It’s been just over five months since a Supreme Court draft opinion signaling the overturning of Roe v. Wade leaked to the media — with no signs as to where it originated from.
The May leak of the draft opinion to Politico, which signaled the high court was poised to vote along conservative-liberal ideological lines to overturn Roe, became official when the June 24 opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was released with hardly any changes from the draft.
In the months since the leak, justices have experienced heightened security concerns at their personal homes from pro-abortion rights protesters, coupled with a very real threat made against Justice Brett Kavanaugh in June, when a 26-year-old man came to his Maryland home armed with the intent to kill the justice, according to statements he made in a 911 call.
GORSUCH SAYS REPORT COMING ON SUPREME COURT LEAK INVESTIGATION
Justice Elena Kagan provided the latest indicator on Sept. 12 that an update over the investigation into the unprecedented leak could come before the end of this month, according to her comments during a planned discussion at Temple Emanu-El’s Streicker Center with Judge Alison J. Nathan, a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Kagan said she suspected none of her colleagues were privy to the efforts of the leak investigation “except for the chief justice maybe, about what the investigation has turned up if anything,” referring to Chief Justice John Roberts calling on the Supreme Court marshal to look into the origins of the leaked draft opinion in a statement on May 3.
Justice Neil Gorsuch signaled on Sept. 8 that the investigation into the leak was still underway and expressed his “hope” that a report on the findings from the high court’s internal investigation would be forthcoming.
“The chief justice appointed an internal committee to oversee the investigation,” Gorsuch said at the 10th Circuit Bench & Bar Conference at the Broadmoor resort in Colorado. “That committee has been busy, and we’re looking forward to their report, I hope, soon.”
Here’s a recap of the events beginning from the leak this summer to more recent developments about the investigation prompted by Roberts:
May 2: The Dobbs opinion leaks
The Dobbs draft leaked to the press on the evening of May 2 and signaled the overturning of Roe. The draft was dated Feb. 10, showing it had been circulated around the court for some time, with Justice Samuel Alito listed as the primary author.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Supreme Court to protest the draft opinion striking down the precedent that legalized abortion nationwide.
“So basically what happened was we got the Politico headline, and 30 minutes later, we were at the Supreme Court building,” 19-year-old Abigail Chase, a student at American University in Washington, told the Washington Examiner.
May 3: Roberts launches investigation
One day after the leak, the Supreme Court confirmed the authenticity of the Dobbs draft but emphasized it did not indicate a final position on the case. Roberts also issued a statement declaring the marshal of the high court, Col. Gail A. Curley, would be tasked to lead the investigation into the leak’s origins.
Despite Roberts’s grave concerns over the leaked draft opinion, he said the high court work “will not be affected in any way,” noting it was a “singular and egregious breach” intended to sow distrust among the “community of public servants who work here.”
May 4: Tall security fences erected around court
Two days after the leak, protests outside the high court prompted the institution to raise tall security fences around the perimeter.
That same day, reports emerged that the author of the opinion, Alito, canceled plans to participate in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’s judicial conference later that week. A reason for scrapping his appearance at the event was not provided by the high court.
May 7: More leaks signal court was ready to overturn Roe
Three “conservative sources” with information regarding the high court’s deliberations indicated the majority of justices were slated to overturn Roe, quashing some theories that the leaked draft would be considerably different from the final opinion, according to the Washington Post.
May 13: DHS prepared for ‘increase’ in violence over abortion decision
The Department of Homeland Security said it was preparing for an “increase” in political violence after the highly anticipated release of the Dobbs opinion.
May 18: U.S. marshals began providing ‘around-the-clock security’ at justices’ homes
Attorney General Merrick Garland called on the U.S. Marshals Service to guard and protect the homes of high court justices.
Garland decried a recent “rise of violence and unlawful threats of violence” directed at public servants, saying they are “unacceptable and dangerous to our democracy.”
