The Leak is the Crime; Reversing Roe - Perfectly Legal

The Leak is the Crime; Reversing Roe - Perfectly Legal

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

May 5, 2022

The last bastion of integrity in the American government, for the most part, has been the Supreme Court. The American people certainly have not agreed on the outcome of myriad cases heard by the High Court since 1790, but the work of the Supreme Court has ostensibly been scandal free. The integrity of this institution has been shattered by a poltroon devoid of a conscience in the hopes of creating a maelstrom the likes of which will divert attention from the absolute failings of the Biden administration.

At issue is the unprecedented leak of the draft majority opinion penned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito regarding the Mississippi abortion case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. That this is an abortion case, the opposing sides are apoplectic that the ultimate decision, to be rendered by the end of June, could overturn Roe v. Wade (1973). Such a leak has heretofore been unheard of, attested Supreme Court historians and former Supreme Court law clerks.

As polarizing a lightning rod as Roe is, the greater concern is, and should be, the penetration of the sanctity of the Supreme Court, and what happens in the Supreme Court stays in the Supreme Court, until the justices themselves say otherwise and reveal their verdicts in June on the cases they agreed to adjudicate prior to the opening of the session - the first Monday in October.

It is painfully obvious the leaker is unsatisfied with the potential outcome of Dobbs and hopes the court of public opinion will weigh heavily enough on the minds of the majority for one of them to alter his or her vote, which if at five to four in favor, will flip the script to a five to four verdict in the other direction. Should this occur, the damage to the Supreme Court would be in perpetuity. Leaks of draft opinions would become commonplace knowing that the weak link will kowtow to the pressure of mob justice. This would completely politicize the Supreme Court in ways heretofore unfathomable.

Not only should none of the justices fall victim to such tactics, the Court as a whole must not be intimidated by such unsavory and illegal tactics. While Chief Justice John Roberts has enlisted the Supreme Court’s marshal to conduct an investigation, the tentacles of such search must reach infinitely higher. 

According to Chris Swecker, a former FBI Assistant Director, both the FBI and the Justice Department have jurisdiction in such instances. This culprit must be diligently sought out, fired, charged, and disbarred, preventing him or her from practicing law anywhere in the United States, its territories or commonwealths. As harsh a message as possible must be sent to deter future leaks, and after the cost of a law school education is flushed away, that message should be loud and clear.

Swecker specified two US Codes that have been violated by the leaker. The first, 18 USC 1905, prohibits the disclosure of confidential information. The draft opinion is confidential to the Supreme Court - this is not the final version ready for public consumption. Additionally, 18 USC 641 pertains to theft of government property - including records and/or documents.

That the Biden administration has yet to condemn this egregious act, quite frankly, is not surprising. In fact, White House press secretary Jen Psaki won’t even call for punishment for this dastardly deed, having said that the real story is about abortion, and not the leak. “Our focus is on the content of the leak,” said Psaki, clearly more concerned about preserving the odious act of slaughtering an innocent life, than preserving the integrity of the Supreme Court, its people, and its work.

Already, threats to burn down the Supreme Court, threats of violence toward what progressive woke liberals are calling extremist justices are being heard coast to coast. A pro-abortion organization called Ruth Sent Us, named for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has not only planned protests at the homes of the six justices they deem extremist, they have made those addresses public. This does not sound like something the late justice would support. Members of Congress are calling the court illegitimate, simply because they do not agree with a potential decision that has yet to be made official. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has called the justices liars and is attempting to exert political pressure upon them to reverse the potential outcome of Dobbs. Senators Bernie Sanders (S-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have already called for four liberal justices to be added to the Supreme Court.

From the White House, Joe Biden also called the five or six justices in the majority extremists, yet in 2006 said he would not fund paying for abortions as a member of the Senate. Kamala Harris ranted and raved about abortion being the right of women, yet supported a recent successful Supreme Court appointee who could not define what a woman is when asked under oath during her Senate confirmation hearing.

Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life organization, reported, “Biden slipped up today, acknowledging that abortion kills children - ‘choose to abort a child.’ How tragic to see a man, who for decades in the Senate stood against tax funding for abortion, so completely sell out to Big Abortion.”

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) made it perfectly clear that should Roe v. Wade be reversed, such a decision would not legally end the practice of abortion in the United States, it would merely return to the separate states the power to decide. “It’s Federalism 101,” said Blackburn.

Roe v. Wade was poorly decided in 1973, This case should have never been brought to the Supreme Court in the first place. Abortion is not mentioned in the Constitution and thus should have remained within the purview of the states to determine, as per the Tenth Amendment. The pro-choice and pro-abortion crowds are bemoaning the potential loss of their precious abortions, calling this the end of democracy. The leftist woke progressives are demonstrating their ignorance of how government works, or is supposed to work. Returning the issue of abortion to the states is the constitutionally correct thing to do, and, in the interest of democracy, the most democratic action. Each state can, and should, put the issue of abortion on the ballot for the voters to decide - not the 535 members of the houses of Congress, not the 50 state legislatures, but the millions of eligible voters. That is, in fact, a more pure form of democracy. 

This is what Justice Alito has called for within the 98 page draft opinion. He narrowed his focus specifically to that issue, and only that issue. The overblown hysteria of the far left media, far left politicians, and far left supporters of abortion on demand are spreading rumors that once Dobbs is decided and Roe reversed, the “extremist” court will attempt to rescind gay marriage, interracial marriage (have they met Mrs. Clarence Thomas?), and even reverse Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS (1954), according to leftwing talk show host Joy Behar. None of those claims are remotely true. Apparently the new office of misinformation has not opened its doors yet (read: government censorship). Perhaps if those people read the leaked document, which the Supreme Court confirmed is legitimate, their hysteria would be assuaged.

For those who think supporting life is extreme, consider how extreme murdering that same life is.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.