I’m extremely disappointed about the conclusion of the investigation regarding the leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion on Roe v. Wade. And it’s clear that Alito is very angry, too, and I believe he has a right to be. This decision cannot stand, shouldn’t stand, and I think the justice is endeavoring to make sure it doesn’t. Let’s look at the reasons, and why I think this investigation is not over.

Alito has revealed his opinion that he knows who the leaker is at this particular time. He gave the marshal’s investigation time to conclude, and after nine months, I think he believes she was not properly prepared to conduct this investigation. He says:

Alito says the Supreme Court marshal tasked with investigating the leak ‘did a good job with the resources that were available to her’ and ultimately agrees that the evidence from the investigation was insufficient for a public accusation, according to an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

I believe Alito is suggesting that the marshal did not only have inadequate resources materially, but he may also have believed that she did not have the experience to conduct this type of investigation.

He also reminds everyone that the lives of the Justices were threatened, although he doesn’t feel physically threatened:

Alito said he doesn’t feel ‘physically unsafe’ because he’s ‘driven around in basically a tank, and I’m not really supposed to go anyplace by myself without the tank and my members of the police force.’

Does anyone else detect the irony (and underlying anger) in his comment?

And then there is this comment:

The justice declined to comment specifically on that matter but argued there was a ‘concerted attack on the court and on individual justices,’ adding that the pattern is “new during my lifetime.”

‘We are being hammered daily and I think quite unfairly in a lot of instances. And nobody, practically nobody, is defending us. The idea has always been that judges are not supposed to respond to criticisms, but if the courts are being unfairly attacked, the organized bar will come to their defense,’ Alito said, adding, “If anything, they’ve participated to some degree in these attacks.’

The homes of the Justices are still being picketed, disrupting not only their lives but the lives of their families and friends. Merrick Garland claims that the picketers should be allowed to continue in the name of free speech, since he believes that the DOJ is providing adequate protection.

Justice Roberts has a reputation for avoiding controversy about the Court. I propose that he didn’t open the investigation to better-qualified people, because it would draw out the issue; I also think that he might not have wanted to know who did it (since it could have been a Justice), but there was the potential for learning how inadequate the security of SCOTUS was. The result, of course, would have also reflected not only on the Court, but on him personally.

In some ways, Alito may be trying to pressure Roberts to re-open the investigation to more qualified people. At the very least, if the leaker is still employed by the Court, that person must be feeling some discomfort at Alito’s comment. And if identified, he or she should be fired.

I think Justice Alito is not ready to give up on identifying the leaker. The final report did have this to say:

The report indicated that there was little to be done to solve the case but still open avenues to pursue. [my italics]

Let’s hope that Roberts shows some guts and re-opens the investigation to protect SCOTUS, to find the culprit, and to ensure that justice is finally done.