May 31: Supreme Court clerks asked for phone records
One of the more unprecedented moves of the high court’s investigation into the leak was a requirement for law clerks to provide cellphone records and sign sworn affidavits, according to a late May CNN report.
And Roberts reportedly met with law clerks as a group around the same time.
While it was not clear whether those clerks who work under the justices were interviewed individually, the sources told the outlet some of them were particularly alarmed by the course of action and considered whether to hire outside legal counsel.
June 8: Nicholas Roske arrested outside Kavanaugh’s home with chilling arsenal of weapons
Nicholas John Roske of Simi Valley, California, was charged with the attempted murder of Kavanaugh on June 8. It was later revealed he was “shooting for 3” justices, according to an FBI search warrant affidavit. He said he was inspired in part to make the attempt on Kavanaugh’s life over the draft leak.
The incident also coincided with weeks of public protests outside of Republican-appointed justices’ homes.
Roske called law enforcement on himself before he made it to Kavanaugh’s house in the early hours of June 8. He was carrying a Glock 17 pistol, ammunition, a knife, zip ties, pepper spray, duct tape, and other items that he told police he would use to break into Kavanaugh’s house and kill him, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in federal court in Maryland.
Roske pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder charge on June 22. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, according to the Justice Department.
June 17: New law extends Supreme Court security to family of justices
Any “immediate family” members of the high court are covered by the security presently provided to justices if the marshal of the Supreme Court “determines such protection is necessary,” according to the text of the legislation signed by President Joe Biden.
The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and was proposed in light of heightened security threats to the justices after the leak of the abortion draft opinion.
June 24: The draft becomes final
The justices voted 6-3 in Dobbs to uphold Mississippi’s abortion restrictions, thus paving way for states to severely limit or impose near-total bans on abortion.
The reasoning for the opinion overturning Roe came down to a 5-1-3 split, with Alito’s majority ruling overturning Roe and Roberts concurring in his own opinion because he wanted a narrower ruling that focused solely on upholding Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks. Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissented.
There were more similarities than differences between the draft and the final opinion, with the primary contrast stemming from the written dissent by the Democratic-appointed minority on the court and concurring opinions by the justices that upheld Mississippi’s restrictions.
Following the release of the opinion, thousands of protesters descended near the high court’s property, and demonstrations happened for several weeks in the summer until tensions began to settle outside the building.
July 29: Bream report
In a small yet notable report in late July, Fox News anchor Shannon Bream reported investigators looking into the leak had “narrowed it down,” but no names of suspects emerged in her brief report.
Bream noted that there were about “70 or so” people who had access to the draft opinion, adding that even “permanent court employees” were asked questions as part of the investigation.
Aug. 29: Supreme Court fencing removed, building remains closed
Tall nonscalable fencing outside the perimeter of the Supreme Court since May was removed in late August, though the building remains closed to the public as it had been since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Sept. 8: Gorsuch expresses ‘hope’ that update on leak is forthcoming
“The chief justice appointed an internal committee to oversee the investigation,” Gorsuch said. “That committee has been busy, and we’re looking forward to their report, I hope, soon.” The associate justice provided a brief update on the leak investigation at the 10th Circuit Bench & Bar Conference at the Broadmoor resort in Colorado.
Sept. 9: Roberts says he’s ‘looking forward’ to seeing public back at the court
During an interview at the same Bench & Bar Conference that Gorsuch attended, the chief justice touched on the high court’s reopening plans while also defending the institution against criticism in the fallout from the June 24 Dobbs decision.
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Sept. 12: Kagan says update on investigation could come before month’s end
In brief comments about the leak investigation on Monday, Kagan said she suspected none of her colleagues were privy to the efforts of the leak investigation “except for the chief justice, maybe, about what the investigation has turned up, if anything.”
If the Supreme Court’s investigators have “not figured out who the perpetrator was,” another serious dilemma is how the court can prevent the same thing from occurring once again, Kagan said.
