(PresidentialHill.com)- It’s been over two months since Politico published the leaked draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, and as yet, there has been no news as to whether the leaker has been identified.
It isn’t as if there is an enormous pool of suspects. In total, there are fewer than one hundred people working at the Supreme Court who could’ve gotten their hands on a draft opinion. So what’s going on?
Immediately after the leak, Chief Justice Roberts issued a statement saying he directed the Marshal of the Supreme Court to launch an investigation into the identity of the leaker. Since then, we have been long on supposition and short on detail.
The Marshal of the Supreme Court isn’t an investigative position. The Marshal oversees security for the justices in DC and handles administrative functions.
Why didn’t the chief justice ask the Department of Justice or more specifically the FBI to investigate the leak?
It is possible that Chief Justice Roberts, who has always guarded the independence of the Supreme Court, wants the issue handled internally without involving members of the Executive Branch.
It is also possible that keeping the matter internal may mean the leaker is known but will not be identified publicly.
There’s also the issue of whether or not the leak itself violated the law.
If leaking unclassified information isn’t a crime, why would Chief Justice Roberts ask federal law enforcement to investigate the leak?
It could be possible the Court wants to deal with this quietly and simply remove the leaker.
There is no doubt that this leak is unprecedented in Supreme Court history. Given that, the identity of the leaker seems like something the public should know.
What is certain is Chief Justice Roberts would be loath to have the Court’s dirty laundry aired in public.
At the same time, the current Marshal of the Court, Gail Curley, should at the least update the public on the status of the investigation, if for no other reason than to tamp down concerns of a cover-up.
