Concord Fund

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. ³

In January 2026, the Concord Fund filed articles of termination and as of April 2026 appeared to be defunct; however, a branch of the organization appeared to be continuously functioning in the state of Missouri ⁴

Associated Organizations

The Concord Fund was 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. ⁵

Concord Fund CEO Carrie Campbell Severino is a member of the Federalist Society and a protege of Leo.⁵

In January 2026, the Concord Fund filed articles of termination and as of April 2026 appeared to be defunct; however, a branch of the organization appeared to be continuously functioning in the state of Missouri ⁴

Obama Era Activities

The Concord Fund led efforts to oppose President Barack Obama‘s judicial appointments. Its greatest success occurred in 2016 when the Fund- then called the Judicial Crisis Network, 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 group’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 Concord Fund 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. ⁵ 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 the group. ⁶⁷

Much of the Concord Fund’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 the organization. ⁷

Wellspring gave $4 million to the group from 2008 to 2014. In 2015, Wellspring gave $6.4 million. ⁸ Donations to the group 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 the organization’s campaign to support the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. ⁹

Grantmaking

The Concord Fund donated to numerous allied right-of-center legal advocacy groups. In 2014, the group gave $1 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), making it the third largest donor of the year. ⁶ Three years later, it gave $3.6 million to the RAGA. ⁷ Also in 2014, it gave $350,000 to the American Dream Initiative. ⁸

The Concord Fund 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, the group gave more than $2 million to groups in Michigan alone. ⁶

In 2016, the organization gave $947,000 to the newly-formed BH Group, an LLC established by Leonard Leo that also received $750,000 from the Wellspring Committee. ¹⁰ The BH Group would give $1 million to President Donald Trump’s 2016 inauguration. ⁵ In the same year, the group gave $1 million to the National Rifle Association (NRA) and $250,000 to the 45Comittee. ¹⁰ In 2017, the group 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. ⁷

Controversy

Scott Pruitt

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 Concord Fund, then called 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. ¹¹

Scott Pruitt had previously chaired the Republican Attorneys General Association, to which the group 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 the organization through Leonard Leo. ¹¹

Arabella Advisors Advertisement

In February 2022, the Concord Fund ran an advertisement claiming that Arabella Advisors was using “dark money” for left-wing political causes and to influence President Biden’s Supreme Court nomination. ^{12 13 14} 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.” ^{13 14 15}

On February 3, legal counsel for Arabella Advisors sent a letter to D.C. cable TV stations which had aired the advertisement, requesting they cease all broadcasts of the advertisement due to “demonstrably false” statements. ¹⁶ According to Arabella’s counsel, “Arabella Advisors does not make donations or contributions in connection with elections. It is simply false that it “bankrolled any electoral efforts.”” ¹⁶ The letter continued, “Arabella Advisors never engaged in a quid pro quo of providing contributions in exchange for a Supreme Court nomination.” ¹⁶ The lawyers representing Arabella were part of the Elias Law Group, a law firm founded by left-wing attorney Marc Elias. ^{13 17}

On February 4, legal counsel representing Concord contacted the same broadcast stations arguing 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.” ¹⁸ 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.” ^{13 19}

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.” ¹⁸

Leadership

Ann Corkery

Ann Corkery, a lawyer at Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner LLP, is one of the Concord Fund’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. ¹⁵

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. ²⁰

Corkery’s husband, Neil Corkery, formerly worked as the treasurer of Concord and worked for the Wellspring Committee. ³ Corkery’s daughter, Kathleen Corkery, was on the Wellspring Committee’s board. ⁸

Carrie Campbell Severino

Carrie Campbell Severino was president of the Concord Fund beginning in 2010. Severino was a law clerk for Judge David B. Sentelle, the Becket Fund, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Before joining, 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. ²¹²²

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 first Trump administration. ⁵