Justice Gorsuch hints at report of Roe draft opinion leak

Justice Neil Gorsuch confirmed Thursday that the Supreme Court’s probe into the leak of Samuel Alito’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade is ongoing and said its findings would be compiled in a report.

“The chief justice appointed an internal committee to oversee the investigation,” Justice Gorsuch told the 10th Circuit Bench and Bar Conference in Colorado.

“That committee has been busy and we’re looking forward to their report, I hope soon.”

Gorsuch did not say if the report would be made public. The conference prohibited the press from interviewing him or any other judges in attendance, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The May leak of the draft opinion galvanized abortion activists on both sides of the issue. Justices of the high court, especially its conservative wing, condemned the leak and Chief Justice John Roberts announced he would lead an investigation into the incident.

At the time, Gorsuch suggested the draft had been leaked with the intent of affecting the outcome of the abortion case.

“Improper efforts to influence judicial decision making, from whatever side, are a threat” to the judicial process, he said.

“They inhibit our capacity to communicate with one another,” reducing the candor between jurists of different persuasions that “improves our final products,” he added. “I very much hope we get to the bottom of this sooner or later.”

Many public figures chimed in on whether or not the landmark abortion ruling should stand including President Joe Biden, who said in response to the leak that it should not be overturned in the name of “basic fairness and the stability of our law.”

A man armed with a gun was arrested outside Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home and on June 8 and charged with attempted murder. Court documents said he was targeting three justices over the leaked SCOTUS decision.

The eventual overruling of Roe v. Wade on June 24 resulted in vandalism at several pro-life pregnancy centers by an extremist group that calls itself Jane’s Revenge – a reference to the pseudonym “Jane Roe” used by the plaintiff in the original case.