Cruz blames Supreme Court abortion leak on Democratic Party's 'vicious partisan politicking'
Sen. Ted Cruz speculates 'angry left-wing law clerk' breached trust of his/her justice in leaking draft opinion on Roe v. Wade
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Tuesday blamed the "vicious partisan politicking" that has been adopted by the present-day Democratic Party after the Supreme Court’s draft of a decision on abortion was leaked.
"The fact that this draft was leaked, as someone who spent an entire career litigating before the Supreme Court, I’m utterly horrified. I’ve never seen anything remotely like this," Cruz told reporters in a hallway on Capitol Hill. "I am certain that all nine justices right now are unsure how the court can continue to proceed, unsure of how the court can be able to decide cases if the vicious partisan politicking that categorizes today’s Democrat Party now becomes how employees of the court operate, that is an incredible threat to our independent judiciary."
His remarks came in response to a draft opinion that, if published, would overturn Roe v. Wade.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Politico exclusively reported Monday evening about the February draft decision document, prompting protests outside the Supreme Court Tuesday from groups on both the pro-life and pro-choice side of the issue.
Cruz, appearing earlier on FOX Business’ "Varney & Co," speculated that the person responsible for the leak is "some angry left-wing law clerk who breached the trust to, his or her justice, who breached the trust to the Supreme Court, who breached the trust of the American people and took a first draft of an opinion and decided to leak it to everyone."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, speaks during a 'Faith & Freedom' rally with Josh Mandel, U.S. Republican senate candidate for Ohio, in Columbus, Ohio, U.S., on Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Photographer: Gaelen Morse/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"In over two centuries of our nation's history, this has never happened, and this is as corrosive, as destructive to the Supreme Court as we've ever seen," he said.
The Supreme Court broke its silence regarding the leak later Tuesday morning, verifying that although the document was authentic, justices circulate draft opinions internally as part of their deliberative work, and it does not represent a final position of any member on the issues in the case.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In an accompanying statement, Chief Justice John Roberts called upon the Marshal of the Court to investigate the situation and find the source who leaked the document to Politico.
Praising the court’s staff for generally being "intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law," Roberts condemned the leak as an "egregious breach of that trust" intended to undermine the court, while stressing that such a political maneuver would not succeed.