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Courts & Justice

Justice Department steps up criminal investigation of Supreme Court abortion ruling leak

The New York Times reports prosecutors have sent grand jury subpoenas, while the US attorney's office in Washington declined to comment.

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington
The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington. Photo: Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
12 news outlets reported this
Liberal4 outletsTrump's DOJ and the legal questions it raisesCenter1 outletInquiry tests court secrecy and separation of powersConservative7 outletsFinding the leaker and the threats it caused
Published 4 min read
Overview

The is running a criminal probe to find who leaked the 's 2022 Dobbs ruling, which ended the national right to abortion. The draft opinion reached Politico two months before the court formally released it. The New York Times first reported that the case is now criminal.

People familiar with the inquiry told the Times that prosecutors have issued seeking testimony. They have also asked for information from people who were working at the court at that time. Jeanine Pirro, the in Washington, oversees the probe and has assigned prosecutor Carlton Davis.

The court's own internal inquiry ended in January 2023 without naming a leaker. It is not clear what law prosecutors believe was broken. Some potentially relevant laws set a five-year deadline for bringing charges, which would run out in the spring.

A Justice Department spokesperson told the New York Post the department does not comment on "the existence of ongoing investigations or lack thereof." President Trump said in July, "That person should be found." Justice Samuel Alito has said he has an opinion on who the leaker was, but that the evidence is not strong enough to name anyone.

Key figures
  • two months how early the draft reached Politico before the court's release — The Boston Globe
  • 97 court personnel interviewed in the court's internal review — The Independent (US)
  • six Democratic lawmakers in the failed indictment effort Davis oversaw — The Boston Globe
  • five-year statutes of limitations on some potentially relevant laws, expiring in the spring — The Boston Globe

Three sides of the story

Liberal4 outlets

Trump's DOJ and the legal questions it raises

The Daily Beast says the Justice Department is "ratcheting up" its search for the leaker, citing the New York Times. It recalls that the court's 2023 report said its team had "to date" been unable to identify a person responsible by a "preponderance of the evidence." It says Davis's failed bid "ended in humiliation for the DOJ."

The Independent headlines "Trump's DOJ looking at criminal investigation." It adds that no specific federal statute explicitly criminalizes disclosing internal court drafts, and notes that Alito's former clerk T. Elliot Gaiser now leads the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. The Boston Globe runs the New York Times report, which says it is unclear whether White House pressure played a role and raises the question of whether the inquiry is an attempt "to settle political scores."

The Times' own headline says the department "steps up" its investigation. Duke's Samuel Buell and Cornell's Michael Dorf supply the legal cautions. Dorf says an inquiry without a crime behind it could amount to "the executive branch harassing members of the judicial branch."

Center1 outlet

Inquiry tests court secrecy and separation of powers

The Seattle Times runs the New York Times report, the same text the Boston Globe carries. It opens with the Justice Department pursuing a criminal case that had not been reported before. According to people familiar with the inquiry, grand jury subpoenas for testimony have gone out, and prosecutors are asking people who were at the court during the leak for information.

Pirro, "a Trump ally," is overseeing it, with Davis assigned. The report says it is not clear what law prosecutors think was broken, or why the case has picked up steam now. It also raises whether White House pressure played a part.

It notes that cooperating could mean opening restricted court records, a break with the court's tradition of secrecy. Court spokesperson Patricia McCabe did not respond to questions, and the US attorney's office declined to comment. Law professors Samuel Buell and Michael Dorf are quoted on precedent and separation of powers.

Conservative7 outlets

Finding the leaker and the threats it caused

The New York Post says it confirmed the criminal probe. It stresses that the leak led to death threats against conservative justices, and recalls Chief Justice Roberts calling it an "egregious breach of trust." It quotes Alito on "Fox News Sunday" saying the leak made the five justices in the majority targets for assassination.

The Daily Caller headlines a "Roe Reversal" probe, embeds a post by Eric Daugherty on Alito's remarks, and cites Kagan saying the court will pursue the matter "till the end." The Daily Mail says the DOJ "accelerates" the probe. It adds that Pirro's office has struggled to win some grand jury indictments, and that the department has faced criticism over alleged "weaponization."

Townhall pairs excerpts of the Times report with its own commentary, doubting that conservatives leaked the opinion and saying someone on the court should be held accountable.

All sources: 13 articles from 12 outlets

Liberal (4)

Center (1)

Conservative (8)

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Justice Department

The federal ministry that prosecutes federal crimes. The FBI is part of it, and its head is the Attorney General.

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Supreme Court

The highest US court: nine justices, appointed for life by the president with the Senate's approval. Its rulings bind every other court.

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Grand jury

A group of citizens who decide behind closed doors whether there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime. It does not decide guilt. That is for the trial.

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Subpoena

A legal order to testify or hand over documents, issued by a court, a prosecutor or a congressional committee. Ignoring it can be punished.

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District attorney and US attorney

A district attorney is the local prosecutor, usually elected, who brings charges under state law. A US attorney is the federal prosecutor for a district, appointed by the president, who brings federal charges.

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Indictment

A formal criminal charge, usually approved by a grand jury. It is not a finding of guilt: the person is innocent until a court says otherwise.

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