Supreme Court Investigation Fails to Identify Leaker of Unpublished Draft Opinion on Abortion Rights

The Supreme Court announced on Thursday that it has been unable to identify the person responsible for the leak of an unpublished draft of an opinion indicating the court was poised to roll back abortion rights. The leak, which became public on May 2 when Politico published a draft opinion reversing the landmark 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion, is the worst breach of confidentiality in the court’s history.

In an unsigned statement, the court said that all leads had been followed up and forensic analysis performed, but “the team has to date been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence.” Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley, who is in charge of the investigation, said that 97 court employees were interviewed and all denied being the leaker.

The Supreme Court issued an investigative report on Thursday, which suggested that the court was not watertight, with some employees admitting they had talked to spouses about the draft opinion and how the justices had voted. The report also noted that the court had taken steps to strengthen its security protocols and had implemented a new policy requiring employees to report any unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.

The Supreme Court’s investigation into the leak is ongoing, and the court has asked anyone with information about the leak to come forward. The court has also urged the public to respect the confidentiality of the court’s proceedings and to not speculate on the outcome of the investigation.