US Supreme Court report fails to identify abortion ruling leak culprit | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
July 13, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, JULY 13, 2025
US Supreme Court report fails to identify abortion ruling leak culprit

USA

Reuters
20 January, 2023, 09:20 am
Last modified: 20 January, 2023, 09:24 am

Related News

  • Dhaka, Washington to continue inter-ministerial dialogue as tariff talks end without full consensus
  • Trump tariff on Brazilian goods could jack up US burger price
  • Trump puts 35% tariff on Canada, eyes 15%-20% tariffs for others
  • 35% tariff: Commerce adviser meets US trade representative in Washington
  • Tariff implications: What does Trump actually want to achieve?

US Supreme Court report fails to identify abortion ruling leak culprit

Reuters
20 January, 2023, 09:20 am
Last modified: 20 January, 2023, 09:24 am
Abortion rights campaigners participate in a demonstration following the leaked Supreme Court opinion suggesting the possibility of overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision, in Washington, U.S., May 14, 2022. REUTERS/Amira Karaoud
Abortion rights campaigners participate in a demonstration following the leaked Supreme Court opinion suggesting the possibility of overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision, in Washington, U.S., May 14, 2022. REUTERS/Amira Karaoud

The US Supreme Court after an eight-month investigation failed on Thursday to identify who leaked a draft of its blockbuster ruling overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide though the probe revealed multiple holes in security measures at America's top judicial body.

The leak - with the news outlet Politico publishing the draft ruling on 2 May - prompted an internal crisis at the court, ignited a political firestorm and prompted rallies by abortion rights supporters at the courthouse, outside the homes of some of the nine justices and around the country.

The investigation, detailed in a 20-page report, found that 82 court employees, plus the justices, had access to electronic or hard copies of the draft opinion authored by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, which was only marginally different than the final decision issued on 24 June.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

The probe, headed by the court's chief security officer Gail Curley at the direction of Chief Justice John Roberts, did not identify a source of the leak, noting that none of the 97 court employees interviewed confessed to the disclosure. The report did not make clear whether the justices were interviewed in the inquiry.

Some employees admitted they spoke to their spouses or partners about the draft opinion and how the justices voted, a breach of the court's confidentiality rules, the report found.

The leak represented an unprecedented violation of the court's tradition of confidentiality in the behind-the-scenes process of making rulings after hearing oral arguments in cases.

The report was critical of some of the court's internal security protocols.

After examining court computer devices, networks, printers and available call and text logs, investigators found no forensic evidence identifying the leaker, the report said. The report faulted the court for maintaining systems based on trust with few safeguards to limit access to sensitive information.

"The pandemic and resulting expansion of the ability to work from home, as well as gaps in the court's security policies, created an environment where it was too easy to remove sensitive information from the building and the court's IT (information technology) networks, increasing the risk of both deliberate and accidental disclosures of court sensitive information," the report said.

The inquiry will continue to follow any new leads to identify the culprit, the report said. Investigators found "nothing to substantiate" the flurry of speculation on social media after the leak that a specific individual or law clerk was the leaker, it added.

The report recommended that regardless of whether the leaker is identified, the court should "create and implement better policies to govern the handling of court-sensitive information and determine the best IT systems for security and collaboration."

The investigation was conducted at a time of increased scrutiny of the court and concerns about an erosion of its legitimacy. Only 43% of Americans have a favorable view of the court, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted 13-15 Jan, down from 50% last May.

A "statement of the court" accompanying the report called the disclosure one of the worst breaches of trust in its history.

"The leak was no mere misguided attempt at protest. It was a grave assault on the judicial process," the statement said.

'UTTER FAILURE'

Roberts and the court faced criticism for failing to solve the mystery.

"So the Supreme Court is arbitrarily looking through law clerks' Google history, downloading their phone data and fingerprinting a few of them? And even with these intrusions, they essentially have nothing to report? My question is how closely were the justices themselves scrutinized for being the possible culprit of the leak?" asked Gabe Roth, who heads the group Fix the Court that advocates for reform at the court.

Carrie Servino, president of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, wrote on Twitter that report "reflects the chief justice's utter failure in the administrative aspect in his role."

