The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is a California-based right-wing litigation group with deep ties to Big Tobacco and Big Oil that has frequently sued federal regulators over health, safety, and climate regulations. PLF represented petitioners Michael and Chantell Sackett in Sackett v. EPA, a Supreme Court case in which Justice Clarence Thomas cast a deciding vote to gut the Clean Water Act. In 2022, it also received $400,000 from DonorsTrust, with $150,000 of that earmarked for an “equality documentary” attacking affirmative action that redresses structural racial discrimination. In addition to the other cases noted below, it filed amicus briefs in the Students for Fair Admissions cases against affirmative action policies at UNC and Harvard University.
Koch Network
PLF received a combined $3.1 million from the Charles Koch Institute and Charles Koch Foundation between 2015 and 2021, and $975,000 from his Seminar Network Inc. in 2021.
