The Judicial Crisis Network (JCN) is a right-of-center judicial advocacy group. The group supports the confirmation of right-leaning judges who support the judicial philosophy of “originalism,” which holds that judicial interpretation should rely on the original meaning of legal texts rather than contemporary social or political circumstances. JCN was founded in 2005 as the Judicial Confirmation Network by a group of conservative supporters of President George W. Bush’s judicial appointments. ¹ The organization rebranded in 2008 after the election of President Barack Obama.

It was funded by and associated with the now-defunct conservative funding network Wellspring Committee (not to be confused with the left-wing Wellspring Philanthropic Fund); its founders included Ann Corkery, a long-time conservative fundraiser and head of the Wellspring Committee. ²

JCN has an educational sister-group, the Judicial Education Project.

Associations

Judicial Crisis Network is part of a network of conservative judicial groups linked by Leonard Leo, an advisor on judicial confirmations to the Trump administration and longtime vice president and co-chairman of the Federalist Society, a nonpartisan legal education organization that promotes originalist legal interpretation. ³

JCN CEO Carrie Campbell Severino is a member of the Federalist Society and a protege of Leo.⁴

Obama Administration

The Judicial Crisis Network led efforts to oppose President Barack Obama’s judicial appointments. Its greatest success occurred in 2016 when the JCN coordinated a successful campaign to oppose the nomination of then-D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court during the final months of Obama’s presidency. Partially as a result of the JCN’s efforts, President Obama saw fewer judges confirmed during the last two years of his presidency with Senate control in the hands of the opposition party than President George W. Bush did during the last two years of his presidency. ⁵

Funding

The Judicial Crisis Network was founded with seed funding from Robin Arkley II, the CEO of the Servicing Corporation, a major real estate company known for foreclosure purchases. Arkley is also a major financial contributor to the Wellspring Committee and the Federalist Society. ⁶ The American Center for Law and Justice, a social-conservative legal advocacy organization that was run by Jay Sekulow, one of President Donald Trump’s personal attorneys, was also a major early funder of JCN. ⁷⁸

Much of JCN’s funding reportedly came from the Wellspring Committee, a major pass-through organization for conservative donors. It was run since its founding by Ann Corkery, one of the co-founders of JCN. ⁹

Wellspring gave $4 million to JCN from 2008 to 2014. In 2015, Wellspring gave $6.4 million. ¹⁰ Donations to the JCN increased dramatically in 2017 and 2018 due to a single $17 million donation, followed by more donations totaling $22 million. $10 million of the funds went toward JCN’s campaign to support the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. ¹¹

Grants

The Judicial Crisis Network has donated to numerous allied right-of-center legal advocacy groups. In 2014, JCN gave $1 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), making it the third largest donor of the year. ¹² Three years later, it gave $3.6 million to the RAGA. ¹³ Also in 2014, it gave $350,000 to the American Dream Initiative. ¹⁴

JCN has also targeted state-level attorney general races and judicial appointments, with annual state-level donations of about $2 million per year on average. It has donated to the Wisconsin Club for Growth, the American Future Fund, and the Republican State Leadership Committee. In 2012, JCN gave more than $2 million to groups in Michigan alone. ¹⁵

In 2016, JCN gave $947,000 to the newly-formed BH Group, an LLC established by Leonard Leo that also received $750,000 from the Wellspring Committee. ¹⁶ The BH Group would give $1 million to President Donald Trump’s 2016 inauguration. ¹⁷ In the same year, JCN gave $1 million to the National Rifle Association (NRA) and $250,000 to the 45Comittee. ¹⁸ In 2017, JCN gave another $241,000 to the BH Group and $250,000 to the NRA, as well as $450,000 to the Rule of Law Defense Fund. ¹⁹

Scott Pruitt Controversy

In 2018, the Washington Post revealed that Marilyn Pruitt, the wife of Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Trump administration, had been briefly employed by the Judicial Crisis Network. Pruitt had allegedly used his connections with conservative donors to secure a job for his wife, which arguably violated federal ethics rules. ²⁰

Scott Pruitt had previously chaired the Republican Attorneys General Association, to which JCN has donated over $4.6 million, and he founded Rule of Law Defense Fund, which received almost half a million dollars. Pruitt had also been a guest speaker at the Federalist Society, which has ties to JCN through Leonard Leo. ²¹

