Supreme Court Investigation Has Not Yet Identified Who Leaked Draft Abortion Opinion To Politico

deadline.com:

The Supreme Court has so far been unable to identify the source of the leak to Politico of a draft opinion in the case that overturned Roe Vs.

Wade. “At this time, based on a preponderance of the evidence standard, it is not possible to determine the identity of any individual who may have disclosed the document or how the draft opinion ended up with Politico,” according to a report from the court’s marshal. “No one confessed to publicly disclosing the document and none of the available forensic and other evidence provided a basis for identifying any individual as the source of the document.” The report did not definitely rule out the possibility of a hack, or that the opinion was “inadvertently or negligently disclosed – for example, by being left in a public space either inside or outside the building.” But if it “was a Court employee, or someone who had access to an employee’s home, that person was able to act with impunity because of inadequate security with respect to the movement of hard copy documents from the Court to home, the absence of mechanisms to track print jobs on Court printers and copiers, and other gaps in security or policies.” Politico published its report on the draft opinion on May 2, disclosing that the court in its Dobbs Vs.

Jackson Women’s Health decision was poised to overturn Roe Vs. Wade. That turned out to be the case. Chief Justice John Roberts then ordered an investigation into the leak, while there was endless speculation as to who would have the means and the motive to do so.

In addition to a forensic examination of the digital image of the opinion on the Politico website, investigators said that they examined connections between employees and reporters and “especially scrutinized”