Ted Cruz, R-Texas – Sen. Ted Cruz blamed Tuesday the “vicious political politicking”, which has been adopted today by the Democratic Party following the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft decision on abortion.
“The fact this draft was leaked is shocking. As someone who has spent a lifetime litigating before the Supreme Court I am utterly shocked. Cruz said that he had never seen anything even remotely similar in person. He spoke to reporters in a corridor on Capitol Hill. “I’m certain that all nine justices are unsure how to continue the court’s progress, unsure of how it can decide cases if the vicious partisan politicking which categorizes today’s Democrat Party now becomes the way employees of the court work, that is an unbelievable threat to our independent judiciary.”
His comments were in response to a draft opinion, which if published would overturn Roe V. Wade.
Politico reported exclusively Monday night about the February draft decision document. This prompted protests at the Supreme Court Tuesday by groups from both pro-lifers and those who support the right to choose.
Cruz appeared earlier on FOX Business’s “Vanery & Co” and speculated that the leaker is “some angry leftwing law clerk who violated the trust, his or her justice who breached trust to the Supreme Court, breached trust to the American people, and then took a draft of an opinion and decided it would be leaked to everyone.”
He stated that “In more than two centuries of the history of our country, this has never occurred and this is as destructive, as destructive to Supreme Court as any we’ve ever seen.”
Later Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court broke their silence about the leak. It confirmed that the document was authentic. Justices circulate draft opinions within their deliberative process and it does not reflect a final position on any of the cases.
Chief Justice John Roberts made an accompanying statement and asked the Marshal to investigate the situation to find out who leaked the document from Politico.
Roberts praised the court’s staff for being “intensely loyal the institution and dedicated the rule of the law”, while denying that the leak was an “egregious breach in that trust” meant to undermine the court. He also stressed that such a political maneuver would fail.