonight promise an even tougher road to confirmation.

[David Sirota]

Once Bush was sworn in in January 2001, the master planners got to work. Federalist Society Vice President Leonard Leo focused on making sure that he and his fellow conservatives would be the loudest voices in the room when it came to choosing judges.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

After 50 years of special status, the American Bar association will no longer have a leading role in vetting candidates for federal judgeships. The White House notified the ABA today that it will no longer get advanced word on prospective nominees.

[David Sirota]

Disempowering the American Bar association had been a pet cause of the conservative legal movement ever since a handful of ABA officials had declined to endorse Robert Bork's Supreme Court nomination.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

There have been times in the past where I've wished that the ABA had No role in this process because they've done such a lousy job and they've done a partisan job.

[David Sirota]

That's Republican Senator Orrin Hatch summarizing conservatives grudge.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

There are those who are complaining that one of the future presidents of the ABA is one of those who definitely did some real dirt to Robert Bork.

[David Sirota]

But it wasn't just petty revenge for doing Bork dirty. Conservatives had an additional reason to convince the Bush administration to cut the ABA out of the loop. They wanted to make sure Bush's nominees were ideologically pure. The Federal Society had spent years attacking the aba, trying to discredit the ABA and its role, which is really about merit selection. That's Lisa Graves, a former Senate Democratic Judiciary staffer who's now a researcher focused on exposing the influence of dark money on institutions, including the Supreme Court. And then instead of that merit evaluation, what got substituted in was, are you a true believer? Are you one of us? Are you, you know, are you going to basically advance this extreme agenda on the court? With that system changed, Bush officials developed their first list of new umpires to be installed on the lower courts.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

President Bush introducing his first nominees for federal judgeships. And that is increasingly a battleground between the left, right and middle in American politics.

[David Sirota]

Now, whose name do you think was on Bush's list of judicial nominees for the lower courts? Want to take a guess?

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Listen to me. Let me explain to you. No, no, no.

[David Sirota]

Hey, I want you to stop talking. Nope, not Judge Judy. It was calm, cool. Mr. Judicious. The guy from the Dallas TV interview complaining about judges going soft. The lawyer who had helped Bush stop the recount in Florida. That's right, John Roberts. Here's Jeffrey Toobin again.

[Ed Meese]

John Roberts had sort of judicial stardust around him practically from the moment he graduated from law school.

[David Sirota]

Like Lewis Powell before him, Roberts came off as low key and humble. But underneath his affable smile was a master planner at heart.

[Ed Meese]

He looked like and was the perfect Republican judicial nominee, at least of the early 2000s. He'd worked in the Reagan White House. He had worked in the Solicitor General's office in the George Herbert Walker Bush administration.

[David Sirota]

If Clarence Thomas was one of the Federalist Society's original terminators, a conservative robot rolled off the assembly line back in 1991. In the wake of the borking, Roberts was like the upgraded T1000, the shape shifting liquid robot who looks all friendly while carrying out the master plan.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

So this other guy, he's a Terminator like you, right? Not like me, a T1000 advanced prototype time.

[David Sirota]

Roberts showed flashes of his ideological commitment early in his career. In the 1980s, he joined the Reagan administration to help spearhead its effort to limit the Voting Rights Act. Roberts penned a memo defending a push for judicial term limits on the grounds that federal judges were engaging in behavior that, quote, usurps the role of the political branches. What sort of crazy political behavior? Protecting abortion rights and mandates for airbags and seatbelts in new cars. Robert's memo was important. It showed that at an early age, he was a conservative soldier on a relentless mission to challenge judicial liberals. That Terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with, and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. By the turn of the millennium, Roberts had been sharpening his skills as a cutthroat lawyer for corporate interests. He had helped Toyota with its case aiming to weaken the Americans with Disabilities Act. And he had also helped the U.S. chamber of Commerce try to dismantle a program that aimed to lower prescription drug prices for people without insurance. And now here in 2001, Roberts was on the White House list for a lower court appointment because as a former steering member of a Federalist Society chapter, he seemed like a sure thing for the conservative legal movement. A jurist with a very bright future. Here's Jeffrey Toobin again.

[Ed Meese]

He was also in his late 40s, the perfect age to begin a long judicial career.

[David Sirota]

And unlike when Robert's first judicial nomination was blocked in 1992, this time around in 2001, the political dynamics were different. A Republican was president and Republicans controlled the Senate by one vote. The master planners knew that if they could use this moment to place Roberts and other arch conservatives onto the lower courts, they'd be one step closer to their ultimate goal.

