Chief Justice John Roberts said that the leaked draft opinion that proposes overturning Roe v. Wade is authentic but not final, and he is opening an investigation into how it became public, the Washington Post reports.
Said Roberts: “To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way.”
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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that a leaked draft ruling by the Supreme Court was “completely inconsistent” with what Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch told her during their private conversations as Supreme Court nominees, The Hill reports.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called last night’s leak on the vote to overturn Roe v. Wade “an attack on the independence of the Supreme Court” by the “radical left.”
He added: “This lawless action should be investigated and punished as fully as possible. The Chief Justice must get to the bottom of it and the Department of Justice must pursue criminal charges if applicable.”
Kevin Madden: “Few things more futile than a good ol’ Washington leak hunt.“
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President Biden said that “basic fairness” demands that Roe v. Wade be upheld and urged voters to elect more abortion rights supporters to Congress in a statement responding to a leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court is prepared to overturn the landmark decision, the Washington Post reports.
Said Biden: “At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.”
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Washington Post….
Dozens of both pro- and anti-abortion protesters filled the plaza in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday in light of a newly disclosed draft majority opinionthat would strike down abortion rights around the country.
Tuesday morning’s demonstrations were relatively calm, though hours remained before a larger planned protest by abortion rights activists in the late afternoon. Democrats, angered by the draft opinion that was disclosed to POLITICO, are hopeful the court’s possible overturning of Roe could energize their base heading into the November midterm elections, but the Supreme Court’s move is a motivating factor for the right as well.
Demonstrators on both sides of the issue faced off in front of the court as abortion rights protesters held signs saying “My body my choice” and anti-abortion protesters chanted, “Hey hey, ho ho, Roe v. Wade is going to go.” Others carried a mix of handmade and professional signs. Across the plaza, an anti-abortion group held a prayer circle….
Politico…
On Judge Alito….
For years, on abortion, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has been divided by jugglers and brawlers. Jugglers, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, have tried to balance competing principles — a willingness to revisit Roe at margins while also respecting precedent and trying to preserve the mystique of oracular detachment on which he believes the court’s legitimacy depends.
The brawlers, led in this instance by Alito, say to hell with that.
His draft opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — the case has not yet entered the national shorthand, What’s your view on Dobbs?,but presumably soon will — runs for 98 pages of argument and citations. But its essence can be summed up in three words: Bring it on.
Let’s stop pretending, he writes in bristling, vehement words that he plainly has been sharpening in his mind for decades, that intensely opposing views about the morality of abortion can or should be resolved by the courts…