The Supreme Leak

Before Finally Overturning Roe, Supreme Court Must Block Yet Another Insurrection Attempt

Those who care about norms, decorum, civility, institutions, and rule of law must hold the leaker and any co-conspirators fully accountable for this egregious breach.

By: Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist, May 3, 2022;

The Supreme Court is poised to relinquish its nearly 50-year stranglehold on abortion law and return the debate over whether states may protect unborn human life to the American people and their elected representatives, according to a draft opinion that was leaked to Politico reporters. If the draft opinion authored by Associate Justice Samuel Alito stands, it would be a momentous course correction for the court.

Roe v. Wade, the radical decision that took the abortion debate away from the American people, has myriad legal, scientific, and constitutional critics. Even abortion supporters complained about its weaknesses, as Alito mentions in his draft opinion. Roe was issued in 1973, shortly after the end of the Warren Court, known for pushing through radical changes through the power of a majority of justices rather than on the basis of the Constitution.

“[W]ielding nothing but ‘raw judicial power,’ the Court usurped the power to address a question of profound moral and social importance that the Constitution unequivocally leaves for the people,” Alito wrote in the draft opinion.

A previous attempt to salvage the court’s abortion edicts, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, was supposed to keep the court from having to hear so many controversial abortion cases from the states. Instead, the court has been inundated with challenges to its complicated abortion jurisprudence. And states have gotten better at fine-tuning their challenges.

Few legal observers felt confident in Roe v. Wade’s ability to survive yet another state challenge, such as the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case before the court this term. That case deals with a Mississippi law that protects the lives of those unborn children who have reached the age of 15 weeks gestation. The vast majority of countries in the world limit abortion at a similar point in pregnancy.

The draft opinion, which runs 67 pages, is being described as a “tour de force” by those who have read it. It carefully works through all arguments for retaining Roe, and favorably addresses arguments made by other justices who as of February had joined the majority.

“The reported draft opinion is thoughtful, scholarly, and thorough. It does the work that the majority in Roe and Casey refused to do, looking to the Constitution itself to determine whether it includes a right to an abortion. The opinion concludes it does not,” writes Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network and my co-author for our national best-seller “Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court.”

She adds, “Justice Alito’s opinion does not mince words about Roe and its progeny. He describes Roe as ‘an abuse of judicial authority’ and as being ‘on a collision course with the Constitution from the day it was decided.’”

The Shameful Leak

While Alito’s draft opinion is being welcomed and celebrated by pro-lifers, and strongly objected to by abortion supporters, the way it became public is a horrific scandal.

Someone leaked the draft, almost certainly to pressure the justices to change their views. Alito’s draft opinion from February would go to the concurring justices for feedback, commentary, and fine-tuning. It would also go to justices on the other side of the issue for their knowledge as they write their dissents.

It is unclear who leaked it, but it is considered a grave problem to have done so. Such leaks violate the trust shared by justices. The Supreme Court is viewed more as a family, and the betrayal from the leaker threatens the whole institution.

Still, many on the left celebrated the leak. “Seriously, shout out to whoever the hero was within the Supreme Court who said ‘f-ck it! Let’s burn this place down,” wrote Ian Millhiser, an activist with Vox.

Brian Fallon, the former Hillary Clinton campaign spokesman who became the leader of a dark money group behind the fight against the nomination of Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, issued a pretty clear call for intimidation of the court: “Is a brave clerk taking this unpredecented [sic] step of leaking a draft opinion to warn the country what’s coming in a last-ditch Hail Mary attempt to see if the public response might cause the Court to reconsider?”

“All Democrats need to show the same urgency as the clerk who apparently risked his or her career to sound this alarm. Those on the inside know best how broken the institution is. We should listen,” he added.

Crowds comprised of many staffers from abortion groups gathered at the Supreme Court immediately after the leak. “Chants of ‘fascist scum have got to go,’ interspersed with the names of the conservative justices,” noted one reporter. Signs included, “F-CK SCOTUS,” and “Sam Alito Retire B-tch.”

The Supreme Court was attacked by a crazed mob in the aftermath of the Kavanaugh confirmation. Hundreds of raucous protesters tried to break down the 13-ton bronze doors. They scaled the building and its statues and threw tomatoes and water bottles at the cars of justices who had attended his swearing-in. The mob even went after Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan.

Mobs had also rioted in Senate buildings in the leadup to Kavanaugh’s confirmation. They had disrupted the official constitutional proceedings associated with his nomination and review.

When a riot broke out at the massive post-election protests around the U.S. Capitol, the entire Democrat and media complex said it was an insurrection that had been egged on by Trump and other critics of the 2020 election.

Even after the attacks on the Supreme Court, Sen. Chuck Schumer went in March 2020 to the steps of the Supreme Court and specifically threatened Justices Neil Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. Referring to an abortion case, he said, “I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.” Even liberal activists were appalled.

The attacks on the court have continued through this term. In recent years, Democrats have openly called for court-packing as an intimidation tactic to get the court to rule the way Democrats desire. Justice Clarence Thomas has been pressured to follow an invented recusal standard for having a wife with conservative political views. Justice Gorsuch was the victim of a made-up story leaked to NPR. Justice Breyer was forced to retire when his decision to step down was leaked as part of a high-pressure campaign.

RELATED ARTICLES:

‘Violence Is Their Religion’: Tucker Carlson Calls Out The Left Threatening Violence Against Supreme Court

‘Let’s Burn This Place Down’: Left Calls For Violence After Treasonous SCOTUS Abortion Leak

The SCOTUS Abortion Decision Leak Is What Actual Treasonous Insurrection Looks Like

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

Quick note: We cannot do this without your support. Fact. Our work is made possible by you and only you. We receive no grants, government handouts, or major funding.

Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here.

Subscribe to Geller Report newsletter here— it’s free and it’s essential NOW when informed decision making and opinion is essential to America’s survival. Share our posts on your social channels and with your email contacts. Fight the great fight.

Follow Pamela Geller on Gettr. I am there. click here.

Follow Pamela Geller on Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social. It’s open and free.

Remember, YOU make the work possible. If you can, please contribute to Geller Report.