Numerous notable public figures slammed the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft of the majority opinion on Monday night, noting that the action will cause serious damage to trust within the nation’s highest court.
In the draft, written by Justice Samuel Alito, Alito states that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start” and that “we hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled.”
“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” he reportedly added.
Notable initial responses to the leak of the draft included:
- SCOTUSblog: “It’s impossible to overstate the earthquake this will cause inside the Court, in terms of the destruction of trust among the Justices and staff. This leak is the gravest, most unforgivable sin.”
- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL): “The next time you hear the far left preaching about how they are fighting to preserve our Republic’s institutions & norms remember how they leaked a Supreme Court opinion in an attempt to intimidate the justices on abortion.”
- Jonathan Turley, Shapiro Chair of Public Interest Law at George Washington University: “The alleged leak of the opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is nothing short of breathtaking. It would constitute one of the greatest breaches of security in the history of the Court. The article represents the greatest crisis that Chief Justice John Roberts has faced in his tenure on the Court. It is a breach of the most fundamental obligations and traditions of the Court. If this is a true copy of the draft opinion it is hard not to view this as a malicious act. What is the motivation of releasing such a decision? The only intent of such a leak is to trigger a response from outside of the Court. This draft is from February and the majority can shift on such opinions. However, the act of leaking such a draft opinion ranks as an original sin for judicial ethics. The most likely motivation is obviously to pressure the Court and push the legislation in Congress on a federal abortion law before the midterm elections. It will also likely renew the call for court packing.”
- Josh Hammer, Newsweek: “Probably the greatest violation of unwritten ‘norms’ in the history of the Supreme Court. And I absolutely guarantee you the leaker spent years railing against President Trump’s undermining of norms.”
- Megyn Kelly, journalist: “The pathetic spineless leak of a draft SCOTUS opinion has the feel of something a sad little woke 20-something-year-old would do. The kind of person who thinks their personal agenda is ‘more important.’ Whoever did it should lose their law license.”
- Shannon Bream, Fox News: “Never seen anything even CLOSE to this in my 15 years covering #SCOTUS. Urge plenty of caution until an official opinion is eventually released.”
- Mike Cernovich, political commentator: “Leaking a draft SCOTUS ruling is worse than January 6th. The Court was the one institution where conservatives and liberals lived in peace and trust. You disagreed but the trust was sacred. This completely destroys the Court’s inner workings. Totally in shock right now.”
- David Reaboi, political commentator: “Obviously, one of the leftist judges leaked the Court memo to ignite protests and riots that would intimidate the justices. You will see this leaker be feted in the media.”
- Andy McCarthy, former federal prosecutor: “If this story is true, the Court should issue its opinion right away. Otherwise the disgraceful leak wins. I would say that if my side lost. If we lose the integrity of the Court’s process, we lose the Court. That should be intolerable to all of us who live the country.”
- Kevin Roberts, President of Heritage Foundation: “For too long, Roe v. Wade has poisoned our courts, our culture & our laws. We’ve lost millions of babies as a result. While I pray this deeply flawed decision is overturned, this leak is an egregious attempt by the left to threaten and intimidate the justices into backing down.”