Looks like Leonard Leo, the Grand Puppeteer of the Federalist Society and King of Dark Money who placed Trump's nominees on the Supreme Court, thoughtfully set up the sale of Kellyanne Conway's polling company in 2017 -- just when she was playing a key role in delivering his handpicked candidates to the highest court. Gee, was that a quid pro quo -- or just a friend being helpful? The story was reported yesterday in Politico:

The transaction came at a critical moment for Conway -- shortly after her ownership of The Polling Company had come under scrutiny from a congressional oversight committee for potential "conflicts of interest," likely creating pressure to unload it even though its value was unclear because she was its biggest asset and committed to her White House job.

It appears Leo, via one of his dark money groups, helped finance the transaction between the firm, Creative Response Concepts Inc., and Conway -- worth between $1 million and $5 million, according to experts citing the timing of the transactions filed through the same attorney and bank. At the time, CRC was also bringing in millions of dollars from dark money groups to promote Leo's picks.

It's the latest example of how Leo has used his network to secure and protect allies at the highest levels of government to successfully advance his decadeslong agenda of shifting the Supreme Court rightward for the next generation. Conway was among a small circle of advisers with outsized influence over a newly elected president whose commitment to overturning major precedents like the right to abortion was in doubt by some social conservatives. While former President Donald Trump -- a onetime supporter of abortion rights and former registered Democrat -- was considered unpredictable by some social conservatives, Conway proved from the earliest days of Trump’s presidency to be an outspoken advocate for Leo’s list of handpicked candidates.