U.S. Supreme Court report fails to identify abortion ruling leak culprit

Despite an 8-month investigation The US Supreme Court didn’t identify the person or people who were responsible for leaking a draft of their landmark decision to overturn the 1973 Roe V Wade law which make abortion a federal right.

The leak, which resulted in news outlet Politico publishing the draft ruling on May 2, triggered an internal crisis within the court, prompting a political battle and rallies by abortion rights supporters both at the courthouse and outside the homes of some of the nine justices nationwide.

The investigation, which was detailed in a 20-page report, found that 82 court employees, along with the 9 justices, had access to electronic or hard copies of the draft opinion which was penned by conservative Justice Samuel Alito.  The draft only had minor differences when compared to the final decision.

The investigation, which is being led by the court’s chief security officer Gail Curley at the direction of Chief Justice John Roberts, failed to identify who was responsible for the leak, stating that none of the 97 court employees interviewed confessed to the disclosure. The report did not explicitly say whether or not the justices were interviewed.

The lack of a source did cause a backlash from conservatives.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley tweeted that the court’s inability to find the leaker is “chilling.”

“The Supreme Court’s report indicates that they cannot isolate the culprit among the over 80 possible suspects for the Dobbs leak. It is an admission that is almost as chilling as the leak itself,” Turley said.

“It will likely revive concerns over whether the FBI should have been asked to take the lead on the investigation. The Court is only a few blocks from the world’s leading forensic investigatory body. What is clear is that any hope for a deterrent on such unethical conduct has been dramatically reduced. Thus far, the culprit succeeded in not just leaking the opinion but evading detection.”

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that the source of the leak must be identified and dealt with accordingly.

“It’s deeply troubling that the Dobbs leaker still has not been found. The Supreme Court depends on trust to deliberate, and this leak is incredibly damaging to the Court’s ability to function normally,” Cruz tweeted. “The leaker must be brought to justice!”

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) said that someone should step down over this.

“This is inexcusable. And it means brazen attempts like this one to change the Court’s decisions – from within – will become more common. Someone ought to resign for this. The person who did this, whoever it was, put at risk the lives of hundreds of pregnancy care center volunteers, whose centers were attacked and fire bombed, to say nothing of the justices themselves,” Hawley said.