Many seasoned observers believed that the U.S. Supreme Court’s final ruling on overturning or preserving Roe v. Wade was going to be released on Monday when such decisions typically are.
But it wasn’t. And it hasn’t been released in the subsequent days, either.
Now, Chief Justice John Roberts is taking heat for refusing to release the ruling many Americans are waiting for, even being accused of putting the lives of his colleagues in danger.
The Federalist notes:
Since the infamous leak of the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization last month, Americans have waited with bated breath for the high court to issue its verdict on the constitutionality of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which federally legalized abortion in the United States.
Despite high expectations that the court would release its final Dobbs opinion—which is expected to deem Roe unconstitutional—on Monday SCOTUS instead issued a series of less contentious opinions, once again leaving millions of Americans in limbo. The high court is set to release more legal opinions on Wednesday, with notable cases pertaining to gun rights, school choice, and the regulatory power of the Environmental Protection Agency also awaiting publication.
After the Dobbs draft opinion was released, Chief Justice John Roberts announced the launch of an investigation to find the individual who leaked the majority opinion to Politico. Not only has Roberts’ investigation cataclysmically failed to out the leaker and hold this person accountable for his or her actions a month later, the chief justice’s continued withholding of the Dobbs decision has concurrently endangered the lives of his colleagues.
Federalist CEO Sean Davis has said that Roberts “could issue Dobbs today and eliminate threats of violence to prevent its release,” but is instead “deliberately doing nothing.”
“What conclusions can be drawn other than that Roberts is fine with what the leak has wrought, and that he’s fine with the prospect of violence and assassinations precluding the release of a Dobbs release overturning Roe v. Wade?” Davis added on Twitter.
What conclusions can be drawn other than that Roberts is fine with what the leak has wrought, and that he’s fine with the prospect of violence and assassinations precluding the release of a Dobbs release overturning Roe v. Wade?
— Sean Davis
“Rather than releasing the Dobbs opinion as soon as possible, Roberts appears to be withholding the decision until the end of the court’s term, which would mean the ultimate fate of Roe wouldn’t be publicly known until late June or early July,” The Federalist continued.
“If this is the case, such irresponsible and feckless decision-making indicates that Roberts is seemingly fine with the ongoing threats against his colleagues, some of whom (like Barrett and Kavanaugh) are parents of young children,” the report noted further.
“Just as his caving to public pressure on the court’s 2012 Obamacare case gave Democrats license to harass and bully SCOTUS, Roberts’ refusal to issue the Dobbs decision has opened the floodgates for a bevy of continued threats and acts of violence against sitting members of the court from left-wing anarchists until the opinion is released,” the outlet said.
“If Roberts truly cared about the institution of the high court and the safety of his fellow justices, he would quit whatever political game he’s playing and release the opinion that could end the trigger for these threats to the justices and save millions of innocent babies across the country.”
In late May, CNN reported that clerks to the high court’s justices were asked to produce their cellphone records as the probe widens.
In addition, they were asked to sign affidavits — sworn statements under penalty of perjury — presumably to say they were not guilty of leaking the document to Politico.
“Some clerks are apparently so alarmed over the moves, particularly the sudden requests for private cell data, that they have begun exploring whether to hire outside counsel. The court’s moves are unprecedented and the most striking development to date in the investigation into who might have provided Politico with the draft opinion it published on May 2,” CNN reported.
“The probe has intensified the already high tensions at the Supreme Court, where the conservative majority is poised to roll back a half-century of abortion rights and privacy protections. Chief Justice John Roberts met with law clerks as a group after the breach, CNN has learned, but it is not known whether any systematic individual interviews have occurred,” the report added.
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