• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

New

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

PoliticsSupreme Court

126 interviews, a fingerprint analysis and nothing conclusive: A look inside the Supreme Court’s abortion opinion leak investigation

By
Jessica Gresko
Jessica Gresko
,
Mark Sherman
Mark Sherman
, and
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jessica Gresko
Jessica Gresko
,
Mark Sherman
Mark Sherman
, and
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 20, 2023, 4:14 PM ET
John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts (L) and Associate Justice Samuel Alito (R) pose for an official portrait at the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court building on October 7, 2022 in Washington, DC.Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Eight months, 126 formal interviews and a 23-page report later, the Supreme Court said it has failed to discover who leaked a draft of the court’s opinion overturning abortion rights.

The report released by the court Thursday is the apparent culmination of an investigation ordered by Chief Justice John Roberts a day after the May leak of the draft to Politico. At the time, Roberts called the leak an “egregious breach of trust.”

The leak touched off protests at justices’ homes and raised concerns about their security. And it came more than a month before the final opinion by Justice Samuel Alito was released and the court formally announced it was overturning Roe v. Wade.

The report also offers a window into the court’s internal processes. It acknowledges that the coronavirus pandemic, which expanded the ability of people to work from home, “as well as gaps in the Court’s security policies, created an environment where it was too easy to remove sensitive information from the building and the Court’s IT networks.” The report recommends changes so that it’s harder for a leak to happen in the future.

Some questions and answers about the report:

If the investigation didn’t find the leaker, what did it find?

Lax security and loose lips. Too many people have access to certain sensitive information, the report concluded, and the court’s policies on information security are outdated. The court can’t actively track, for example, who is handling and accessing highly sensitive information.

Beyond that, some people interviewed by federal investigators called in to help with the probe acknowledged they didn’t scrupulously follow the court’s confidentiality policies. In some cases, employees acknowledged “telling their spouses about the draft opinion or vote count,” the report said.

The leak doesn’t appear to have been the result of a hack, but the report said investigators could not rule out that the opinion was inadvertently disclosed, “for example, by being left in a public space either inside or outside the building.”

How thorough was the investigation?

Investigators conducted 126 formal interviews of 97 employees. They looked into connections between employees and reporters, including those at Politico. They looked at call logs of personal phones. They looked at printer logs. They even did a fingerprint analysis of “an item relevant to the investigation.”

Every person who was interviewed signed a sworn statement that they were not the source of the leak. Lying about that could violate a federal law on false statements.

After all that, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, himself a onetime federal judge, was asked to assess the investigation. Chertoff described the investigation as “thorough” in a statement issued through the court.

One open question: It was unclear from the report whether the court’s nine justices also sat for interviews.

What will change as a result?

It seems clear the court will tighten its procedures, maybe upgrade equipment and likely do more training of personnel in response to the leak. But what it has done already or will do in the future, the court isn’t saying. Investigators made a list of recommendations, but those weren’t attached to the public version of the report to guard against “potential bad actors.”

What about speculation of who it was?

After the leak, speculation swirled in Washington about who the source could be. Conservatives pointed fingers at the liberal side of the court, speculating that the leaker was someone upset about the outcome. Liberals suggested it could be someone on the conservative side of the court who wanted to ensure a wavering member of the five-justice majority didn’t switch sides.

On social media, there was speculation that various law clerks could be the leaker because of their personal backgrounds, including connections to Politico and past writing. The report acknowledged investigators were watching.

“Investigators also assessed the wide array of public speculation, mostly on social media, about any individual who may have disclosed the document. Several law clerks were named in various posts. In their inquiries, the investigators found nothing to substantiate any of the social media allegations regarding the disclosure,” the report said.

What happens next?

The report says investigators aren’t quite done, but it suggests that any active investigation is winding down. “Investigators continue to review and process some electronic data that has been collected and a few other inquiries remain pending,” they said. “To the extent that additional investigation yields new evidence or leads, the investigators will pursue them.”

The final paragraph of the report said, “In time, continued investigation and analysis may produce additional leads that could identify the source of the disclosure.”

Learn how to navigate and strengthen trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter examining what leaders need to succeed. Sign up here.

About the Authors
By Jessica Gresko
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Mark Sherman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By The Associated Press
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Politics

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Politics

New York Attorney General Letitia James looks to her right at a news conference.
LawDonald Trump
20 states and DC sue as Trump moves to share low-income families’ data with immigration authorities
By The Associated Press and Anthony IzaguirreAugust 4, 2026
6 hours ago
US President Donald Trump speaks about the conflict in Iran in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House.
AsiaDonald Trump
Trump claims he’s talking with Iran as they hold talks with other nations
By The Associated Press, Samy Magdy, Elena Becatoros and Josh BoakAugust 4, 2026
6 hours ago
President Donald Trump looks on during an announcement.
CryptoDonald Trump
‘This is insider trading by definition’: Trump sells $100,000 monthly subscription service to Wall Street to further monetize the presidency
By Joshua HongAugust 4, 2026
9 hours ago
t
EconomyWhite House
Trump called his own housing bill a ‘yawn.’ Now he’s heading for a west coast tour with a 32% approval rating on the economy
By Darlene Superville and The Associated PressAugust 4, 2026
13 hours ago
Cars on a highway in the Bronx, N.Y.
Personal FinanceTaxes
How Zohran Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax exposed an epidemic of ‘ghost cars’ instead
By Catherina GioinoAugust 4, 2026
18 hours ago
The Danube is running dry, and Europe’s power grid is suffering as a result
EnvironmentEuropean Union
The Danube is running dry, and Europe’s power grid is suffering as a result
By Justin Spike and The Associated PressAugust 3, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

How Zohran Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax exposed an epidemic of 'ghost cars' instead
Personal Finance
How Zohran Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax exposed an epidemic of 'ghost cars' instead
By Catherina GioinoAugust 4, 2026
18 hours ago
Bars, bowling alleys, and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we're paying with our health
North America
Bars, bowling alleys, and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we're paying with our health
By Catherina GioinoAugust 2, 2026
3 days ago
Ray Dalio on the AI bubble nearing 1929, 2000 levels and the lesson people always forget: 'Wealth is not the same as money'
Investing
Ray Dalio on the AI bubble nearing 1929, 2000 levels and the lesson people always forget: 'Wealth is not the same as money'
By Nick LichtenbergAugust 4, 2026
18 hours ago
Forget Gen Z: People in their 70s and 80s are some of the earliest Americans to welcome physical AI into their homes and daily routines
AI
Forget Gen Z: People in their 70s and 80s are some of the earliest Americans to welcome physical AI into their homes and daily routines
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezAugust 3, 2026
1 day ago
Electric air taxis are finally ready for takeoff
Magazine
Electric air taxis are finally ready for takeoff
By Alexei OreskovicAugust 3, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of August 4, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of August 4, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerAugust 4, 2026
16 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.