Texas A&M University is seeking to keep numerous emails from The Intercept regarding a new research center funded by conservative donor Leonard Leo, as per a filing to the state attorney general under Texas’s public records law.
The Intercept submitted responses to the state attorney general’s office, challenging the nondisclosure based on the law, stating that the exemptions cited are not applicable.
In 2022, Leo pledged $15 million to Texas A&M Law to establish the Center on the Structural Constitution, as reported by The Intercept last month.
As the co-chair of the Federalist Society, Leo has been influential in pushing the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, in a conservative direction. His previous attempt to establish a similar center at Cornell Law School was thwarted by opposition from Cornell faculty.
Despite inquiries from The Intercept, Leo, Texas A&M, and its law school declined to provide details about the center and donation. However, former Texas A&M President Michael Young confirmed that Leo was the donor for the Center on the Structural Constitution.
The Intercept made multiple public records requests to Texas A&M regarding the center and Leo’s donation, which was one of the largest in the university’s history, according to a Texas A&M Law announcement.
The Reappearing Agreement
In response to a request for the gift agreement signed by the law school, the university claimed it could not locate any documents.
Large donations to the Texas A&M Foundation, which received the initial $5 million installment for the center in 2022, require written agreements. The university eventually provided a redacted copy of the agreement, withholding the donor’s name.
R. Brooks Moore, deputy general counsel for Texas A&M, clarified that the agreement was between the donor and the Texas A&M Foundation, not the university itself.
The Disappearing Emails
Currently, the university is contesting the release of numerous emails from the law school dean concerning the center.
According to responses to records requests, the dean exchanged emails with Leo and was involved in communications related to Leo’s Marble Freedom Trust since 2019.
Texas A&M claims some of these emails are protected under state laws safeguarding competitive bidding processes and donor identities for higher education institutions.
“The university has not disclosed or confirmed the identity of the donor or donors making any gift that is mentioned in the article.”
Moore emphasized that the university has not revealed the donor’s identity as reported by The Intercept.
The Intercept argues that the exemptions do not apply since Leo has already committed to funding the center and has been identified as the donor through previous reporting.
Texas A&M also requested permission to withhold additional emails under an exemption for policymaking deliberations, which The Intercept disputes based on the center’s funding and director appointment.
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