The “leak heard ’round the world” is still reverberating some 15 hours or so after the report from Politico broke about the draft majority opinion from SCOTUS in which Justice Samuel Alito wrote in response to the Mississippi pro-life case currently before the court that “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled.”

Understandably, speculation is rampant as to who the leaker might be and why the leak happened, with the prevailing viewpoint on the right being that it was done by an aide to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a clear attempt at intimidating other Justices in a similar way then-Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried to do in March 2020. The left is hailing the leaker as a “brave” hero or something for breaching all kinds of protocols and betraying and destroying the trust and confidence of the court by leaking the draft to the media.

This type of leak coming from inside the halls of the SCOTUS, especially in a case of this significance, is virtually unprecedented. The leak also puts the lives of the Justices in danger, so much so that unnamed sources are telling reporters that Chief Justice John Roberts is likely to call for the FBI to thoroughly investigate this matter in order to find out the source of the leak.

But though it appears as though both the right and left are in agreement on at least one aspect of this issue – that it was done by someone inside the halls of the SCOTUS, some prominent Republicans are raising questions about what the Biden White House may have known and when they may have known it.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) expressed his concerns in tweets that contained a pretty clear insinuation that maybe the White House knew in advance about the draft majority opinion and perhaps might have even leaked it themselves:

Did the White House see the leaked opinion before Politico published it?

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 3, 2022

Do they know who the leaker is?

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 3, 2022

Hawley also suggested that Senate Democrats be “ready to answer” if they knew ahead of time about the leaked opinion:

Given the apparently coordinated nature of this hit on the Court, I certainly hope every Democrat Senator is ready to answer whether they saw the opinion before Politico published it, and if they know who leaker is

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 3, 2022

I think Hawley raises some good questions here, as the potential “benefit” of this leak for House and Senate Democrats is obvious. As my colleague Brandon Morse observed, the leak was perfectly timed at a point in the midterm election year where Democrats are on the ropes and struggling to unify, as most available polling indicates. An issue of this magnitude could potentially serve to galvanize voters (like young folks) who typically only vote in presidential election years to go to the polls in order to drag Democrats across the finish line as Biden and Schumer are desperate to hang on to their slim majorities in Congress.

The problem for Democrats, though, as I pointed out here, is that on the culture war front, the tide is turning as Republicans currently have the advantage, with Democrats now being viewed as too far to the left on issues like defunding the police, teachers instructing K-3 students on sensitive topics like gender identity and sexual orientation, and the role parents should play in helping decide what public schools should be teaching their children.

It’s easy to foresee a scenario where the Democrat hyperventilating over this potential ruling ultimately backfires on them come fall – not just because of the culture war advantage for conservatives but also because this has been just as galvanizing if not more so for conservatives than it has been for liberals. Terry McAuliffe lost his race to be governor of Virginia for a second time in part because he played arrogant far-left culture warrior during his campaign. Trump was elected in 2016 in part because conservatives wanted someone in their corner who they thought would go to the mat for them on Supreme Court picks.

Trump did just that and assuming the draft majority opinion holds, the picks he made would ultimately help bear the most delicious of fruits conservatives could have ever hoped for.

That said, if it’s discovered that this leak came from the Biden White House – especially from someone higher up within the administration, or at the very least that they knew about it beforehand, both Biden and Harris can kiss their reelection chances goodbye as – assuming they regain their majorities – Republicans in the House and Senate will keep this issue front and center until Election Day 2024 with investigations galore, as they should.

Related: Heartbreak on Capitol Hill as Democrats Come to a Realization About Jan. 6 Committee