[Ed Meese]

Both Republicans and Democrats knew that he was likely to go up to the Supreme Court one day.

[David Sirota]

Early on in 2001, Roberts seemed to be a shoo in for the powerful D.C. appeals court. But two weeks after his nomination, a bombshell went off in Vermont.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

In order to best represent my state of Vermont, my own conscience and principles I have stood for my whole life, I will leave the Republican Party and become an independent.

[David Sirota]

Just four months after Bush had been sworn in as president, Republican Senator Jim Jeffords shocked the political world and decided to leave leave his party, declaring that the GOP had become too extreme, especially on its push to change the courts.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

I can see more and more instances where I will disagree with the President on very fundamental issues. The issues of choice, the direction of.

[David Sirota]

The judiciary, the move gave control of the Senate to the Democrats. With his newfound power, Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle refused to process a bunch of Bush's arch conservative nominees, including Roberts. Here's Daschle. We have said from the very beginning that it is very critical that judicial.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Nominees, especially for the appeals and the Supreme Court positions, are people of moderate philosophical temperament and have an impeccable past.

[David Sirota]

So what did this all mean? With Roberts and other nominees stuck in limbo? The Master Planners in 2001 had a big problem, but they still had the White House and its bully pulpit heading into the midterm elections.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Ours is a system that relies upon a independent court system. And when there's vacancies, the American people suffer. And I call upon the Senate to approve, at least give hearings to people we've sent up to the Senate.

[David Sirota]

Vice President Dick Cheney and Republican senators amplified that message.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

All of the others are still awaiting confirmation hearings, including two superbly qualified nominees to the D.C. circuit, John Roberts and Miguel Estrada.

[David Sirota]

To the casual observer in 2002, this must have seemed strange. Why in the lead up to the midterms, not long after 9 11, in the middle of the so called war on terror, why were the President and Vice President so laser focused on something as obscure as lower judicial nominations? Why the obsession and why now? Because the call was coming from inside the House. The White House.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Hello, Sidney.

[David Sirota]

Although the public probably couldn't see it, the Federalist Society and the conservative legal movement had embedded itself inside the Bush administration. And they had a guy on the inside working the gears, a master planner who went by the initials bk.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Have it your way.

[David Sirota]

We've got that whopper of a story after the break.

[Leonard Leo]

All right, ready? Here it goes from don [e-mail] September 2002, quote, bottom line, there was much bellyaching. K. Daley, Leonard Leo particularly, were giving me an earful.

[David Sirota]

This is Master Plan producer Jared Jakang. Mayor, who's reading? Wait, Jared, what the hell are you reading?

[Leonard Leo]

This is part of an email exchange between Don Willett, an official in Bush's Justice Department, and a very special crew of insiders within the administration who are in charge of putting conservative judges on the bench.

[David Sirota]

And so this is around the time that Bush and Cheney are trying to elevate the issue of judges just before the 2002 midterms.

[Leonard Leo]

Right. And at this point in 2002, Senate Democrats were continuing to stall Bush's nominees, and Willett was emailing his colleagues about all the pressure they were facing from Leonard Leo and the conservative legal movement, which was demanding an even more aggressive push for judicial confirmations. Willett wrote that these activists, backed by huge money, were, quote, pleading for a high profile, jaw dropping presidential act of some kind. Not a. Gee, we're really upset at how all this turned out. Willett also wrote that Leo and the activists, quote, want bash kneecaps and blood. Conservative groups were angry that Bush wasn't being angry enough. One of the officials in this email chain replied that this coalition of conservative activists was ready for, quote, DEFCON 1 retaliation.

[David Sirota]

So this is what's going on behind the scenes. This is why Bush is so focused on judges before the midterms.

[Leonard Leo]

Yeah, these guys were taking it very seriously. The conservative legal movement had been building up for decades, ever since the Powell memo. And now these true believers inside the Department of Justice were helping transmit the movement's increasing demands.

[David Sirota]

And this is just one of hundreds of internal emails that you dug up from this era, right?

[Leonard Leo]

Yeah, David, it may surprise you that I probably went overboard on the research again. There was actually thousands of these emails released during Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation. But some of these emails that we're looking at in this episode have never been released publicly.

[David Sirota]

Okay, so when we say the conservative legal movement is operating inside the White House, what exactly are we talking about?

[Leonard Leo]

Operate is the right word, because the internal White House records that we reviewed come from the email account of one key political operative who often signed his emails with his initials. Bk.

