Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said this week that the leaking of a draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade put the lives of him and his fellow justices at risk.
“It was a grave betrayal of trust by somebody,” Alito said at a public interview with the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday, according to The New York Times. “It was a shock, because nothing like that had happened in the past. It certainly changed the atmosphere at the court for the remainder of last term.”
He went on to say, “The leak also made those of us who were thought to be in the majority in support of overruling Roe and Casey targets for assassination because it gave people a rational reason to think they could prevent that from happening by killing one of us.”
Alito also hit out at those who question the court’s legitimacy following the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Everybody in this country is free to disagree with our decisions,” he said. “Everybody is free to criticize our reasoning, and in strong terms. And that certainly is done in the media, in writings of law professors and on social media.”
“But to say the court is exhibiting lack of integrity is something quite different,” he added. “That goes to character.”
Alito said: “Someone also crosses an important line when they say that the court is acting in a way that is illegitimate. I don’t think that anybody in a position of authority should make that claim lightly. That is not just ordinary criticism. That is something very different.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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