On Monday, a draft Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked to the press, evoking intense emotion throughout the country. Now, Chief Justice Roberts has ordered a probe into this major leak.
The initial draft majority opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote:
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”
Alito also wrote that “26 States have expressly asked this Court to overturn Roe and Casey and allow the States to regulate or prohibit pre-viability and abortions.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” added Alito. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
Until now, no draft decision in the modern history of the court has been disclosed publicly while a case was still pending. Following the unprecedented release of this private document, Chief Justice Roberts held a press release in which he verified the authenticity of the document, and condemned the actions of whoever leaked it to the public.
“This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here,” said Roberts.
GOP leaders joined in condemning the leak. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton blasted the leak, calling it “criminal,” and suggested that this leak happened to intimidate the Justices.
The leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion on Roe is a dangerous obstruction of justice. And it could very well lead to intimidation and violence directed at Supreme Court justices. Which, I suspect, is the point of the criminal leak.
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) May 3, 2022
Senator Josh Hawley tweeted, “The left continues its assault on the Supreme Court with an unprecedented breach of confidentiality, clearly meant to intimidate. The Justices mustn’t give in to this attempt to corrupt the process. Stay strong.”
The left continues its assault on the Supreme Court with an unprecedented breach of confidentiality, clearly meant to intimidate. The Justices mustn’t give in to this attempt to corrupt the process. Stay strong https://t.co/1Ibbe0t2I3
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 3, 2022
On Tuesday, Roberts directed the marshal of the Supreme Court to initiate an investigation into the leak. “To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed,” said Roberts. “I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.”
