Chief Justice John Roberts in a rare statement Tuesday morning confirmed the authenticity of a leaked and provisional Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.
Roberts also confirmed that he has launched an internal investigation to find the leaker. The chief justice is now facing a challenge to the Court's integrity without precedent in modern history. The fact of the leak has almost eclipsed the Court's watershed decision to return abortion regulation to the states.
The chief justice said:
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.
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.
John Roberts statement on Supreme Court leak by Washington Free Beacon on Scribd