Speaking to reporters at the White House Wednesday afternoon, Press Secretary Jen Psaki refused to condemn the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade from the Supreme Court this week. The breach inflamed the legal world and put the institution's integrity at risk.
Jen Psaki refuses to condemn the SCOTUS leak, and instead chooses to recognize "the unprecedented nature of it." pic.twitter.com/o7hRydbOVy
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 4, 2022
While Psaki failed to condemn the leak, legal scholars have expressed outrage.
It’s impossible to overstate the earthquake this will cause inside the Court, in terms of the destruction of trust among the Justices and staff. This leak is the gravest, most unforgivable sin.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) May 3, 2022
Further, Chief Justice John Roberts described the leak as a "betrayal" and called for an investigation.
"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."
"I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak," he concluded.
