Samuel Alito’s Self-Serving Dobbs Leak Theory Is Back In The News

//

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Samuel Alito’s turn as a despicable wrestling heel is far from over — indeed, the justice is leaning in. On Friday — more than a month after we’d all pretty much come to the conclusion that the leak of the Dobbs decision, which ended the 50 years of reproductive freedom in this country, came from the right of the Court — Alito is back out talking his shit about the unprecedented leak.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-top-300x250" ); });

A lot of it we’ve heard before — Alito has been pushing the victim narrative for a while. His theory is that the leak of the Dobbs decision before it was formalized could have incentivized assassins eager to stop the decision.

Sponsored Navigating Economic Uncertainty: 6 Tips To Keep Your Investments On Track How you can get through current challenges while advancing long-term goals. From Trion Properties  

“Those of us who were thought to be in the majority, thought to have approved my draft opinion, were really targets of assassination,” he said. “It was rational for people to believe that they might be able to stop the decision in Dobbs by killing one of us.”

Nearly verbatim, this is what Alito said back in October. Because he cares a lot more about his own potential security risk — despite the ballooning security budget for the Court. But not at all about the rising mortality rate for childbirth that is directly traceable back to the Dobbs decision he penned.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-middle-300x250" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-storycontent-440x100" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-in-story-youtube-1x1" ); });

Perhaps it isn’t surprising Alito is pushing the Shaggy theory (Wasn’t Me). We now know (long suspected, but now know) thanks to Joan Biskupic’s new book, Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court’s Drive to the Right and Its Historic Consequences, that the leak calcified Alito’s draft as the opinion of the Court, taking momentum away from John Roberts’s death by a thousand cuts approach.

Alito also went on to say that although “investigators have been unable to determine at this time, using a preponderance of the evidence standard, the identity of the person(s) who disclosed the draft majority opinion,” he has a “pretty good idea” who leaked the opinion. He’s just trolling us, right? Like he just wants to see how many Man in the Mirror references can be made. Because Alito’s pet theory of the leak is not more likely than the leak coming from someone who had a vested interest in solidifying the bold approach of Alito’s original draft. Indeed, THAT’S WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED, so there’s a pretty good chance the leaker put that pretty obvious puzzle together all by themselves.

Sponsored Sponsored The Ultimate Guide To eDiscovery With Google Workspace And Google Vault An effective team must be well-equipped to handle the unique challenges these tools present. From Onna and Above The Law   Sponsored Introducing Filevine’s 2023 Customer Benchmark Report Explore new data on how modern law firms are managing their work. From Filevine and Above The Law   Sponsored Navigating Economic Uncertainty: 6 Tips To Keep Your Investments On Track How you can get through current challenges while advancing long-term goals. From Trion Properties   Sponsored You, Too, Can ‘Recession Proof’ Your Firm. Here’s How. With today’s practice management tech, it’s easier than you think. Download our free Practice Management Buyer’s Guide here. From Above the Law  

Alito’s comments are absolutely a rehash of the tired stories he’s rolled out before. But given the lack of formal clarity on the leaker, I imagine we’ll hear the tale again and again. It’s a surefire way to ensure popular culture has an alternative theory as to the leaker’s identity that casts doubt on the logical right-wing culprit.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-bottom-300x250" ); }); Sponsored Sponsored Making History With Shepard’s Citations From Ethan Beberness   Sponsored You, Too, Can ‘Recession Proof’ Your Firm. Here’s How. With today’s practice management tech, it’s easier than you think. Download our free Practice Management Buyer’s Guide here. From Above the Law   Topics

Alito Leak, Courts, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Supreme Court