There are 42 comments.

1. Member
   Full Size Tabby

   @FullSizeTabby

   3:29 PM EST ⋅ Jan 20, 2023

   Django (View Comment):

   FWIW: Supreme Court Report Sparks Suspicions About Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito (msn.com)

   The reported suspicions don’t pass the “smell test.” Justices Thomas and Alito have too much respect for the institution to do something as heinous as leak a draft opinion. Although I disagree with some of the actions of Chief Justice Roberts in claiming to protect the institution, I still think he also respects the institution too much to be the leaker. Justice Sotomayor keeps coming up in the suspicions thinking because her obvious lack of intellectual firepower, and some of her comments during her confirmation hearing, leave many of us uncertain of how well she understands what it takes to maintain public respect for the institution of the court. I’m sure she does respect it, but she does not seem as clear about how important it is to work so hard to maintain the institutional integrity. 

2. Member
   Django

   @Django

   3:33 PM EST ⋅ Jan 20, 2023

   Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

   Django (View Comment):

   FWIW: Supreme Court Report Sparks Suspicions About Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito (msn.com)

   The reported suspicions don’t pass the “smell test.” Justices Thomas and Alito have too much respect for the institution to do something as heinous as leak a draft opinion. Although I disagree with some of the actions of Chief Justice Roberts in claiming to protect the institution, I still think he also respects the institution too much to be the leaker. Justice Sotomayor keeps coming up in the suspicions thinking because her obvious lack of intellectual firepower, and some of her comments during her confirmation hearing, leave many of us uncertain of how well she understands what it takes to maintain public respect for the institution of the court. I’m sure she does respect it, but she does not seem as clear about how important it is to work so hard to maintain the institutional integrity.

   Sotomayor is the justice who said that she didn’t understand why the states could do something the federal government couldn’t. Some people suggested that she re-read the Tenth Amendment: 

   The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

3. Member
   Hoyacon

   @Hoyacon

   6:23 PM EST ⋅ Jan 20, 2023

   One of the issues here is that this was not pursued as a crime, which one could and should have argued that it was.  There are appropriate federal statutes that could have allowed use of more aggressive prosecutorial tactics, but  Roberts and his Marshall went in another direction closer to kid gloves.

    

    

4. Coolidge
   DaveSchmidt

   @DaveSchmidt

   7:54 PM EST ⋅ Jan 20, 2023

   kedavis (View Comment):

   Steve Fast (View Comment):

   kedavis (View Comment):

   Still could have been an employee, who lied despite the affidavits.

   Just because they sign affidavits doesn’t make it impossible for them to lie.

   It means if they’re later found to have lied, they can be prosecuted, but how likely is that to happen?

   It could have been an employee who lied, but that they didn’t investigate the justices seems to be a major gap in the investigation. I think they knew exactly who did it, but for reasons of workplace comity, Roberts decided not to out Sotomayor publicly. He had a big investigation as a warning to everyone that this would not be tolerated in the future. If he didn’t make a big deal of it, leaking of opinions might become common.

   Unless this means that the NEXT TIME Monia Motomayor leaks an opinion there will be hell to pay, which seems unlikely, what difference does it really make?

   If the next leaks just means they round up 82 employees for affidavits again, that won’t stop anyone.

   This sounds like the most likely course of action. 

5. Coolidge
   DaveSchmidt

   @DaveSchmidt

   7:59 PM EST ⋅ Jan 20, 2023

   Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

   Django (View Comment):

   FWIW: Supreme Court Report Sparks Suspicions About Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito (msn.com)

   The reported suspicions don’t pass the “smell test.” Justices Thomas and Alito have too much respect for the institution to do something as heinous as leak a draft opinion. Although I disagree with some of the actions of Chief Justice Roberts in claiming to protect the institution, I still think he also respects the institution too much to be the leaker. Justice Sotomayor keeps coming up in the suspicions thinking because her obvious lack of intellectual firepower, and some of her comments during her confirmation hearing, leave many of us uncertain of how well she understands what it takes to maintain public respect for the institution of the court. I’m sure she does respect it, but she does not seem as clear about how important it is to work so hard to maintain the institutional integrity.

