Tipsheet

NPR's Progressive SCOTUS Correspondent: I Think the 'Dobbs' Leaker Was Probably a Right-Winger

Guy Benson
Guy Benson  |  May 09, 2022 10:20 AM

Look, it's possible. So long as the investigation is underway, with the culprit or culprits still yet to be identified, various scenarios should be considered. There is one school of thought, advanced by NPR's Nina Totenberg, that posits a theory that a conservative clerk or staffer leaked the draft, with various potential motives. But for what it's worth – and I'll emphasize that I think the party or parties responsible should face grave career consequences, no matter who did it – I tend to agree with Allahpundit's initial analysis that while a few plausible possibilities exist, perhaps the likeliest outcome of the whodunit riddle is that the leak emerged from the leftist wing of the Court. Totenberg evidently dismisses that reasoning altogether, stating that the only sensible theory implicates SCOTUS' right flank: 


There are, shall we say, a few counterpoints: 


The White House declined to denounce the shocking, institution-undermining leak, and also refused to condemn the doxxing of conservative Supreme Court justices, whose personal homes were picketed over the weekend. The Biden administration effectively endorsed this: 


The media, fortifying its reputation as purveyors of zealous abortion activism, has actually lionized some of the individuals picketing private homes. Would the Washington Post write a sympathetic puff piece about a right-wing figure stalking Justice Sotomayor at her private residence, after the liberal justices' addresses were published online by, say, the Proud Boys? We all know the answer to that question. Might Team Biden and the journalist class bring themselves to rebuke this attack if it turns out to be what it appears to be? 


Derek Thompson of The Atlantic also notices that more leaks appear to have emerged from the Court, this time from the conservative side: 

Recommended

Here's the Final Tally on How Much Money Trump Raised for Hurricane Victims Katie Pavlich
Since When Did We Republicans Start Being Against Punishing Criminals? Kurt Schlichter


There may have been some vague whispers to the Wall Street Journal editorial board weeks ago, then came the stunning and unprecedented leak of an entire draft opinion. With the lid blown fully off this story in such a startling way, people are chattering to reporters about what's happening behind closed doors. None of this is good. None of this is helping the Court or our institutions. The premature Dobbs revelation must be regarded as an appalling and singular outlier and not the start of a trend. Swift and painful repercussions for whomever is responsible might go a long way as a deterrent. Former US Attorney General Bill Barr told me he believes criminal charges may be appropriate: 

"This was an obstruction of the judicial process. It was an interference in the due administration of justice. So I think that it’s a crime that was done -- appears to have been done. And I think eventually it will be shown to have been done in order to derail the opinion and upset the deliberations of the court. And so I think ultimately it belongs in the criminal justice side of things. And the person who did this should go to jail."

Meanwhile, the fringe left's unhinged reaction to all of this continues apace: 


I'll leave you with a reminder that Senate Democrats' radical bill that the media dutifully describes as "codifying Roe" in fact goes much, much further than codifying Roe. And I wrote last week that because public opinion on abortion is actually quite complicated, and because there are other major issues confronting the electorate right now, the Democrat-press narrative of an abortion game-changer might be overblown. Here's a post-leak data point from CNN that buttresses my analysis: