All nine Supreme Court Justices issued a statement late last week pushing back on attempts from Senate Democrats to implement new ethics oversight measures over the nation&#8217;s highest court which comes after the political Left has tried to generate controversy surrounding three conservative justices in recent weeks.
The statement from the justices also included a letter from Chief Justice John Roberts to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-IL) saying that he will not attend a hearing that Senate Democrats want to hold.
&#8220;Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by the Chief Justice of the United States is exceedingly rare, as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence,&#8221; Roberts <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Letter%20to%20Chairman%20Durbin%2004.25.2023.pdf">said</a>.
The statement from the nine justices said that they wrote it to &#8220;provide new clarity to the bar and to the public on how the Justices address certain recurring issues, and also seeks to dispel some common misconceptions.&#8221;
The letter then laid out how justices deal with a variety of issues that they face some of which have been included in recent left-wing attacks on Justices Roberts, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch.
The Associated Press <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/9-supreme-court-justices-push-back-oversight-raises/story?id=98917921">reported</a> that the apparent message contained in the unanimous letter from the justices &#8220;though not expressly stated, is that the court unanimously rejects legislation proposed by Democrats seeking to impose on the justices the same ethics obligations applied to all other federal judges.&#8221;
The letter also addressed recent threats against justices, which reached a fever pitch last year when a leftist <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/27/politics/kavanaugh-roske-arrest-warrant/index.html">reportedly</a> attempted to assassinate up to 3 conservative justices.
&#8220;A word is necessary concerning security. Judges at all levels face increased threats to personal safety,&#8221; the letter said. &#8220;These threats are magnified with respect to Members of the Supreme Court, given the higher profile of the matters they address. Recent episodes confirm that such dangers are not merely hypothetical. Security issues are addressed by the Supreme Court Police, United States Marshals, state and local law enforcement, and other authorities. Matters considered here concerning issues such as travel, accommodations, and disclosure may at times have to take into account security guidance.&#8221;

The U.S. Supreme Court Poses For Official Group Photo

All 9 Supreme Court Justices Issue Rare Statement After Leftist Attacks On Conservative Justices

Clarence Thomas

Courts

John Roberts

U.S.

The Supreme Court investigation into who leaked a draft opinion indicating Roe v. Wade would be overturned last year has narrowed down the list of suspects, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal, which <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-investigators-have-narrowed-leak-inquiry-to-small-number-of-suspects-11673635774?mod=e2tw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke the news Friday</a>, cited sources who stressed that officials have not yet settled on a specific suspect.
Chief Justice John Roberts announced that he had tasked the Supreme Court&#8217;s marshal, Gail Curley, with investigating how the draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito had leaked the day after POLITICO published it in May 2022.
&#8220;To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way,&#8221; <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_05-03-22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roberts said in a statement</a>.
More than a month later, on June 24, the Supreme Court released Alito&#8217;s majority opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which overturned the 1973 Roe decision and returned the issue of abortion to the states.
Curley leads a force of 189 officers, but because it has little experience in complex investigations the court brought in outside help and made strides in narrowing down the list of suspects by early summer, sources told The Wall Street Journal. An insider said interviews were sometimes short and included pointed questions such as &#8220;Did you do it? Do you know anyone who had a reason to do it?”
Fox News host Shannon Bream <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/supreme-court-leak-investigators-narrowed-shannon-bream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported in late July</a> that her sources were telling her the group of suspects had been whittled down from about 70 people, including law clerks working with the justices.
&#8220;Thanks to our amazing producer Bill Mears, [we] have been digging around and found that they have started this group of essentially about 70 or so that would have had access to that document,&#8221; Bream said at the time. &#8220;They have narrowed it down. They did ask the clerks who were then working at the court. And listen, their one-year contract is basically up mid-July. So most of them have moved on. They did ask them to turn over cellphones and sign affidavits. They asked some of those similar things also of permanent court employees.&#8221;
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch said in September that he hoped a report on the leaked draft would be completed in the near future, though he did not comment on whether it would be released to the public. “The chief justice appointed an internal committee to oversee the investigation,” Gorsuch <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-gorsuch-says-he-hopes-report-on-dobbs-leak-will-come-soon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said at a conference</a>. “That committee has been busy and we’re looking forward to their report, I hope soon.”
This is a breaking news story; refresh the page for updates.

Supreme Court

Suspects In Supreme Court Leak Narrowed Down: Report

Abortion

The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/supreme-court" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Supreme Court</a> on Monday blocked the lifting of key immigration policy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/title-42" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Title 42</a>.
The statute, which gives commanders-in-chief the power to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-governor-predicts-total-chaos-when-title-42-border-rule-ends" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shut down immigration</a> as an emergency action to keep communicable diseases out of the United States, was last used by former President Donald Trump in reaction to the COVID outbreak. Families seeking asylum had filed a lawsuit which led Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to order the Biden administration to lift Title 42 by Wednesday.
Customs and Border Protection officials warned lawmakers that approximately 50,000 foreigners were waiting to cross into the United States once Title 42 ended. An <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1604959650788659200" target="_blank" rel="noopener">order</a> from Chief Justice John Roberts, however, stayed the ruling of the lower court.
“Texas and other states are insisting that the Court leave Title 42 in place. Today&#8217;s order is a step in that direction,” Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1604959009987264514" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in reaction to the move. “This helps prevent illegal immigration.”
Leaders in border cities had been bracing for an influx of immigrants. Oscar Leeser, the Democratic mayor of El Paso, Texas, declared a state of emergency on Saturday in anticipation of the end of Title 42. “Our asylum seekers are not safe,” the official <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/12/17/el-paso-mayor-oscar-leeser-declares-state-of-emergency-ahead-of-title-42-lifting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at a press conference. “We have hundreds and hundreds on the street and that’s not the way we treat our people.”
More than 80,000 migrants have entered El Paso in the last four months; approximately 678,000 people currently reside in the city, where temperatures can drop below freezing during winter nights. Leeser did not rule out the option of using a nearby military base to temporarily house migrants, adding that officials were discussing options with state and federal authorities.
As many as 4.9 million migrants have crossed into the United States under the administration of President Joe Biden, according to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-press-secretary-on-illegal-immigration-its-not-like-somebody-walks-over-actually-millions-do" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Some 66 individuals from the terror watchlist crossed the border between October 2021 and July 2022; in the previous five years combined, only 30 aliens from the terror watchlist had been apprehended.
Sullivan said in his November ruling that the use of Title 42 to stop migrants from entering the United States for asylum is an “arbitrary” use of the law. “It is unreasonable for the CDC to assume that it can ignore the consequences of any actions it chooses to take in the pursuit of fulfilling its goals, particularly when those actions included the extraordinary decision to suspend the codified procedural and substantive rights of non-citizens seeking safe harbor,” he <a href="https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/opinion_-_huisha-huisha_v._mayorkas.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
The Department of Homeland Security previously vowed to continue enforcing Title 42 until the policy ended. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/12/13/statement-secretary-mayorkas-planning-end-title-42" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last week that the agency would “process individuals encountered at the border without proper travel documents using its longstanding Title 8 authorities, which provide for meaningful consequences, including barring individuals who are removed from re-entry for five years.”
Policies from the Biden administration meant to decrease illegal crossings have emphasized “root causes” such as economic instability in some Latin American nations rather than increased security at the border.
Dillon Burroughs contributed to this report.

