It’s been 233 days since the U.S. Supreme Court’s draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked, and Americans are still no closer to learning the identity of the individual responsible.
Published in Politico on May 2, the draft opinion prematurely revealed that the high court had decided to strike down the nonsensical precedent established in Roe v. Wade that invented a constitutional “right” to an abortion. Within 24 hours of the draft’s publication, Chief Justice John Roberts announced he had authorized the launch of an investigation to determine the source of 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,” Roberts said. “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.”
Many in conservative circles remained hopeful in the weeks following that the culprit would be brought to justice swiftly. Even Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, while speaking at a judicial conference on Sept. 8, expressed optimism the report would be released “soon.”
But as months went by, any confidence conservatives had in seeing some form of accountability for the individual responsible began to fade.
Democrat Conspiracy Theories
Upset at the high court’s decision to topple their pagan idol of abortion, Democrats and their allies in corporate media have spent the past few months concocting the most baseless conspiracy theory of all: that Justice Samuel Alito — the author of the majority opinion in Dobbs — was the one who leaked the draft opinion.
Last month, the swastika-obsessed New York Times published accusations by Rev. Rob Schenck, who claimed he was told the outcome of the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby before it was released. In the case, the court ruled in a 5-4 decision that Hobby Lobby did not have to abide by a mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services that required the company to “provide and facilitate four potentially life-terminating drugs and devices in their health insurance plan, against their religious convictions, or pay severe fines.”
In a letter sent to Chief Justice Roberts in July, Schenck — a former pro-life activist who now supports abortion — claimed he was informed of the case’s outcome by Gayle Wright, a donor to his nonprofit organization who Schenck asserts was told by Alito during a dinner at the justice’s home in June 2014.
But there’s one small problem with Schenck’s accusation: Wright denies that Alito ever told her such a thing.
“[Gayle Wright] in a phone interview, denied obtaining or passing along any such information,” the Times report reads. Alito has also denied Schenck’s claims, calling them “completely false.”
The accusations are so flimsy that even the Times admitted in their article that “[t]he evidence for Mr. Schenck’s account of the breach has gaps.”
In an attempt to smear Alito, congressional Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee invited Schenck to testify before the body earlier this month. The hearing totally backfired for Democrats, however, after Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan exposed Schenck for making false claims about former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
Despite Schenck’s track record as a liar, Democrats have continued to use the Times’ unsubstantiated hit piece to push the conspiracy theory that Alito leaked the draft majority opinion in Dobbs.
“All evidence suggests Justice Alito leaked the Dobbs opinion—especially after the NYT’s bombshell reporting on his alleged leak of the Hobby Lobby decision,” New York Democrat Rep. Mondaire Jones baselessly claimed in a tweet. “Americans deserve accountability for our nation’s highest court.”
John Roberts has Failed the Nation
Given the close-knit, inner workings of the Supreme Court and the small number of individuals granted access to draft opinions, it seems highly irregular, if not unlikely, that court authorities have not identified the leaker. That it’s been more than seven months and the American public still doesn’t have clear answers is a reflection on the poor statesmanship of Chief Justice John Roberts, whose pledge to hold the leaker accountable has proven to be empty rhetoric.
As I previously wrote in August, “Roberts’ failure to provide swift and deserved accountability to the individual responsible sets a dangerous precedent, one where overtly political figures operating at the high court can leak decisions ahead of their release without fear of repercussion.”
In failing to expose the leaker, Roberts has also given Democrats in Congress and America’s legacy media room to run wild with unhinged conspiracy theories designed to character-assassinate his Republican-appointed colleagues. His inaction hasn’t simply damaged his fellow justices; it’s tarnished the institution of the Supreme Court as a whole.
The Public Information Office of the U.S. Supreme Court did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment on the status of the investigation or a timetable for the release of its findings.