The Supreme Court has confirmed the draft opinion leaked and published late Monday night is, in fact, authentic.
"Yesterday, a news organization published a copy of a draft opinion in a pending case. Justices circulate draft opinions internally as a routine and essential part of the Court's confidential deliberative work. Although the document described in yesterday's reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case," the Court released Tuesday morning.
Chief Justice John Roberts also issued a rare and official statement. In it, Roberts condemned the leaking of the draft opinion and classified the behavior as a "betrayal."
"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," Roberts said. "We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce -- permanent employees and law clerks alike -- intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law. Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court. This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here."
Further, Roberts announced he has instructed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the leak.
"I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak," he concluded.
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