El Paso migrants

Supreme Court Blocks Key Immigration Policy Title 42 From Ending

Immigration

Title 42

As we all learned in civics class in high school (before they were teaching how to become transgender and having drag queens for entertainment), there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.
The idea of the Founding Fathers, seeking to build a balanced system, was that each branch could check the others. Congress could pass a bill, the president could veto it, then Congress could vote to override. And the Supreme Court could step in and void the whole thing.
While the executive and legislative branches are often adversarial &#8212; especially when they&#8217;re not controlled by the same party &#8212; the Supreme Court has long been held above the others. Its job is simply to answer this question: Does an action by the president or Congress adhere to the Constitution?
Back in 1972, Americans put great faith in the highest court in the land, with 66% saying they had “trust and confidence” in the branch, <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/402737/trust-federal-government-branches-continues-falter.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://news.gallup.com/poll/402737/trust-federal-government-branches-continues-falter.aspx" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">according</a> to Gallup. That rose to 80% by 1999 and held steady for a decade but began to drop in 2009 as President Barack Obama boldly bashed the court &#8212; down to 76% in 2009, and 53% by 2015.
Americans&#8217; confidence in the court rose to 68% while President Donald Trump took office, but as the mainstream media repeatedly slammed his nominees &#8212; at one point alleging Justice Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a girl back in high school &#8212; that trust plunged to 54%.
Now, with President Joe Biden in office, confidence in the Supreme Court stands at less than half of Americans, 47%.
That is due in large part to Biden endlessly ripping the court as political &#8212; and he&#8217;s on a desperate tear now in the waning days of the campaigns before Election Day on November 8.
“I view this, this off-year election, as one of the most important elections that I’ve been engaged in, because a lot can change because the institutions have changed,” he said at a fundraiser for Democrats on Tuesday.
“The Supreme Court is more of an advocacy group these days than it is a — evenhanded about it,” he said.
The executive&#8217;s attack on the judicial branch comes after the court struck down the constitutional right to abortion and expanded gun rights.
Chief Justice John Roberts blasted the politicization of the court at a September conference for judges and lawyers. “Simply because people disagree with an opinion is not a basis for questioning the legitimacy of the court,” he said, <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/roberts-defends-high-court-against-attacks-on-its-legitimacy">according</a> to Bloomberg Law.
“The [Court’s] decisions have always been publicly criticized,” Roberts said, adding it is a “mistake” to view those criticisms as doubting the Court’s legitimacy as long as the Court does its job &#8212; which is “to say what the law is.”
“If the court doesn’t retain its legitimate function of interpreting the Constitution, I’m not sure who would take up that mantle,” he said. “You don’t want the political branches telling you what the law is. And you don’t want public opinion to be the guide of what the appropriate decision is.”
But that&#8217;s just what Biden is doing, questioning the legitimacy of the judicial branch &#8212; and stoking distrust in the American public.
Thank God the Founders were far smarter than our current president.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

Rallies Protesting The Supreme Court Abortion Opinion Continue Across The Country

Shameful: Biden Tears Down The Supreme Court, Stoking Fear And Distrust Among Americans

Shameful: President Joe Biden Tears Down The Supreme Court, The Most Trusted Branch Of Government

Congress

Joe Biden

Supreme Court Chief Justice <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-roberts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Roberts</a> defended the court from attacks on its legitimacy.
Speaking to jurists at the 10th Circuit Bench and Bar Conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Roberts pointed out that the nation&#8217;s highest court has always handled controversial cases, and decided some cases that provoked strong reactions from the public. However, Roberts pushed back on recent attacks against the legitimacy of the court itself, saying that disagreeing with an opinion on a controversial issue does not call into question the legitimacy of the court.
“The court has always decided controversial cases and decisions always have been subject to intense criticism and that is entirely appropriate,” Roberts told attendees at the conference, via the <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/09/10/chief-justice-john-roberts-defends-supreme-court-legitimacy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>. “But I don’t understand the connection between the opinions people disagree with and the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.”
“Yes, all of our opinions are open to criticism,&#8221; he added, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/10/supreme-court-roberts-legitimacy/">The Washington Post</a>. &#8220;In fact, our members do a great job of criticizing some opinions from time to time. But simply because people disagree with an opinion is not a basis for criticizing the legitimacy of the court.”
Roberts pointed out that the distinct purpose of the Supreme Court is to interpret the law without regard to political opinions or concerns. “That role doesn’t change simply because people disagree with this opinion or that opinion or with a particular mode of jurisprudence,” he said.
The Supreme Court took up a number of controversial cases and handed down several controversial decisions during its term earlier this year. In June, the court ruled that state-level restrictions on concealed carrying firearms are unconstitutional, in the case of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-scotus-strikes-down-new-york-concealed-carry-restrictions-restrictions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York State Rifle &amp; Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen</a>; then, the court ruled in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/united-states-supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade-leaves-abortion-restrictions-to-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dobbs v. Jackson Women&#8217;s Health Organization</a>, overturning Roe v. Wade and giving control of abortion back to the states; finally, the court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the authority to set emissions caps on coal plants in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-rules-against-bidens-epa-says-agency-does-not-have-authority-to-regulate-carbon-dioxide-emissions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">West Virginia v. The Environmental Protection Agency</a>.
Democrats and left-wing activists responded to those three rulings, especially the Dobbs decision, by slandering the court as &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-nancy-pelosi-demonizes-extremist-supreme-court-as-dhs-warns-of-terrorism-against-judges">extremist</a>&#8221; and saying the court &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sen-elizabeth-warren-claimed-scotus-burned-legitimacy-in-roe-verdict-calls-for-adding-more-justices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">set a torch</a>&#8221; to its legitimacy, and calling for it to be reformed or for more justices to be put onto the bench.
Roberts continued, warning about the dangers of allowing politics into the judiciary. “If the court doesn’t retain its legitimate function of interpreting the constitution, I’m not sure who would take up that mantle,” he said, via the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-colorado-springs-john-roberts-government-and-politics-cdff7d291a37c3b8459e787421c633d2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>. &#8220;You don’t want the political branches telling you what the law is, and you don’t want public opinion to be the guide of what the appropriate decision is.&#8221;
Roberts’ comments come after Vice President <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/vp-harris-attacks-activist-court-says-loss-rights-post-roe-led-sufferi-rcna47072" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kamala Harris</a> attacked the legitimacy of the Supreme Court in reaction to the Court&#8217;s decision in Dobbs.
&#8220;I think this is an activist court,&#8221; Harris told Chuck Todd in a clip of an interview with NBC News’ &#8220;Meet the Press&#8221; Friday. &#8220;We had an established right for almost half a century [abortion]&#8230; And this court took that constitutional right away, and we are suffering as a nation because of it. That causes me great concern about the integrity of the court overall.&#8221;

