Supreme Court officials are moving to get law clerks to turn over phone records and sign affidavits in the hunt to find out how a draft of the high court’s majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade got leaked, according to CNN.
The unprecedented step has reportedly prompted some clerks to consider hiring outside counsel.
Additionally, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who ordered the investigation shortly after the draft was leaked in early May, has reportedly met with the clerks as a group.
The major development in the investigation was first reported by CNN Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic, who’s been covering the high court for 25 years and has written multiple biographies on previous and current justices, including Roberts.
Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley is leading the probe, per Roberts’ announcement on May 3. At the time, the chief justice slammed the leak as “a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here.”
The day before, Politico published an opinion draft written by Justice Samuel Alito indicating that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority had voted to overturn Roe following oral arguments, which took place late last year. The leak set off a firestorm with abortion advocates sounding the alarm that the high court intends to dismantle abortion rights and conservatives deflecting by manufacturing outrage over the fact of the leak.