[David Sirota]

Bk bk BK Wait a minute. Oh, God. You don't. You don't mean. Yes, we drank beer, my friends and.

[Leonard Leo]

I. Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court justice appointed by President Donald Trump.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

The boys and girls, we drank beer.

[David Sirota]

I liked beer. Still like beer. Ah, yes. Who could forget Brett Kavanaugh's memorable performance at his confirmation hearing?

[Leonard Leo]

But this is young Kavanaugh. Way back at the turn of the millennium.

[David Sirota]

He seems like a younger version of John Roberts, with a similar built in a lab pedigree.

[Leonard Leo]

You could say that they had a lot in common. Kavanaugh worked on the Ken Starr investigation of President Bill Clinton. Remember the Star report? And like Roberts, young Kavanaugh was among the horde of GOP lawyers that helped litigate the 2000 election into a Bush victory. After the Florida recount, Roberts got a court nomination, while Kavanaugh scored a sweet job in the White House Counsel's office. His main focus? Judicial appointments. Working closely with lawyers in a special division of the Justice Department called the Office of Legal Policy.

[David Sirota]

That's the office that Reagan's Attorney General set up. In the 1980s and was staffed with Federalist Society members, right?

[Leonard Leo]

Yeah. Ed Meese, one of the OG conservative legal activists. We heard his voice earlier talking about the Federalist Society. As Attorney general in the 80s, Meese built this behind the scenes team of lawyers to push and defend Reagan's conservative policies. They also helped pick and vet potential federal judges for Reagan to nominate.

[David Sirota]

So this Office of Legal Policy, it was like the plumbers for the judicial pipeline that Leonard Leo was talking about?

[Leonard Leo]

Sure. And you saw it when the Bush administration first hired its staff for the first term. Journalists and officials and other departments of the government looked at people like Kavanaugh and offices like the OLP and raised complaints that there were too many Federalist Society members in key White House roles.

[David Sirota]

Now, officially, Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society were still insisting that there was nothing to see here, that they basically had no political power and they're just a friendly debate club.

[Leonard Leo]

Yeah, Exactly. In early 2001, Leo actually wrote a letter to White House counsel Alberto Gonzalez saying just that. He stated, quote, the Federalist Society leaves political agendas and political advocacy to other groups and individuals. And he emphasized that the organization, quote, does not recommend nominees or candidates for public office. While acknowledging that Federalist Society members, quote, often have tried to provide lists of people worth considering, Leo made it clear that they're speaking for themselves, not the society.

[David Sirota]

But the emails we reviewed tell a different story, right?

[Leonard Leo]

Yeah, I'd say they tell the opposite story. From the get go, Leo seemed to be on the White House speed dial and all over White House officials correspondence about judicial nominations.

[David Sirota]

And one person who seemed to be in regular contact with Leo and other conservative legal activists was bk, right?

[Leonard Leo]

Yeah. Kavanaugh was at the center of all of it. Let me read you a few other snippets from BK's emails in Bush's first term. Leonard Leo is working on that. I talked to Leonard. Leonard L will follow up.

[David Sirota]

Seems like Leo is all over these emails from other Bush administration officials too.

[Leonard Leo]

He definitely made a lot of cameos. Quote, Leonard Leo is finding a helpful conduit. Leonard Leo might know some generous donor. Leonard Leo might have something helpful. The day before Bush announced the nomination of Roberts and other conservative judges in 2001, Kavanaugh even asked to have the White House send Leo a binder of information. Eventually, an email to Kavanaugh from another White House official said Leo and his staff would be, quote, helping coordinate outside coalition activity regarding judicial nominations.

[David Sirota]

And Leo seemed to be interested in how the judiciary affected big business.

[Leonard Leo]

Yeah. Okay. We found one email where LEO is pitching presentations to industry groups about business and courts. The reply includes attachments focusing on, quote, business interest, business case examples, and business certainty.

[David Sirota]

That email from LEO is right around the time that one of the OG master planners, former Reagan and Bush administration lawyer C. Boyden Gray, was courting business support for a new group called the Committee for Justice to push conservative judicial nominees and air ads attacking Democrats who were opposing them. Gray, a Federalist Society stalwart, reportedly launched the group in 2002 at the urging of Bush's political adviser Karl Rove and Senate Republican leader Trent Lott. With the Supreme Court arbitrating so many issues of interest to big business, the new committee was filled with corporate lobbyists whose clients included banks, tech and telecom giants, defense contractors and drug companies. We reached out to Leo and spoke to some of his associates to see if he'd be willing to do an interview for this podcast, but ultimately we did not get a response.

