Ann Corkery

Credentials

• J.D.  The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.¹“Ann Corkery,” Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner, LLP. Archived January 21, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/uykXn
• B.A. History, Christendom College.²“Ann Corkery,” Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner, LLP. Archived January 21, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/uykXn

Background

Ann Corkery and her husband, Neil Corkery, are involved in a group of nonprofits dedicated to influencing judicial nominations and otherwise swaying public policy.³“Tax returns reveal one six-figure donor accounts for entirety of ‘dark money’ funding Whitaker’s nonprofit,” OpenSecrets.org, November 21, 2018. Archived June 8, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iKekJ They played a key role in launching the Judicial Crisis Network (JCN), a group that has campaigned to get conservative justices confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, such as Brett Kavanaugh.⁴Viveca Novak and Peter Stone. “The JCN Story: Building a Secretive GOP Judicial Machine,” OpenSecrets.org, March 23, 2015. Archived September 19, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/BXRuB

Salon described Neil and Ann Corkery as “a pair of veteran Republican operatives who have cultivated a robust network of conservative and Catholic-affiliated nonprofits, charities and funds notable for their near-total opacity.”⁵Jon Skolnik. “Behind the dark-money web that put Barrett (and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch) on the Supreme Court,” Salon, March 30, 2021. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/amCnu

“For more than a decade, the Corkerys have leveraged this network to prop up conservative judicial nominees, most of whom have been devout Catholics,” Salon noted. “Robert Maguire, research director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), told Salon that ‘while most Americans wouldn’t recognize their names,’ the Corkerys ‘have been the overseers of massive amounts of money that have gone into federal judicial races.'”⁶Jon Skolnik. “Behind the dark-money web that put Barrett (and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch) on the Supreme Court,” Salon, March 30, 2021. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/amCnu

“‘They have the discipline to not talk,’ Maguire explained, acknowledging the dearth of reporting on the duo. ‘They don’t have social media accounts. They don’t give public speeches. They’ve done a really good job of limiting the amount of public information on them.'” ⁷Jon Skolnik. “Behind the dark-money web that put Barrett (and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch) on the Supreme Court,” Salon, March 30, 2021. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/amCnu

Ann served as the president of the Wellspring Committee, which shuttered its operations in December 2018. Wellspring was one of the key “dark money” groups fighting for conservative Supreme Court nominations by funding the Judicial Crisis Network (JCN) and its sister organization, the Judicial Education Project, among others. Ann’s husband, Neil Corkery, helmed JCN at the same time that Wellspring was providing the majority of funding for  operations.⁸Anna Massoglia. “An influential ‘dark money’ group turns off the lights for the last time,” OpenSecrets.org, May 23, 2019. Archived June 8, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qc6Gj

Ann Corkery reportedly started the Wellspring Committee in 2008 while she was also co-chair of the National Women for Mitt [Romney] Finance Committee. The Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets reported that Corkery has been involved in politics since at least 2000, when she worked with the Republican National Committee to reach out to Catholics.⁹Viveca Novak, Robert Maguire, and Peter Overby. “Wellspring’s Flow: Dark Money Outfit Helped Fuel Groups on Political Front Lines,” Center for Responsive Politics, November 5, 2013. Archived June 9, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DP6ia

“She seems to have come to politics at least in part through her religion,” according to a 2013 article on the Wellspring Committee jointly reported by OpenSecrets and NPR. “According to an interview she gave in 1990, she was introduced to Opus Dei by Neil; he was a member but later dropped out, while she remained.”¹⁰Viveca Novak, Robert Maguire, and Peter Overby. “Wellspring’s Flow: Dark Money Outfit Helped Fuel Groups on Political Front Lines,” Center for Responsive Politics, November 5, 2013. Archived June 9, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DP6ia

“Her involvement with the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights dates back a number of years. In the words of the League’s famously pugnacious leader, Bill Donohue, the group specializes in ‘public embarrassment of public figures who have earned our wrath.’ Corkery was on the board of directors as of 2012, though her name no longer appears on the list.”¹¹Viveca Novak, Robert Maguire, and Peter Overby. “Wellspring’s Flow: Dark Money Outfit Helped Fuel Groups on Political Front Lines,” Center for Responsive Politics, November 5, 2013. Archived June 9, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DP6ia

