The Supreme Court announced on Thursday that it cannot identify the person who leaked a draft of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade.
The high court released a 23-page report on its investigation into the leak, which rocked the political world when Politico published the draft opinion in May. The court has been seeking to identify the person behind the leak and is continuing its probe into the matter.
A report from the court said 'it is not possible to determine the identity of any individual who may have disclosed the document or how the draft opinion ended up with Politico. No one confessed to publicly disclosing the document and none of the available forensic and other evidence provided a basis for identifying any individual as the source of the document.'
The Supreme Court announced that it cannot identify the person who leaked a draft of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
A cyber security breach was also ruled out.
'While investigators and the Court's IT experts cannot absolutely rule out a hack, the evidence to date reveals no suggestion of improper outside access.' the report said.
Politico's publication eight months ago of the draft opinion by Samuel Alito was the first time an opinion became public before the court was ready to announce it.
Chief Justice John Roberts ordered the investigation the next day into what he called an 'egregious breach of trust.'
Investigators 'conducted 126 formal interviews of 97 employees, all of whom denied disclosing the opinion,' the court said.
They are still conducting their search.
Investigators are continuing to 'review and process some electronic data that has been collected and a few other inquiries remain pending,' the report said.
The U.S. Supreme Court justices: Seated (L-R): Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Samuel A. Alito, Jr. and Elena Kagan. Standing (L-R): Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson
The final opinion released in the Dobbs case was strikingly similar to the draft opinion that Politico published. The publication resulted in fury from Democrats over the expected setback in abortion rights and suspicions from Republicans the leak was done to ensure the draft opinion stood.
The five conservative judges on the court overturned Roe - the landmark case that legalized abortion - with the ruling, which was authored by Justice Samuel Alito.
Roberts sided with the court's three liberals on the matter.
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