Washington - Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of a leaked preliminary draft opinion in a pivotal abortion case and ordered an immediate investigation in what he called a "betrayal of the confidences" of the Supreme Court.

Politico, who published 98-page document, written by conservative justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., and calling for the overturning of the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade, on Monday night, sent a memo to staff members on Tuesday saying it had restricted access to its offices and told security to be “extra vigilant” about visitors.

The company also urged employees to consider removing their Politico affiliation on social media accounts. The company has not reported any specific threats.

In a statement released late Tuesday morning, Roberts said he has directed the Marshal of the Court "to launch an investigation into the source of the leak." Such internal working drafts are supposed to remain strictly confidential, according to the court's longstanding custom.

"To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the court will not be affected in any way," Roberts said in the statement.

"We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce — permanent employees and law clerks alike — intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law," the statement continued.

"Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court," Roberts said. "This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here."

Additionally, the court issued the following statement: "Yesterday, a news organization published a copy of a draft opinion in a pending case. Justices circulated draft opinions internally as a routine part of the Court's confidential deliberative work. Although the document described in yesterday's report is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case."

The Federalist, a conservative website, headlined a story: “The SCOTUS Abortion Decision Leak is what Actual Treasonous Insurrection Looks Like.” The site said it believed the news was leaked to bully justices into changing their votes reoprted AP.

It’s very rare for internal Supreme Court discussions to be made public, and unprecedented for a full draft decision to see the light of day — much less for one of the most closely watched cases to come before justices in years.

Demonstrators quickly appeared outside of the court, and cable news networks rearranged schedules to cover the news.

Biden questions moment of conception
President Joe Biden asserted Tuesday that no “mainstream” religion claims to know when human life begins, a contradiction to his Catholic faith.

Video Courtesy : The Guardian

“Roe says what all basic mainstream religions have historically concluded, that the existence of a human life and being is a question,” Biden told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. “Is it at the moment of conception? Is it six months? Is it six weeks? Is it quickening, like Aquinas argued?”

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the Catholic Church’s pro-life position has remained consistent from the beginning.

The president, who identifies as Catholic, supports abortion, which the Catholic Church teaches is a grave evil that destroys a human person with inherent dignity and worth.

Biden, in an earlier statement issued on Tuesday, outlined his plans to protect abortion. “If the Court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose,” the president said. “And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November.”
-CNA/AP