The leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion suggesting Roe v. Wade will be overturned has prompted Chief Justice John Roberts to launch an investigation directed by the Marshal of the Court.
The draft was published in its entirety by Politico, and there are several clues that could help identify the source of the leak.
It looks “hastily photocopied” and is “dog-eared” at the top left corner, the New York Times reported. There is evidence “a large staple was removed” and the words “1st draft” are highlighted in yellow.
“It suggests that this document was either scanned or pictures taken of it with a phone. Perhaps that was the method by which it was transferred. I have a strong, high level of confidence that we’d be able to find out who this person is,” retired FBI investigator William Daly told Inside Edition.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is in lockdown Thursday, surrounded by 8-foot “non-scalable” fencing. The barriers were erected overnight as a response to the growing protests about the prospect of overturning the landmark case that established a constitutional right to abortion.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is speculating that the person who leaked the document is one of clerks of the three liberal justices. Other people who could have leaked it are a secretary, a top court staffer, a justice a disgruntled court employee or perhaps a justice’s spouse.
A conspiracy theory circulating on social media, with zero evidence, points to Ginni Thomas — the wife of conservative Justice Clarence Thomas.