The U.S. Supreme Court has become more embattled in recent years due to leaks and major decisions that are at odds with the majority opinion of the general public.
Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says there is one strategy that got us here: Wealthy conservatives who have used dark money to sway politicians and judges. Whitehouse lays out his argument in the new book, "The Scheme."
"[The court] was taken over — captured, in effect — by right-wing special interests who had been defeated in the democratic parts of our government and therefore went to the least democratic branch, the Supreme Court to take it over and use it to impose their will," he explained during an appearance on Greater Boston.
A main point in his book centers on the apparent leak in a landmark Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case in 2014.
The Rev. Rob Schenck, a former anti-abortion activist, said a wealthy donor informed him of the decision in the case weeks before it was made public. The case determined that some family-owned corporations, such as Hobby Lobby, could deny employees birth control coverage under insurance due to religious beliefs. It set a major precedent and was counted as a win for religious groups who oppose contraception and abortion.
Whitehouse has several pieces of pending legislation that could impose term limits for Supreme Court justices and require large donor contributions to be disclosed.
Watch: Sen. Whitehouse on mysterious donors swaying courts, investigations into SCOTUS leaks