Supreme Court Justices Pose For Formal Group Photo

Roberts Defends SCOTUS After VP Harris, Democrats Attack Court’s Legitimacy

Roberts Defends SCOTUS After VP Harris, Democrats Attack Court's Legitimacy

Biden Administration

Dobbs

Kamala Harris

Screen Shot 2022-08-27 at 8.45.43 AM

Here’s A Look At Some Of The Activists Who Protest Outside The Supreme Court Justices’ Homes

These Are Some Of The Activists Protesting Outside The Supreme Court Justices' Homes

Amy Coney Barrett

Brett Kavanaugh

New reports suggest that Chief Justice John Roberts <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/26/politics/supreme-court-john-roberts-abortion-dobbs/index.html">lobbied hard</a> to prevent the more conservative members of the Supreme Court — namely Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — from voting to <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/pope-says-he-respects-supreme-court-decision-that-overturned-roe/">overturn Roe v. Wade</a>.
Roberts ultimately voted with the six-justice majority upholding a new Mississippi abortion law — capping abortions at 15 weeks — in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, but joined the four-justice minority in voting to uphold Roe. However, he did pen his own dissenting opinion stating that he would have opened the door for states to impose stricter limits on abortions, particularly after the first trimester.
And according to recent reporting, Roberts worked diligently to bring the conservative justices around — until someone leaked an early opinion draft indicating the landmark abortion case, along with the subsequent Planned Parenthood v. Casey, could be in danger.
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/26/politics/supreme-court-john-roberts-abortion-dobbs/index.html">CNN reported</a> that Roberts had been focused on swaying the two newest justices — Kavanaugh and Barrett — but that he had been derailed somewhat when the leaked draft, authored by Justice Alito, became public.
&#8220;Roberts’ persuasive efforts, difficult even from the start, were thwarted by the sudden public nature of the state of play,&#8221; the report stated. &#8220;He can usually work in private, seeking and offering concessions, without anyone beyond the court knowing how he or other individual justices have voted or what they may be writing.&#8221;
The report also concluded that Roberts&#8217; efforts, however fervent, did not appear to be moving the needle with regard to Kavanaugh and Barrett even before the leak — and added that if threats against their families was not enough to sway them from their position, it was unlikely the Chief Justice would have been successful.
CNN&#8217;s &#8220;New Day&#8221; covered the topic on Tuesday morning as well:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
New CNN reporting from <a href="https://twitter.com/JoanBiskupic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoanBiskupic</a>: Chief Justice John Roberts privately lobbied his fellow conservative justices to preserve Roe v. Wade – but the unprecedented leak of the draft opinion may have doomed his efforts. <a href="https://t.co/g0fKkIT14f">pic.twitter.com/g0fKkIT14f</a>
&mdash; New Day (@NewDay) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewDay/status/1551892687447531522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A number of critics followed the decision overturning Roe with accusations against Kavanaugh and Barrett specifically, claiming that <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/pelosi-blasting-abortion-decision-suggests-kavanaugh-gorsuch-lied-hear-rcna35208">they had lied</a> during their Senate confirmation hearings when they stated that the 1973 decision was &#8220;precedent.&#8221;
But both also declined to answer any questions about how they might vote in future cases — as those questions were rooted in hypotheticals — and precedents have been overturned in the past when the law was later found to be unjust. Examples of those include Plessy v. Ferguson — which allowed racial segregation under the banner of &#8220;separate but equal&#8221; and was later overturned in Brown v. Board of Education — and Korematsu v. United States, under which Japanese Americans were rounded up and placed in internment camps while the United States battled the Empire of Japan in World War II.

