- The Supreme Court verified the authenticity of the leaked abortion opinion.
- But the court stressed that the opinion was a draft and did not represent a final view.
- Chief Justice Roberts said he has ordered an investigation into the leak.
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Tuesday verified the authenticity of a leaked draft opinion in a major abortion case but said it did not represent the court’s final view.
In an extraordinary statement in response to an unprecedented leak of the opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the court had launched an investigation.
“To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed,” Roberts said in the statement. “The work of the court will not be affected in any way.”
Roberts’ reaction came hours after Politico published an opinion late Monday that suggested the court is considering a decision that would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.
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The leak immediately shifted the landscape in one of the nation’s most divisive culture war issues, prompted a flurry of reaction from both anti-abortion and abortion-rights groups and raised existential questions about the court’s deliberative process.
“Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the court,” Robert said in the statement. “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.”
Roberts said he had directed the court’s marshal to “launch an investigation into the source of the leak.”
Though Supreme Court deliberations have leaked before, including in abortion cases, the release of a draft opinion from the closely guarded high court was very unusual in modern times. It prompted protests overnight outside the Supreme Court building and drew reaction from President Joe Biden and congressional leadership.
Opinion: Supreme Court opinion drafts do not leak. Abortion may be at risk but so is court’s sanctity.
Justices often circulate drafts and it was not clear how much support the leaked draft, written by Associate Justice Samuel Alito, has currently. The circulation of drafts is one part of the court’s process. As those drafts are shared within the court, justices write dissents and concurrences to try to convince their colleagues of other points of view. The process is fluid and votes can and often do change.
The court’s opinion was not expected until the final day of its term, in June or July. It’s not clear whether the leak will change that timeline.
