OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr says the leak of the Supreme Court’s memo on overturning Roe v. Wade was an “unforgivable sin.”
During an interview on Fox News with host Larry Kudlow, Barr was asked about the Supreme Court reportedly voting in favor of striking down the controversial Roe v. Wade decision.
A draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito was leaked to Politico on Monday night and it set off a firestorm on social media.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts called the leak of a draft opinion “absolutely appalling” and announced an investigation to find the leaker.
Barr didn’t waste time speaking about who may or may not have been the leaker but said the individual “belongs in jail” and should be punished.
Below is a transcript of the exchange:
Kudlow: You are pretty pedal off rightfully so at this leak. My reading this morning is calling for a special counsel? Is that right?
Barr: I think ultimately this should lead the prosecution if this was done to disrupt the court which appeared to be pretty it could be the Justice Department, it could be a special counsel but at the end of the day whoever did this belongs in jail.
Kudlow: Speed when I was just reading nine justices and 36 clerks. 45 people who have their hands on this. You think it was one of the liberal clerks?
Barr: I don’t think it was a justice but beyond that, I don’t want to speculate about it. It could’ve been a clerk.
Kudlow: I think whoever leaked this was trying to derail what they saw as this opinion. You think that’s going to work the derail idea? For some skeptical that they necessarily early had five boats. Things may have been in flux but it could have the opposite effect it could make it harder for someone to change their view on this for fear they will be succumbing to this pressure. I don’t know how this is gonna play.
Barr: Not necessarily locked-in. Remember ObamaCare where the vote was changed at the very end before when out. I’m not so sure these votes were locked-in. It is quite possible that someone who generally is supportive of Justice Alito’s view but was perhaps could be one way now reluctant to change their vote. The leaking could have the opposite effect of what the leaker thought it could have.
WATCH:
Soon after Alito’s draft majority opinion leaked, it’s assumed there were at least 5 votes in favor of overturning Roe v Wade, leaving state legislators to weigh their own abortion policies.
More bluntly, if the Supreme Court does announce that Roe v Wade is overturned, each state will have to pass abortion laws and it’s likely many will enact very strict measures against the practice.
“The draft opinion is a full-throated, unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and a subsequent 1992 decision – Planned Parenthood v. Casey – that largely maintained the right,” Politico reported.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Alito writes.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” he writes in the document, labeled as the “Opinion of the Court.”
Alito adds: “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
“We, therefore, hold the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey must be overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives,” Alito writes in the document, labeled the ‘Opinion of the Court.’
Politico reported:
Deliberations on controversial cases have in the past been fluid. Justices can and sometimes do change their votes as draft opinions circulate and major decisions can be subject to multiple drafts and vote-trading, sometimes until just days before a decision is unveiled. The court’s holding will not be final until it is published, likely in the next two months,
The immediate impact of the ruling as drafted in February would be to end a half-century guarantee of federal constitutional protection of abortion rights and allow each state to decide whether to restrict or ban abortion. It’s unclear if there have been subsequent changes to the draft.
🚨 BREAKING: The Supreme Court has reportedly voted to strike down Roe v. Wade pic.twitter.com/htqfLzO0ta
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 3, 2022