“She’s also on the board of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a conservative legal group whose activities have included fighting to keep the words ‘under God’ in the pledge of allegiance, and against insurance coverage of contraception under the Affordable Care Act. Her bio, unlike those of her fellow directors, was removed from Becket’s website after CRP and NPR began trying to reach her, although her name remains. In 2008, she presented Becket’s annual award for ‘courage in defense of religious liberty’ to Mitt and Ann Romney.”¹²Viveca Novak, Robert Maguire, and Peter Overby. “Wellspring’s Flow: Dark Money Outfit Helped Fuel Groups on Political Front Lines,” Center for Responsive Politics, November 5, 2013. Archived June 9, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DP6ia

Stance on Climate Change

While Corkery doesn’t appear to have made public statements on climate change, the Wellspring Committee has funded a number of groups known to cast doubt on climate change science or actively worked to oppose climate change mitigation policies such as the American Energy Alliance, Americans for Prosperity, and the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity among others. 

Key Quotes

As noted by Robert Maguire, research director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the Corkerys “have the discipline to not talk. They don’t have social media accounts. They don’t give public speeches.”¹³Jon Skolnik. “Behind the dark-money web that put Barrett (and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch) on the Supreme Court,” Salon, March 30, 2021. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/amCnu

September 14, 2017

Ann Corkery defended Amy Coney Barrett, who was then an appeals court nominee, in an op-ed for RealClear Politics titled “Anti-Catholic Bigotry Returns to the Senate”:¹⁴Ann Corkery. “Anti-Catholic Bigotry Returns to the Senate,” Real Clear Politics, September 14, 2017. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yRZmR

“While ostensibly exploring the nominee’s judicial temperament, Feinstein instead targeted Barrett’s fealty to Catholic teaching,” Corkery wrote.

“Durbin was even more direct in his roasting of Barrett’s faith. He took issue with the phrase ‘orthodox Catholic,’ which Barrett used in a two-decades-old law review article, on the grounds that it somehow marginalizes politically liberal Catholics: ‘Do you consider yourself an orthodox Catholic?’ Durbin asked her.”

“What he was getting at, of course, was his own support for abortion, the dogma that lives loudly within almost all elected Democrats these days, and it was hardly made better by Durbin’s declaration that he was the product of 19 years of Catholic education.”

[…]

“Moreover, a faithful judge need not be a faithless judge. Catholic tradition from Saint Augustine to Saint Thomas Aquinas to Saint Thomas More makes clear that ‘Catholics can be true to their faith and true to the law in our pluralistic democracy.’”

Key Actions

Ann and Neil Corkery have been secretive in their operations. DeSmog’s profiles of the Judicial Education Project and the Wellspring Committee contain additional information on those groups.

Affiliations

• Wellspring Committee — Former president¹⁵Anna Massoglia. “An influential ‘dark money’ group turns off the lights for the last time,” OpenSecrets.org, May 23, 2019. Archived June 8, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qc6Gj
• Opus Dei — Said she was a member in the 1990s and reportedly supported the group’s self-flagellation practices.¹⁶Jon Swaine. “The anti-abortion conservative quietly guiding Trump’s supreme court pick,” The Guardian, July 6, 2018. Archived January 21, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/Xiz1q
• Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner, LLP — Lawyer.¹⁷“Ann Corkery,” Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner, LLP. Archived January 21, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/uykXn
• Becket Fund for Religious Liberty — Former board member¹⁸Viveca Novak, Robert Maguire, and Peter Overby. “Wellspring’s Flow: Dark Money Outfit Helped Fuel Groups on Political Front Lines,” Center for Responsive Politics, November 5, 2013. Archived June 9, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DP6ia

Social Media

Neither Ann Corkery nor Neil Corkery have social media accounts.¹⁹Jon Skolnik. “Behind the dark-money web that put Barrett (and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch) on the Supreme Court,” Salon, March 30, 2021. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/amCnu

Publications

For several years, Ann Corkery contributed opinion columns to Real Clear Politics. A sample of these columns:

• “Nikki Haley’s Latest First Won’t Likely Be Her Last,” March 20. 2019.
• “Anti-Catholic Bigotry Returns to the Senate,” September 14, 2017.
• “Trump’s Gorsuch Pick: Promises Made, Promises Kept,” February 2, 2017.
• “Christie’s Words, Actions at Odds on Judges,” January 25, 2016.
• “The Pope’s Africa Visit May Spotlight South Sudan, November 26, 2015.