Chief Justice Roberts Lobbied Court Conservatives Hard To Salvage Roe: Report

Neil Gorsuch

Samuel Alito

ShutDownDC announced on Friday that organizers would pay anyone who could tip protesters off to the locations of the conservative Supreme Court justices — and the price increased if they were still at the named location 30 minutes later.
The call for tips went out after news broke that Justice <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/police-arrest-armed-man-near-brett-kavanaughs-home-who-allegedly-wanted-to-kill-the-justice-report/">Brett Kavanaugh</a> had been forced to leave Morton&#8217;s Steak House in Washington, D.C., through a rear exit in order to avoid a crowd of protesters gathered outside the restaurant.
&#8220;DC Service Industry Workers&#8230; If you see Kavanaugh, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Coney Barrett or Roberts DM us with the details! We&#8217;ll venmo you $50 for a confirmed sighting and $200 if they&#8217;re still there 30 mins after your message,&#8221; @ShutDown_DC&#8217;s tweet read.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
DC Service Industry Workers&#8230; If you see Kavanaugh, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Coney Barrett or Roberts DM us with the details! 
We&#39;ll venmo you $50 for a confirmed sighting and $200 if they&#39;re still there 30 mins after your message. <a href="https://t.co/xXWZ5JZiE7">https://t.co/xXWZ5JZiE7</a>
&mdash; ShutDownDC (@ShutDown_DC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShutDown_DC/status/1545421407223521280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Politico&#8217;s Daniel Lippman <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2022/07/08/schumer-ups-pressure-on-mcconnell-in-usica-reconciliation-dance-00044652?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=0000014c-2414-d9dd-a5ec-34bc527c0005&amp;nlid=630318">reported</a> on Kavanaugh&#8217;s disrupted dinner departure, noting, &#8220;Justice Brett Kavanaugh had to exit through the rear of Morton&#8217;s on Wednesday night after DC protestors showed up out front.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NEW: Justice Brett Kavanaugh had to exit through the rear of Morton&#39;s on Wednesday night after DC protestors showed up out front. A Morton&#39;s rep told me: &quot;Politics … should not trample the freedom at play of the right to congregate and eat dinner.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/wlA4J2nxYW">https://t.co/wlA4J2nxYW</a> <a href="https://t.co/jpsfhB3JVo">pic.twitter.com/jpsfhB3JVo</a>
&mdash; Daniel Lippman (@dlippman) <a href="https://twitter.com/dlippman/status/1545357451234615298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Lippman reported that Kavanaugh did not actually come into contact with any of the protesters but left the restaurant through a back door without staying for dessert.
A spokesperson from Morton&#8217;s gave a statement after the incident, telling Politico, &#8220;Honorable Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh and all of our other patrons at the restaurant were unduly harassed by unruly protestors while eating dinner at our Morton’s restaurant. Politics, regardless of your side or views, should not trample the freedom at play of the right to congregate and eat dinner. There is a time and place for everything. Disturbing the dinner of all of our customers was an act of selfishness and void of decency.&#8221;
Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy questioned Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about the incident, asking whether President Joe Biden and his administration had any issues with protesters continuing to harass the conservative justices outside their homes or in public.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Doocy on Kavanaugh being forced out of a DC restaurant by protesters: &quot;So these Justices, because protesters do not agree with an opinion&#8230; have no right to privacy?&quot;
Jean-Pierre: &quot;This is what a democracy is.&quot;<a href="https://t.co/26EIf4ptiZ">pic.twitter.com/26EIf4ptiZ</a>
&mdash; Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1545472464511197185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;People should be allowed to be able to do that,&#8221; Jean-Pierre replied. &#8220;If it&#8217;s outside of a restaurant, if it&#8217;s peaceful, for sure.&#8221;
Doocy pressed again, asking whether she meant that the administration was signing off on protesters following the justices around simply because they didn&#8217;t like a ruling the court had issued.
&#8220;People have the right — this is what a democracy is,&#8221; Jean-Pierre insisted.

