The Secret Plot To Buy American Democracy

In 1971, Lewis Powell, a tobacco industry lawyer and future Supreme Court justice, penned a memo calling on conservatives and business interests to make the nation’s legal system far more friendly to corporate power. A few years later, a lawyer named Michael Horowitz penned a follow-up memo calling for conservatives to indoctrinate generations of lawyers as the right’s foot soldiers on the ground.

Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell shown in his judicial robes in 1972. (AP Photo)

Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh talks to David Sirota and Jared Jacang Maher about their deep-dive investigation into this 50-year plan in the hit new Lever podcast Master Plan. Then, Arjun sits down with journalist David Daley to discuss his latest book, Antidemocratic: Inside the Far Right's 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections. 

Daley’s book centers on Chief Justice John Roberts, whose ascent to the high court — and the conservative rulings he’s handed down — were the culmination of decades of work that began with Powell and Horowitz’s memos. 

To read an unedited transcript of this episode, click here.

Keep Your Data Off The Dark Web

Help protect yourself from identity theft, spam calls, and health insurers raising your rates. Get 55% off an Incogni annual plan by using code LEVER55 at checkout.

Claim This Offer Now