   I think Sotomayor respects the usefulness of the Supreme Court.  If it is not useful that ends the obligation to be respectful. 

6. Member
   The Reticulator

   @TheReticulator

   9:43 PM EST ⋅ Jan 20, 2023

   Hoyacon (View Comment):

   One of the issues here is that this was not pursued as a crime, which one could and should have argued that it was. There are appropriate federal statutes that could have allowed use of more aggressive prosecutorial tactics, but Roberts and his Marshall went in another direction closer to kid gloves.

    

    

   They shouldn’t give up without giving waterboarding a try.  

7. Member
   Hoyacon

   @Hoyacon

   10:03 PM EST ⋅ Jan 20, 2023

   The Reticulator (View Comment):

   Hoyacon (View Comment):

   One of the issues here is that this was not pursued as a crime, which one could and should have argued that it was. There are appropriate federal statutes that could have allowed use of more aggressive prosecutorial tactics, but Roberts and his Marshall went in another direction closer to kid gloves.

    

    

   They shouldn’t give up without giving waterboarding a try.

   Reasonable.  I’d even wear my “I’d rather be waterboarding” T-shirt for the occasion.  

   Yes, it exists.

8. Coolidge
   kedavis

   @kedavis

   10:10 PM EST ⋅ Jan 20, 2023

   Hoyacon (View Comment):

   The Reticulator (View Comment):

   Hoyacon (View Comment):

   One of the issues here is that this was not pursued as a crime, which one could and should have argued that it was. There are appropriate federal statutes that could have allowed use of more aggressive prosecutorial tactics, but Roberts and his Marshall went in another direction closer to kid gloves.

    

    

   They shouldn’t give up without giving waterboarding a try.

   Reasonable. I’d even wear my “I’d rather be waterboarding” T-shirt for the occasion.

   Yes, it exists.

   Is there a shirt that says “I’d rather be waterboarded?”

   Probably doesn’t sell much.

9. Member
   Hoyacon

   @Hoyacon

   10:12 PM EST ⋅ Jan 20, 2023

   kedavis (View Comment):

   Hoyacon (View Comment):

   The Reticulator (View Comment):

   Hoyacon (View Comment):

   One of the issues here is that this was not pursued as a crime, which one could and should have argued that it was. There are appropriate federal statutes that could have allowed use of more aggressive prosecutorial tactics, but Roberts and his Marshall went in another direction closer to kid gloves.

    

    

   They shouldn’t give up without giving waterboarding a try.

   Reasonable. I’d even wear my “I’d rather be waterboarding” T-shirt for the occasion.

   Yes, it exists.

   Is there a shirt that says “I’d rather be waterboarded?”

   Probably doesn’t sell much.

   If I was ever in audience for The View (unlikely), I would wear it.

10. Inactive
    BDB

    @BDB

    12:50 PM EST ⋅ Jan 21, 2023

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    One of the issues here is that this was not pursued as a crime, which one could and should have argued that it was. There are appropriate federal statutes that could have allowed use of more aggressive prosecutorial tactics, but Roberts and his Marshall went in another direction closer to kid gloves.

    Increasingly, the investigation is the cover-up.  Don’t know about here, but it sure fits.

11. Coolidge
    DaveSchmidt

    @DaveSchmidt

    10:45 PM EST ⋅ Jan 21, 2023

    BDB (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    One of the issues here is that this was not pursued as a crime, which one could and should have argued that it was. There are appropriate federal statutes that could have allowed use of more aggressive prosecutorial tactics, but Roberts and his Marshall went in another direction closer to kid gloves.

    Increasingly, the investigation is the cover-up. Don’t know about here, but it sure fits.

    I too think it fits.

12. Member
    Ida Claire

    @IdaClaire

    12:20 PM EST ⋅ Jan 22, 2023

    Stephen Breyer had the least to lose…?