President Trump Gives State Of The Union Address

ShutDownDC Promises To Pay Tipsters For SCOTUS Whereabouts

Shut Down DC Promises To Pay Tipsters For SCOTUS Whereabouts

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) used vitriolic rhetoric as she demonized the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday over its decision to overrule the Roe v. Wade decision last week.
Pelosi&#8217;s remarks, which were in a <a href="https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/62722-0">letter</a> to other House Democrats, specifically targeted Justices Clarence Thomas and John Roberts.
&#8220;In his disturbing concurrence, Justice Clarence Thomas confirmed many of our deepest fears about where this decision may lead: taking aim at additional long-standing precedent and cherished privacy rights, from access to contraception and in-vitro fertilization to marriage equality,&#8221; Pelosi wrote. &#8220;It is still appalling to me that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court would agree that a Constitutional right does not exist if it was not spelled out explicitly and in public when the 14th Amendment was ratified over 150 years ago.&#8221;
&#8220;While this extremist Supreme Court works to punish and control the American people, Democrats must continue our fight to expand freedom in America,&#8221; Pelosi continued. &#8220;It is clear from how Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell stacked the Supreme Court that elections have ramifications. It is essential that we protect and expand our pro-choice Majorities in the House and Senate in November so that we can eliminate the filibuster so that we can restore women’s fundamental rights – and freedom for every American.&#8221;
Pelosi&#8217;s remarks come after a left-wing extremist showed up near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh earlier this month with a gun and was charged with attempted murder.
“Some domestic violent extremists (DVEs) will likely exploit the recent US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe V. Wade to intensify violence against a wide range of targets,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/homeland-security-warns-of-potential-domestic-terror-attacks-for-weeks-due-to-roe-v-wade-ruling">said</a> in an intelligence report. “We expect violence could occur for weeks following the release, particularly as DVEs may be mobilized to respond to changes in state laws and ballot measures on abortion stemming from the decision. We base this assessment on an observed increase in violent incidents across the United States following the unauthorized disclosure in May of a draft majority opinion on the case.”
The report said that federal and state government officials, including judges, were the most at risk of being attacked.

52nd Annual San Francisco Pride Parade

Democrat Nancy Pelosi Demonizes ‘Extremist Supreme Court’ As DHS Warns Of Terrorism Against Judges

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Criticizes ‘Extremist Supreme Court’ As DHS Warns Of Terrorism Against Judges

Nancy Pelosi

Roe v. Wade's Long And Brutal Legacy

SCOTUS

A Supreme Court majority in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade was reportedly still in agreement long after a draft of the majority opinion was written in February.
The draft, which was leaked to the public last week, does not represent the final decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. Justices are still able to suggest changes to the majority opinion or switch their votes altogether until the court publishes its decision in the case.
As recently as two weeks ago, however, the reported majority in favor of striking down Roe was still together, sources told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/07/supreme-court-abortion-roe-roberts-alito/">The Washington Post</a>. “[T]hree conservatives close to the court” told WaPo that “the majority of five justices to strike Roe remains intact,” a question that has stirred those on both sides of the debate that has erupted around the future of abortion law in the U.S. in the wake of the leaked draft.
Chief Justice John Roberts is not siding with the majority, telling his colleagues in December that he planned to write an opinion upholding both Mississippi’s restrictions on abortion, in question in Dobbs, as well as Roe to the extent possible. The majority of the court disagreed with the chief justice and were “more interested in an opinion that overturned the precedents,” WaPo reported, citing a source “close to the most conservative members of the court.”
The leak of the draft decision on May 2 sparked outcry across the political spectrum. Conservatives generally decried the leak of the document, unprecedented in recent history and a significant breach of trust among the nine justices of the high court. Leftists rallied to protest the contents of the draft and claimed that the end of Roe could spell the end of abortion access in the U.S. Notably, ending Roe would revert the question of legal access to abortion back to the states, where laws would vary widely.
Over the weekend, protesters demanding the Supreme Court uphold Roe <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/__trashed-5">demonstrated</a> outside of the private residences of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Roberts. Earlier in the week, the pro-abortion group Ruth Sent Us <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/abortion-rights-group-doxxes-scotus-justices-offers-stipends-for-protests">doxed</a> the five conservative members of the Supreme Court, posting their streets on online and calling for protests.
Last week, former Attorney General Bill Barr <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-barr-says-scotus-may-need-special-counsel-to-out-leaker-floats-criminal-charges">said</a> that the Roberts may need to appoint a special counsel to uncover who leaked the draft of the decision. The leaker, Barr said, could be charged with obstruction of justice.
“I think the chief would have had the option, and perhaps he still will, to appoint a special counsel. Not in the classical criminal sense, but the court can appoint a counsel and he could bring in a former U.S. attorney or someone with a criminal law background. And I’m sure he would get the support he needed from the FBI or any other law enforcement agency,” Barr said.

