Supreme Court law clerks have been asked to sign affidavits and have their phones searched as part of the probe into who leaked the draft opinion this month that suggested the justices were poised to overturn Roe v Wade, according to a media report.
CNN reported Tuesday the request to search phone records and sign an affidavit is unprecedented and a sign that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has had little success so far in discovering who leaked the document.
According to the news outlet, roughly 75 people could have had their hands on a draft opinion copy. The law clerks are also weighing hiring counsel over the scope of the search, CNN reported.
A spokesperson from the high court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It’s been 28 days since Chief Justice Roberts tapped Gail Curley, the high court’s marshal, to lead the investigation and find the leaker.
Marshal Curley, a former Army lawyer and colonel who oversees the court grounds and security, has been in the job less than a year.
Legal scholars have debated whether the leak was a crime.
Some have said it could be theft of government property or obstruction of justice in trying to change the outcome of the ruling. Others have said Supreme Court documents aren’t protected by confidentiality laws like other areas of government.
Court watchers were aghast when news broke May 2 that the Supreme Court was poised to overturn the decades-old precedent on abortion. It was the first time a full draft opinion had been leaked in the Supreme Court’s 233-year history.
In the draft opinion published by Politico, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said the abortion issue should return to the state legislatures.
Chief Justice Roberts said the draft opinion was authentic but noted that it did not represent a final ruling.
The legal dispute at issue weighs a Mississippi ban on abortion at 15 weeks of gestation in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Mississippi officials argue that Roe should be overturned because it’s outdated.
An official ruling in the case is expected by the end of June.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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