[Leonard Leo]

But it's important to note that while mapping out Roberts nomination in 2001 and 2002, Kavanaugh was plugged directly into the wider conservative legal movement and media apparatus that had been constructed out of the Powell memo movement. He wasn't just interfacing with Leo. Emails show he was having meetings with people like Paul Wyrick of the Heritage foundation and anti tax guru Grover Norquist. The White House led a conference call with talking heads and conservative leaders about judges with conservative media bigwigs including Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. And Kavanaugh received invites to more intimate gatherings like Ted Olson's annual Federalist Society barbecue at his house.

[David Sirota]

I bet Federalist Society dudes followed Ron Swanson's rules of barbecue. Barbecues should be about one good shared meat. There will be no froofy desserts, and.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Most of all there will be no vegetables.

[Leonard Leo]

BK also had one on one calls with Ed Meese, naturally. And he corresponded with Ginny Thomas, Clarence Thomas wife who was working as a kind of White House liaison for the Heritage Foundation.

[David Sirota]

Man, the master plan really is like the Marvel Cinematic Universe of recurring characters. Leo has likened running judicial confirmation campaigns to more like running a war with troops, tanks, air and ground support. But every war costs money. So with Roberts and other nominations stalled before the 2002 midterms, where did the money come from to try to amplify the key campaign for his confirmation and the confirmation of all those other conservative judges that Bush wanted?

[Leonard Leo]

This is where it ties back to campaign finance reform. Bush signed the McCain Feingold act in March 2002. Right. Well, even before this, political operatives were scrambling to find workarounds, namely using the tax code to create tax exempt groups that could raise soft money as long as they didn't officially coordinate with parties.

[David Sirota]

These were predecessors to what would become super PACs and other shadowy advocacy groups. Right.

[Leonard Leo]

It was definitely the same idea. And one of the first groups that popped up was led by the former director of The Bush Cheney 2000 campaign called Progress for America.

[David Sirota]

I have a sneaking suspicion they didn't want actual progress for most of America.

[Leonard Leo]

Well, their definition of progress was probably different. Progress for America was described by the Washington Post as a group that has, quote, raised millions of dollars, which it uses to promote Bush's agenda of tax cuts, energy legislation, conservative judicial appointments, and free trade. The White House emails we reviewed show the group was tightly integrated into weekly meetings and conference calls, using their funds for PR campaigns, op eds, talk radio appearances, mail campaigns, and interviews to push President Bush's judicial nominations.

[David Sirota]

Okay, so now it all makes sense. Why, in the lead up to the midterms, Bush was so focused on judges, he was responding to the conservative legal apparatus inside his own White House. And this all bled into the fall campaign.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

I've worked hard to name well qualified jurists, and I can't get the politics of the United States Senate to be set aside for the good of the judiciary. One reason we need to change the Senate is to make sure the well qualified judges I have named and nominated get approved to the benches on Across America.

[David Sirota]

Bush devoted his final radio address before the election to the judicial issue. The New York Times headline summed it all up. Bush places Senate's delays on judicial appointees at core of campaigning. And when the votes were finally counted in the 2002 midterm, this was a.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Day of celebration for most Republicans. In Tuesday's midterm elections, they recaptured the Senate with at least 51 seats and added to their majority in the House. Those judges will come out of committee and they'll be voted on the floor. There'll be one or two that the Democrats can find some excess somewhere, real or imagined, and take one or two people down. But 100 will be made judges in the next year.

[David Sirota]

You know, it's clear to me the Democrats were playing checkers and the conservatives were playing 3D chess.

[Leonard Leo]

Not chess, laser tag. Laser tag, yes. Right after the midterm elections, with Bush's judicial nomination still stalled, Don Willett wanted to solidify the strategy of a team called the Judicial Confirmation Working Group at a retreat.

[David Sirota]

A retreat.

[Leonard Leo]

So imagine all these Lawyers leaving the White House and driving about an hour north to this fancy place called the Turf Valley Resort. It's got a golf course, a pro shop, and a full service European spa, all in the bucolic backwoods of central Maryland. Willett wanted the retreat to end with, quote, a solid plan to flex their regained majority muscle in the judicial nomination process. Kavanaugh is there. And here's the detail I love the most. Check out this agenda. Look at what they did for a team building exercise.

[David Sirota]

Wait, you were being serious? They played laser tag. Oh, man, that's too perfect. I see that the guest speaker was future Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. You totally know he killed it at laser tag.