Report: Supreme Court Majority Still Supports Overturning Roe

A Georgetown University law professor made an outrageous comment on Twitter Sunday night seemingly justifying mobs of pro-abortion activists targeting Supreme Court justices’ homes.
Josh Chafetz received his B.A. from Yale University, his doctorate in politics from Oxford and his J.D. from Yale Law School, then worked on the  faculty at Cornell Law School for 12 years before moving to Georgetown University.
On Sunday night, Chafetz tweeted, “The ‘protest at the Supreme Court, not at the justices’ houses’ line would be more persuasive if the Court hadn’t this week erected fencing to prevent protesters from coming anywhere near it.”
“And before the ‘oh so you support J6 lmao!’ trolls show up, the difference is *substantive*. When the mob is right, some (but not all) more aggressive tactics are justified. When not, not,&#8221; he added.
<div id="attachment_379576" style="width: 624px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-379576" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-379576" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Chafetz-614x576.jpg" alt="" width="614" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/05/Chafetz-614x576.jpg 614w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/05/Chafetz-300x282.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/05/Chafetz-768x721.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/05/Chafetz.jpg 1206w" sizes="(max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px" />screenshot</div>
Chafetz was harshly criticized for his remarks:
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This tweet of his is the culmination of being too online, too extreme, and, most importantly, too unwilling to admit a bad take. A series of frantic double downs ending with him basically implying that something like the Capitol riot would’ve been fine if only it hadn’t been MAGA
&mdash; Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryDunleavy/status/1523493678781976576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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If only I had justified mobbing justices’ homes instead of criticizing their selection by race and gender… <a href="https://t.co/FabzB1kqTM">pic.twitter.com/FabzB1kqTM</a>
&mdash; Ilya Shapiro (@ishapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/ishapiro/status/1523628616709382144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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I guess Josh Chafetz won&#39;t be posting his home address to test his &quot;hey, simply showing up at someone&#39;s house is perfectly fine and reasonable&quot; statement. How sad. He seemed to have such strength of conviction. 🤔 <a href="https://t.co/TdgkpocbEF">https://t.co/TdgkpocbEF</a> <a href="https://t.co/JQo1dYrCem">pic.twitter.com/JQo1dYrCem</a>
&mdash; Tripp Whitbeck (@trippwhitbeck) <a href="https://twitter.com/trippwhitbeck/status/1523514897023528961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-condemns-violence-threats-or-vandalism-amid-protests-at-homes-of-supreme-court-justices-and-pro-life-centers">The Daily Wire</a> reported on Monday, “Over the weekend, pro-abortion rights activists marched to the homes of Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh.”
“Bearing signs and chanting slogans, the group marched from Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house in Chevy Chase, Maryland, to Chief Justice John Roberts’ residence about a half mile away,” Bloomberg reported. “The protesters then returned to Kavanaugh’s before police ordered them to disperse.”
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These are pro-abortion activists outside of Judge Kavanaugh’s home. 
This is crossing the line and unacceptable. 
This type of intimidation and harassment has no place in America. 
Stay strong, Judge Kavanaugh. <a href="https://t.co/fpWMkrBSE0">pic.twitter.com/fpWMkrBSE0</a>
&mdash; Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepAndyBiggsAZ/status/1523380622248476672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Douglas Blair, a news editor for The Daily Signal, witnessed the protests at Kavanaugh’s home over the weekend. He told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/justice-kavanaugh-home-protests-abortion-roe-wade-blair">Fox &amp; Friends</a> on Monday, “This is an attempt at intimidation.”
“I did not see Justice Kavanaugh,” he added. “My hope is that he wasn&#8217;t home. My hope is that he was safe with his family somewhere else because it was genuinely one of the scariest things I&#8217;ve ever witnessed. Watching these people yell and scream and try and change the vote of what is most possibly the most important vote in the history of this country: the right to live your life and to have a human being survive in the womb.”
A local resident who helped organize the protest told Bloomberg, “The time for civility is over, man. Being polite doesn’t get you anywhere.”
On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki refused to condemn any incipient protests at justices’ homes, saying, “I don’t have an official U.S. government position on where people protest. We want it, of course, to be peaceful.”
But after the protests, Psaki suddenly expressed concern, tweeting that President Biden “strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest. But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety.”
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest. But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety.
&mdash; Jen Psaki (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1523649143951962115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Abortion-Rights Activists Demonstrate Across The Country

