U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft opinion that revealed the SCOTUS has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Roberts broke his silence on Tuesday about the bombshell leak.
He confirmed the document was a draft opinion and said the decision is not final.
Roberts also revealed that he has directed the marshal of the Supreme Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.
“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,” Roberts said.
“I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into 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.
“The work of the Court will not be affected in any way.
“We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce — permanent employees and law clerks alike — intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law.
“Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court,” he said.
JUST IN: The Supreme Court confirms the authenticity of the draft opinion revealed last night by Politico. The chief justice has ordered an investigation into the leak. pic.twitter.com/XZweHdyhCG
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) May 3, 2022
Democrat President Joe Biden spoke about the leak earlier, saying:
“We do not know whether this draft is genuine, or whether it reflects the final decision of the Court.
“With that critical caveat, I want to be clear on three points about the cases before the Supreme Court.”
“First, my administration argued strongly before the Court in defense of Roe v. Wade.
“We said that Roe is based on a long line of precedent recognizing ‘the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty’… against government interference with intensely personal decisions.
“I believe that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental, Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned.
“I directed my Gender Policy Council and White House Counsel’s Office to prepare options for an Administration response to the continued attack on abortion and reproductive rights, under a variety of possible outcomes in the cases pending before the Supreme Court.”
“And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November,” Biden said.
“At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.”