Other Resources

Resources

• 1
  “Ann Corkery,” Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner, LLP. Archived January 21, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/uykXn
• 2
  “Ann Corkery,” Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner, LLP. Archived January 21, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/uykXn
• 3
  “Tax returns reveal one six-figure donor accounts for entirety of ‘dark money’ funding Whitaker’s nonprofit,” OpenSecrets.org, November 21, 2018. Archived June 8, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iKekJ
• 4
  Viveca Novak and Peter Stone. “The JCN Story: Building a Secretive GOP Judicial Machine,” OpenSecrets.org, March 23, 2015. Archived September 19, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/BXRuB
• 5
  Jon Skolnik. “Behind the dark-money web that put Barrett (and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch) on the Supreme Court,” Salon, March 30, 2021. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/amCnu
• 6
  Jon Skolnik. “Behind the dark-money web that put Barrett (and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch) on the Supreme Court,” Salon, March 30, 2021. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/amCnu
• 7
  Jon Skolnik. “Behind the dark-money web that put Barrett (and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch) on the Supreme Court,” Salon, March 30, 2021. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/amCnu
• 8
  Anna Massoglia. “An influential ‘dark money’ group turns off the lights for the last time,” OpenSecrets.org, May 23, 2019. Archived June 8, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qc6Gj
• 9
  Viveca Novak, Robert Maguire, and Peter Overby. “Wellspring’s Flow: Dark Money Outfit Helped Fuel Groups on Political Front Lines,” Center for Responsive Politics, November 5, 2013. Archived June 9, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DP6ia
• 10
  Viveca Novak, Robert Maguire, and Peter Overby. “Wellspring’s Flow: Dark Money Outfit Helped Fuel Groups on Political Front Lines,” Center for Responsive Politics, November 5, 2013. Archived June 9, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DP6ia
• 11
  Viveca Novak, Robert Maguire, and Peter Overby. “Wellspring’s Flow: Dark Money Outfit Helped Fuel Groups on Political Front Lines,” Center for Responsive Politics, November 5, 2013. Archived June 9, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DP6ia
• 12
  Viveca Novak, Robert Maguire, and Peter Overby. “Wellspring’s Flow: Dark Money Outfit Helped Fuel Groups on Political Front Lines,” Center for Responsive Politics, November 5, 2013. Archived June 9, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DP6ia
• 13
  Jon Skolnik. “Behind the dark-money web that put Barrett (and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch) on the Supreme Court,” Salon, March 30, 2021. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/amCnu
• 14
  Ann Corkery. “Anti-Catholic Bigotry Returns to the Senate,” Real Clear Politics, September 14, 2017. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yRZmR
• 15
  Anna Massoglia. “An influential ‘dark money’ group turns off the lights for the last time,” OpenSecrets.org, May 23, 2019. Archived June 8, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qc6Gj
• 16
  Jon Swaine. “The anti-abortion conservative quietly guiding Trump’s supreme court pick,” The Guardian, July 6, 2018. Archived January 21, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/Xiz1q
• 17
  “Ann Corkery,” Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner, LLP. Archived January 21, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/uykXn
• 18
  Viveca Novak, Robert Maguire, and Peter Overby. “Wellspring’s Flow: Dark Money Outfit Helped Fuel Groups on Political Front Lines,” Center for Responsive Politics, November 5, 2013. Archived June 9, 2013. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DP6ia
• 19
  Jon Skolnik. “Behind the dark-money web that put Barrett (and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch) on the Supreme Court,” Salon, March 30, 2021. Archived June 9, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/amCnu