Brian Fallon, co-founder of the liberal legal group Demand Justice, said the court must reveal whether the justices were interviewed in the investigation, saying some of them and their spouses could be prime suspects.

"The idea that the justices themselves may have been excluded from the inquiry undermines the credibility of the whole undertaking. Ultimately, it looks like the Supreme Court may be more interested in protecting its own members than actually solving this whodunit," Fallon said.

Former US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, tapped to assess Curley's investigation, deemed it "thorough."

The ruling upheld a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and ended the recognition of a woman's right to an abortion under the US Constitution. Several Republican-governed states swiftly enacted abortion bans.

Alito found himself in the middle of another leak controversy in November after the New York Times reported a former anti-abortion leader's assertion that he was told in advance about how the court would rule in a major 2014 case involving insurance coverage for women's birth control.

Alito said that any allegation that he or his wife leaked the 2014 decision was "completely false."

World+Biz

USA / Supreme Court / Abortion law

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury at the 11th meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Law and Order on Sunday, 13 July 2025. Photo: TBS
    Combing operation may begin at any time to catch identified criminals: Home adviser
  • Representational image/Collected
    Mitford murder: 2 more accused arrested
  • A file photo of the NBR Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka
    NBR split certain, but ordinance flaws need fixing: Energy adviser

MOST VIEWED

  • RAB Director General AKM Shahidur Rahman speaks at the press briefing on a fake bomb threat on Biman Bangladesh flight on Saturday, 12 July 2025. Photo: TBS
    Mother faked bomb threat on Biman flight to stop married son from flying with girlfriend: RAB
  • Bangladeshi garment workers make clothing in the sewing section of a factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh, April 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo
    Some Walmart garment orders from Bangladesh on hold due to US tariff threat
  • Infographic: TBS
    Dollar price plummets by Tk2.9 in a week as demand wanes
  • Bangladesh and US hold tariff talks on 11 July 2025. Photo: CA Press Wing
    Dhaka, Washington yet to agree on 20% of US tariff conditions: BGMEA
  • Infograph: TBS
    Matarbari power plant eyes G2G coal deal with Indonesia after quality setbacks
  • Dr Mohammad Zakir Hossain, managing director of Delta Pharma Ltd and secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI). Sketch: TBS
    Pharma industry grew with policy support, needs it again to survive: BAPI secretary general

Related News

  • Dhaka, Washington to continue inter-ministerial dialogue as tariff talks end without full consensus
  • Trump tariff on Brazilian goods could jack up US burger price
  • Trump puts 35% tariff on Canada, eyes 15%-20% tariffs for others
  • 35% tariff: Commerce adviser meets US trade representative in Washington
  • Tariff implications: What does Trump actually want to achieve?

Features

The 2020 Harrier's Porsche Cayenne coupe-like rear roofline, integrated LED lighting with the Modellista special bodykit all around, and a swanky front grille scream OEM Plus for the sophisticated enthusiast looking for a bigger family car that isn’t boring. PHOTO: Ahbaar Mohammad

2020 Toyota Harrier Hybrid: The Japanese Macan

23h | Wheels
The showroom was launched through a lavish event held there, and in attendance were DHS Motors’ Managing Director Nafees Khundker, CEO Imran Zaman Khan, and GMs Arman Rashid and Farhan Samad. PHOTO: Akif Hamid

GAC inaugurate flagship showroom in Dhaka

23h | Wheels
After India's visa restriction, China's Kunming is drawing Bangladeshi patients

After India's visa restriction, China's Kunming is drawing Bangladeshi patients

1d | Panorama
Photo: Collected/BBC

What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world

2d | The Big Picture

More Videos from TBS

Legal fight if 'Shapla' symbol is not given: NCP

Legal fight if 'Shapla' symbol is not given: NCP

10m | TBS Today
Prisoner sentenced to prison for not showing news of president in Tunisia

Prisoner sentenced to prison for not showing news of president in Tunisia

2h | TBS World
The price of the dollar is falling; how much can it fall?

The price of the dollar is falling; how much can it fall?

3h | TBS Stories
110 killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza

110 killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza

4h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net