Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on Wednesday revamped his attacks on what he called the conservative special interest groups that promoted former President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees.
During a heated Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing, Whitehouse and fellow Democrats criticized the conservative groups the Federalist Society and the Judicial Crisis Network, two organizations funded by “dark money,” meaning that they do not disclose their donors. Whitehouse claimed that these groups were the “hidden hand of control” throughout the Trump years, allowing anonymous donors a leg up in shaping the federal judiciary.
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Although Whitehouse admitted that Democrats also benefit from dark money, his Democratic colleagues focused their attacks almost solely on conservative organizations. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said that the JCN should be forced to disclose its donors. Sen. Richard Blumenthal also pushed for stronger donor disclosure laws, speculating that a more open process could result in fewer white and male courts.
Whitehouse brought in three experts from liberal advocacy groups to testify against dark money. All three are members of organizations that rely on undisclosed donors. These included representatives from People for the American Way, the Center for Media and Democracy, and Take Back the Court, all of which benefit from dark money donations.
That fact was a sticking point for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who accused Whitehouse of hypocrisy in his crusade against dark money.
“Democrats thunder against dark money, and yet Democrats dominate dark money,” Cruz said, pointing out that Whitehouse’s witnesses were all dark money recipients.
Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, told Cruz that just as groups such as the Federalist Society and JCN worked with the Trump administration to pick and promote federal judicial nominees, corresponding liberal groups are already doing the same for the Biden administration.
“To paraphrase President Nixon, we are all dark money partakers now,” Walter said.
Whitehouse made headlines last year during Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing when he presented an elaborate chart of dark money organizations pushing for Barrett’s confirmation. At the time, Whitehouse faced pushback, especially in light of the fact that he operates under the influence of dark money.
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Utah Sen. Mike Lee, during the hearing, said that Whitehouse’s concerns with dark money often seem to ring false because of his emphasis on conservative organizations.
“If you don’t like dark money, that’s one thing,” Lee said. “If you like it, own it where you take it. But this middle ground of trying to suggest it’s holy, that it’s righteous if it’s in support of a liberal cause, that doesn’t sit well with most people.”