SCOTUS Protests: Law Professor Slammed For Claiming ‘When The Mob Is Right, Some … More Aggressive Tactics Are Justified’

Georgetown Law Professor Criticized For Tweets About Protests Over SCOTUS Roe Draft Opinion

Protests

Violence

Critics laid into President Joe Biden for failing to condemn pro-abortion protesters&#8217; plans to gather outside the homes of sitting Supreme Court Justices, arguing that he had &#8220;effectively endorsed&#8221; the protests that followed.
The furor began with a <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/clarence-thomas-speaks-out-on-draft-leak-says-court-cant-be-bullied/">leaked early-decision draft</a> — written by Justice Samuel Alito — indicated that the court could be preparing to overturn landmark abortion rulings Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, prompting outrage among Democrats and pro-abortion advocacy groups.
Pro-abortion group Ruth Sent Us — named for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — circulated maps and coordinates in the general vicinity of homes belonging to Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh and called for <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/__trashed-5/">protesters</a> to gather there.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki addressed the issue late last week, telling Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy during a briefing that there was &#8220;<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/psaki-says-there-is-no-official-u-s-government-position-on-activists-protesting-outside-scotus-justices-homes/">no official U.S. Government position</a>&#8221; on protesters gathering outside Justices&#8217; private homes.
&#8220;We certainly encourage people to keep it peaceful and not resort to any level of violence,&#8221; Psaki said after Doocy raised the question.
&#8220;He doesn’t care if they’re protesting outside the Supreme Court or outside someone’s private residence?&#8221; Doocy asked again.
&#8220;I don’t have an official U.S. Government position on where people protest,&#8221; Psaki replied. &#8220;I want it — we want it of course to be peaceful … I think we shouldn’t lose the point here, the reason people are protesting is because women across the country are worried about their fundamental rights that have been law for 50 years. Their rights to make choices about their own bodies and their own health care are at risk. That’s why people are protesting — they’re unhappy, they’re scared.&#8221;
And as the protests began — outside the homes of Justices Roberts and Kavanaugh — people were quick to point out the fact that the White House hade not made any move to condemn them or even discourage them.
Marc Thiessen <a href="https://twitter.com/marcthiessen/status/1523319083370160129">tweeted</a>, &#8220;This is against the law. He has young children. Where is the justice department? Why are these people not being told to disperse or face arrest?&#8221;
&#8220;These are the people who were pressing the FBI to investigate moms concerned about their children at school board meetings,&#8221; @bossy_Leah <a href="https://twitter.com/Bossy_Leah/status/1523316942941134848">added</a>.
&#8220;Biden&#8217;s mobs trying to disrupt the proceedings of the nation&#8217;s highest court, undermining the rule of law,&#8221; Steve Hilton <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveHiltonx/status/1523335672085372929">said</a>.
&#8220;Why did the WH refuse to denounce targeting of SCOTUS justices? Where are responsible Dem voices condemning this?&#8221; Stephen Hayes <a href="https://twitter.com/stephenfhayes/status/1523272371922247680">asked</a>.
Nathan Brand <a href="https://twitter.com/NathanBrandWA/status/1523117223782793218">tweeted</a>, &#8220;The White House refused to condemn this.&#8221;
&#8220;They effectively endorsed it,&#8221; Guy Benson <a href="https://twitter.com/guypbenson/status/1523124780299300865">replied</a>.

President Biden Departs White House For Ohio

‘They Effectively Endorsed It’: White House Dragged For Failing To Condemn Protests At Justices’ Homes

White House Dragged For Failing To Condemn Protests At Justices' Homes

Protesters

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