The Justice Department is pursuing a criminal investigation into the 2022 leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. Prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas, and Jeanine Pirro's office is leading the probe. The court's own inquiry never identified a source.
The Justice Department is pursuing a criminal investigation into the 2022 disclosure of a draft Supreme Court opinion that foreshadowed the end of the constitutional right to abortion, and prosecutors have reportedly issued grand jury subpoenas. Prosecutors are also seeking information from former court employees, and the probe has accelerated in recent weeks. At issue is who provided the draft decision to Politico two months before the court formally released it.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office in Washington, D.C., is leading the probe. Carlton Davis, one of her senior deputies, is working on the case along with career prosecutors.
On May 2, 2022, Politico published a leaked draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito showing the court would overturn Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Chief Justice John Roberts ordered an internal investigation the day after publication, and investigators interviewed 97 court employees and clerks, who were required to sign affidavits denying responsibility. The justices were consulted but not formally interviewed. In January 2023, the court said its investigation had been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence. No leaker has been publicly identified. President Donald Trump publicly demanded in July that the person responsible be found.
No federal statute specifically makes leaking the court's internal deliberations a crime, and some statutes that could be considered have five-year limitations periods expiring in the spring. No charges have been announced, and prosecutors could potentially examine whether court employees made false statements during the original investigation. The investigation may require authorities to closely examine the justices' personal internal records on the Dobbs case, raising separation-of-powers concerns.
It is unclear what criminal law prosecutors believe was violated, whether they have identified a potential suspect, or what prompted the recent increase in activity. The DOJ told Newsweek it does not comment on the existence of ongoing investigations, and the DOJ and the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.
