- by cnn
- 17 Apr 2024
John Roberts, the US chief justice, has announced an investigation into a leak showing that the supreme court provisionally voted to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade case that legalised abortion nationwide.
Publication of the draft opinion by the Politico website on Monday night sparked demonstrations outside America's highest court, condemnation from Joe Biden and fears that the judiciary has suffered profound damage to its reputation for independence.
In a statement on Tuesday, Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the document written in February and said: "To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed."
He added: "I have directed the marshal of the court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak."
Washington was sent into a whirl of speculation over who was responsible for the biggest leak in the modern history of the court - the judicial equivalent of "Deep Throat", the FBI source that disclosed secrets about the Watergate scandal - and whether they should be considered a leaker or a whistleblower.
Some said it was probably a law clerk for one of the court's liberal justices who wants to put Justice Samuel Alito's majority opinion in the public domain in the hope that, witnessing the fierce backlash, one of the conservatives on the court might change his or her vote.
Others guessed it might be a source on the conservative side wanting the justices to be on record so they will feel locked in and unwilling to change in case they been seen as caving in. A third possible motive was floating the decision early to take the sting out of the final, incendiary announcement expected next month.
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