Arabella Advisors Advertisement Controversy

In February 2022, JCN ran an advertisement claiming that Arabella Advisors was using “dark money” for left-wing political causes and to influence President Biden’s pick for Supreme Court nominee. ^{22 23 24} Airing within the Washington D.C area, the ad claimed, “The President and the Senate were bankrolled by Arabella Advisors. A record amount of dark money, over a billion dollars, put them in office so they’ll put up an Arabella judge, a liberal activist, a Biden rubber stamp. A Huge Sum. A Huge Payback.” ^{25 26 27}

On February 3, legal counsel for Arabella Advisors sent a letter to D.C cable TV stations which had aired JCN’s advertisement, requesting they cease all broadcasts of the advertisement due to “demonstrably false” statements. ²⁸ According to Arabella’s consul, “Arabella Advisors does not make donations or contributions in connection with elections. It is simply false that it “bankrolled any electoral efforts.”” ²⁹ The letter continued, “Arabella Advisors never engaged in a quid pro quo of providing contributions in exchange for a Supreme Court nomination.” ³⁰ The consul representing Arabella were part of the Elias Law Group, a law firm founded by left-wing attorney Marc Elias. ^{31 32}

On February 4, legal counsel representing JCN contacted the same DC broadcast stations stating that the letters sent by Arabella’s counsel were “a meritless attempt to shield your viewers from the dangerous levels of influence exerted by the Arabella network over critical decisions being made by the Biden Administration including the impending choice of a Supreme Court nominee.” ³³ In addition, the original ad by JCN had been revised and rereleased with part of the wording changed to say, “Biden and the Senate were bankrolled by Arabella Advisors Network.” ^{34 35}

The letter makes note of this change by stating, “For the avoidance of any doubt, JCN made clear in the text on screen and in voiceover that the Advertisement addresses the activities of what the New York Times refers to as the “network” of ‘Arabella-managed groups.’ Of course, Arabella Advisors provides the infrastructure for this Network and without Arabella the Network does not function. JCN included the ‘network’ reference on screen and in voiceover to further emphasize the network effect and scope of the Arabella operation.” ³⁶

Leadership

Ann Corkery

Ann Corkery, a lawyer at Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner LLP, is one of the Judicial Crisis Network’s cofounders. Corkery has kept a low profile despite being active in numerous right-wing religious groups. She has been associated with Opus Dei, a controversial Catholic religious order; was a former director of Bill Donahue’s Catholic League; and was a board member of the Becket Fund. ³⁷³⁸

In 2008, Corkery became president of the Wellspring Committee, which served as a pass-through fund for tens of millions of dollars from conservative donors until the organization was terminated in 2018. ³⁹

Corkery’s husband, Neil Corkery, formerly served as the treasurer of JCN and worked for the Wellspring Committee. ⁴⁰ Corkery’s daughter, Kathleen Corkery, was on the Wellspring Committee’s board. ⁴¹

Carrie Campbell Severino

Carrie Campbell Severino has been the president of the JCN since 2010. Severino was a law clerk for Judge David B. Sentelle, the Becket Fund, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Before joining JCN, she worked at the Georgetown Law Center. Severino is the co-author of Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court. ⁴⁴