[Leonard Leo]

Yeah, but while they were taking time off from laser tagging, the retreat produced a strategic document called the Judicial Confirmation Action Plan. Though the document is still redacted, what we can see is that it laid out a comprehensive approach to push the Bush administration's judicial agenda. This plan went beyond picking candidates. It outlined an entire public campaign designed to pressure Congress to confirm as many judges as possible.

[David Sirota]

All of this organizing and conniving resulted in a massive PR campaign from the White House on down after Republicans big win in the 2002 midterms. And back at center stage was the Terminator himself, John Roberts. Shortly after the midterm elections, with Republicans having regained control of the Senate, Bush re nominated Roberts and other arch conservative judicial candidates. And this time, Roberts got the confirmation hearing he'd been denied during Bush's first two years in office. At that hearing, Republican lawmakers depicted Roberts not as a Terminator, but instead, in baseball terms, as an umpire.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Are you willing to commit to assuming a new role in a different role, and that is as a impartial umpire on the law?

[John Roberts]

Yes, I am, Senator. There's no role for advocacy with respect to personal beliefs or views on the part of a judge. The personal views, personal ideology, those have no role to play whatever.

[David Sirota]

Roberts faced opposition from liberal groups who saw his nomination as more proof that the Bush administration was trying to pack the courts with Federalist Society extremists. But the White House judicial machine was at DEFCON 1. Bush devoted a national radio address to hammering on the judge issue.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

We face a vacancy crisis in the federal courts. Yet a handful of Democratic senators, for partisan reasons, are attempting to prevent any vote at all on highly qualified nominees.

[David Sirota]

This relentless campaign finally began paying dividends on May 8, 2003.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of John Roberts to be a circuit judge for the D.C. circuit.

[David Sirota]

After Democrats had stalled Roberts nomination for years, he ended up being confirmed by the full Senate with nobody registering any opposition on the final vote.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Is there objection? Without objection, so ordered.

[David Sirota]

John Roberts, the Judicial T1000 Terminator, was successfully deployed as Judge Roberts on the D.C. circuit. Alas, Roberts confirmation to the D.C. court of Appeals, that was not the end of the judicial confirmation action plan that was hatched by Brett Kavanaugh and other Federalist Society acolytes at that luxury resort in Maryland. It actually was just the beginning because while Democrats had given in and allowed Roberts and a slate of other judges through the Senate, they still were holding out on two other conservative Bush nominees. And so the very next day after Roberts was confirmed, Bush and the master planners were in the Rose Garden making their most public show yet to signal that they were back on the attack.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

The bitterness and partisanship that have taken over the judicial confirmations process also threatened judicial independence. Some senators have tried to force nominees to take positions on controversial issues before they even take the bench. This is contrary to the constitutional design of a separate and independent judicial branch.

[David Sirota]

Seated among the Rose Bushes were Leonard Leo, Ed Meese and a conservative lawyer named Jay Sekulow, who was a legal activist representing the Christian Right. This new coalition, bringing in the muscle of the Christian Right aimed to build off Robert's confirmation to the lower court and continue transforming judicial nominations from a niche topic into an issue that the average voter would care about. If this coalition could replace more Senate Democrats with loyal Republicans, they could ram through even more judicial picks. And if they could punish one especially prominent Senate Democrat, it might scare the rest of the opposition party into submission. Whether in fights over lower court nominees were fights over nominees to the big kahuna, the supreme court. So in 2003 and 2004, where exactly could this conservative legal machine find such a big Democratic target? One place. The home of credit card companies the Badlands and Mount Rushmore.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

There's so much South Dakota, so little time.

[David Sirota]

That's next time on Master Plan.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

I earned everything I got.

[David Sirota]

Thinking of.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

A master plan well, I'm not a crook. I earned everything I've done.

[David Sirota]

Master Plan is a production of the Lever. This episode was written by Jared Jakang Mehr and me, David Sirota. Our production team includes Laura Krantz, Ula Culpa, Arjun Singh and Ronnie Riccabening. Our editor is Ron Doyle. Fact checking of this episode by Chris Walker. Original music is by Nick Byron Campbell. Mixing by Louis Weeks. Special thanks to Jeffrey Toobin and Lisa Graves. You can listen and subscribe to Masterplan on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, Music or wherever else you get your podcasts for ad free episodes, exclusive bonus content, transcripts with links to our sources and access to the Levers entire Archive of investigative journalism. Please visit Levernews.com to become a subscriber.

[Jeffrey Toobin]

Well, I'm not a crook. I earned everything I got.