Pro-abortion and anti-abortion demonstrators protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court after the leak of a draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito preparing for a majority of the court to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision later this year, in Washington, U.S., May 3, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of a reported draft court opinion that would toss out longstanding abortion rights, but noted that isn’t the court’s final decision.
Roberts ordered an investigation into the leaker.
“To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed,” the chief justice said in a statement. “The work of the Court will not be affected in any way.”
“I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak,” Roberts said.
The advance publication of a draft opinion is virtually unprecedented for the high court, where leaks of any kind are exceedingly rare.
The court shares drafts of opinions internally long before they are issued publicly, Roberts noted, calling it “a routine and essential part of the Court’s confidential deliberative work.”
The draft in this high-profile abortion case was created in February, according to Politico, which obtained the opinion.
The justices, law clerks and other employees of the court are “intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law,” Roberts said.
“Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court. 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,” he said.
The publication of the draft opinion went off like a bomb in Washington, triggering waves of shock and fury from Democrats who are now pushing for Congress to immediately codify abortion rights through legislation.
Republicans decried the leak itself, and many called for the sort of investigation the Roberts announced late Tuesday morning. The GOP lawmakers who commented on the draft opinion praised the ruling for putting decisions about abortion in the hands of states instead of the federal government.
The 98-page draft opinion was penned by Justice Samuel Alito, one of six conservatives on a court that has moved sharply to the right in the wake of the Trump administration.
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