1. Michaelson, Jay. “Billionaires Try to Buy the Supreme Court.” April 13, 2017. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/billionaires-try-to-buy-the-supreme-court.
2. Mencimer, Stephanie. “These Right-Wing Groups Are Gearing Up for an Onslaught on Obama’s Supreme Court Nominee.” Mother Jones. March 19, 2016. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/right-wing-groups-gearing-up-onslaught-merrick-garland-supreme-court/.
3. Michaelson, Jay. “The Secrets of Leonard Leo, the Man Behind Trump’s Supreme Court Picks.” Daily Beast. July 24, 2018. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-secrets-of-leonard-leo-the-man-behind-trumps-supreme-court-pick?ref=scroll.
4. Michaelson, Jay. “The Secrets of Leonard Leo, the Man Behind Trump’s Supreme Court Picks.” Daily Beast. July 24, 2018. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-secrets-of-leonard-leo-the-man-behind-trumps-supreme-court-pick?ref=scroll.
5. Michaelson, Jay. “The Secrets of Leonard Leo, the Man Behind Trump’s Supreme Court Picks.” Daily Beast. July 24, 2018. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-secrets-of-leonard-leo-the-man-behind-trumps-supreme-court-pick?ref=scroll.
6. Michaelson, Jay. “The Secrets of Leonard Leo, the Man Behind Trump’s Supreme Court Picks.” Daily Beast. July 24, 2018. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-secrets-of-leonard-leo-the-man-behind-trumps-supreme-court-pick?ref=scroll.
7. Novak, Viveca; Stone, Peter. “The JCN Story: Building a Secretive GOP Judicial Machine.” Open Secrets. March 23, 2015. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/03/the-jcn-story-building-a-secretive-gop-judicial-machine/.
8. Massoglia, Anna. “An influential ‘dark money’ group turns off the lights for the last time.” Open Secrets. May 23, 2019. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/05/an-influential-dark-money-group-turns-off-the-lights-for-the-last-time/.
9. Massoglia, Anna. “An influential ‘dark money’ group turns off the lights for the last time.” Open Secrets. May 23, 2019. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/05/an-influential-dark-money-group-turns-off-the-lights-for-the-last-time/.
10. Vnovak. “Wellspring gives big boost to Judicial Crisis Network with $6.6 million grant.” Open Secrets. November 24, 2015. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/11/wellspring-gives-big-boost-to-judicial-crisis-network-with-6-6-million-grant/.
11. Massoglia, Anna; Perez, Andrew. “Secretive conservative legal group funded by $17 million mystery donor before Kavanaugh fight.” Open Secrets. May 17, 2019. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/05/dark-money-group-funded-by-17million-mystery-donor-before-kavanaugh/.
12. Novak, Viveca; Stone, Peter. “The JCN Story: Building a Secretive GOP Judicial Machine.” Open Secrets. March 23, 2015. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/03/the-jcn-story-building-a-secretive-gop-judicial-machine/.
13. Massoglia, Anna. “An influential ‘dark money’ group turns off the lights for the last time.” Open Secrets. May 23, 2019. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/05/an-influential-dark-money-group-turns-off-the-lights-for-the-last-time/.
14. Vnovak. “Wellspring gives big boost to Judicial Crisis Network with $6.6 million grant.” Open Secrets. November 24, 2015. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/11/wellspring-gives-big-boost-to-judicial-crisis-network-with-6-6-million-grant/.
15. Novak, Viveca; Stone, Peter. “The JCN Story: Building a Secretive GOP Judicial Machine.” Open Secrets. March 23, 2015. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/03/the-jcn-story-building-a-secretive-gop-judicial-machine/.
16. Maguire, Robert. “Group that spent millions to boost Gorsuch also paid mysterious inaugural donor.” Open Secrets. May 16, 2018. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/05/group-that-spent-millions-to-boost-gorsuch-also-paid-mysterious-inaugural-donor/.
17. Michaelson, Jay. “The Secrets of Leonard Leo, the Man Behind Trump’s Supreme Court Picks.” Daily Beast. July 24, 2018. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-secrets-of-leonard-leo-the-man-behind-trumps-supreme-court-pick?ref=scroll.
18. Maguire, Robert. “Group that spent millions to boost Gorsuch also paid mysterious inaugural donor.” Open Secrets. May 16, 2018. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/05/group-that-spent-millions-to-boost-gorsuch-also-paid-mysterious-inaugural-donor/.
19. Massoglia, Anna. “An influential ‘dark money’ group turns off the lights for the last time.” Open Secrets. May 23, 2019. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/05/an-influential-dark-money-group-turns-off-the-lights-for-the-last-time/.
20. Muller, Jordan. “Pruitt landed wife a job at dark money group backing political allies.” Open Secrets. June 15, 2018. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/06/wife-job-darkmoney-scott-pruitt-scandal/.
21. Muller, Jordan. “Pruitt landed wife a job at dark money group backing political allies.” Open Secrets. June 15, 2018. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/06/wife-job-darkmoney-scott-pruitt-scandal/.
22. Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug). “LMAO OF COURSE Arabella Advisors’ lawyer trying to stop ads calling them out for being a massive left wing dark money network is…. Marc Elias!” February 8, 2022, 11:50am. https://twitter.com/ComfortablySmug/status/1491092205024743424
23. Markay, Lachlan. “Conservatives Pin Progressive Consulting Firm as New ‘Dark Money’ Target.” Axios, February 8, 2022. https://www.axios.com/conservatives-pin-progressive-consulting-firm-as-new-dark-money-target-1b499edc-d916-4340-bbb1-1997d867d418.html.
24. Judicial Crisis Network. “A Huge Payback.” Ad Impact . Accessed February 9, 2022. https://host2.adimpact.com/admo/.
25. Markay, Lachlan. “Conservatives Pin Progressive Consulting Firm as New ‘Dark Money’ Target.” Axios, February 8, 2022. https://www.axios.com/conservatives-pin-progressive-consulting-firm-as-new-dark-money-target-1b499edc-d916-4340-bbb1-1997d867d418.html.
26. Judicial Crisis Network. “A Huge Payback.” Ad Impact . Accessed February 9, 2022. https://host2.adimpact.com/admo/.
27. “JCN Launches Campaign Highlighting Left-Wing Dark Money SCOTUS Seat Payback .” Judicial Crisis Network, February 2, 2022. https://judicialnetwork.com/in-the-news/jcn-launches-campaign-highlighting-left-wing-dark-money-scotus-seat-payback/.
28. Reese, Ezra W., Emma Olson Sharkey, and Emma R. Anspach. Letter to Station Manager. “Arabella Advisors Cease and Desist Letter.” Document Cloud, February 3, 2022. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21198861-arabella-advisors-cease-and-desist-letter.
29. Reese, Ezra W., Emma Olson Sharkey, and Emma R. Anspach. Letter to Station Manager. “Arabella Advisors Cease and Desist Letter.” Document Cloud, February 3, 2022. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21198861-arabella-advisors-cease-and-desist-letter.
30. Reese, Ezra W., Emma Olson Sharkey, and Emma R. Anspach. Letter to Station Manager. “Arabella Advisors Cease and Desist Letter.” Document Cloud, February 3, 2022. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21198861-arabella-advisors-cease-and-desist-letter.
31. Markay, Lachlan. “Conservatives Pin Progressive Consulting Firm as New ‘Dark Money’ Target.” Axios, February 8, 2022. https://www.axios.com/conservatives-pin-progressive-consulting-firm-as-new-dark-money-target-1b499edc-d916-4340-bbb1-1997d867d418.html.
32. “Marc E. Elias, Partner.” Perkins Coie. Accessed November 28, 2018. https://www.perkinscoie.com/en/professionals/marc-e-elias.html
33. Torchinsky, Jason, and Chris Winkelman. Letter to Station Manager. “JCN Response to Arabella C&D.” Document Cloud, February 4, 2022. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21198862-jcn-response-to-arabella-cd.
34. Markay, Lachlan. “Conservatives Pin Progressive Consulting Firm as New ‘Dark Money’ Target.” Axios, February 8, 2022. https://www.axios.com/conservatives-pin-progressive-consulting-firm-as-new-dark-money-target-1b499edc-d916-4340-bbb1-1997d867d418.html.
35. JCN (@judicialnetwork).” ICYMI: JCN launched a $2.5M campaign calling out the liberal dark money network led by Arabella Advisors that helped get Joe Biden elected, pressured Justice Breyer to retire, and is now seeking to replace him with a rubber stamp for their unpopular and far-left political agenda.” Twitter. February 4, 2022, 5:14pm. https://twitter.com/judicialnetwork/status/1489723964976992263?cxt=HHwWjsC4nbSDyKwpAAAA
36. Torchinsky, Jason, and Chris Winkelman. Letter to Station Manager. “JCN Response to Arabella C&D.” Document Cloud, February 4, 2022. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21198862-jcn-response-to-arabella-cd.
37. Michaelson, Jay. “Billionaires Try to Buy the Supreme Court.” April 13, 2017. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/billionaires-try-to-buy-the-supreme-court.
38. Michaelson, Jay. “The Secrets of Leonard Leo, the Man Behind Trump’s Supreme Court Picks.” Daily Beast. July 24, 2018. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-secrets-of-leonard-leo-the-man-behind-trumps-supreme-court-pick?ref=scroll.
39. “Perez Andrew.” Twitter. May 19, 2019. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://twitter.com/andrewperezdc/status/1130156764446494721.
40. Mencimer, Stephanie. “These Right-Wing Groups Are Gearing Up for an Onslaught on Obama’s Supreme Court Nominee.” Mother Jones. March 19, 2016. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/right-wing-groups-gearing-up-onslaught-merrick-garland-supreme-court/.
41. Vnovak. “Wellspring gives big boost to Judicial Crisis Network with $6.6 million grant.” Open Secrets. November 24, 2015. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/11/wellspring-gives-big-boost-to-judicial-crisis-network-with-6-6-million-grant/.
44. “Carrie Campbell Severino.” Federalist Society. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://fedsoc.org/contributors/carrie-severino.[/note]⁴²“Carrie Severino.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-severino-55ab474/.[/note]

    Severino’s husband, Roger Severino, was the director of the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Trump administration. ⁴³Michaelson, Jay. “The Secrets of Leonard Leo, the Man Behind Trump’s Supreme Court Picks.” Daily Beast. July 24, 2018. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-secrets-of-leonard-leo-the-man-behind-trumps-supreme-court-pick?ref=scroll.