The leak and how Roberts deserved it
So much for maintaining the integrity of the Supreme Court
Yes, the leak is unprecedented. But this is the Left. The Left exists to tears things down. The Left makes precedent out of the unprecedented. Their Overton Window is wide open.
Roberts deems himself the Keeper of the Institution. His weird ruling in Sebilius (Obamacare) illustrates his split-the-baby approach. He routinely sides with the minority to project balance. He studiously avoids encroaching on the other branches. He refused to insert the court into the 2020 election mess.
He views the court as being above it all.
Sorry, John, that ship has sailed. Ask Bork. Thomas. Kavanaugh. Ask the court packers. To the Left, they will either own the Courts, or it becomes yet another institution to upend.
I understand from people in the know that the leaker may well have been a clerk of the Wise Latina. We’ll see.
Early reports indicate Roberts will ask the FBI to investigate. This will accomplish his goal to smother the topic and, characteristically, further undermine public confidence in the institution. He could turn the Court upside down to find the culprit, keeping the investigation within its walls — lie detectors, the whole bit. THis would be the right thing to do? Will he? Let’s hope.
Meanwhile, I understand Alito’s draft ruling is a tour de force rooted in (get this!) the Constitution and (gasp!) the law. I’ll take the time to read it directly and not rely on news reports as this is a decision (even in draft form) that is worth it. It’s Plessy v Ferguson level stuff — worth the time.
The timing of the leak is instructive. It’s got the feel of a Hail Mary pass, but at the end of the 3rd quarter. When I first heard of the leak last night I thought it timed well with the release of the 2000 Mules movie release — to distract from its impact. We’ll see.
Overall, the timing seems to me uncharacteristically unstructured from the standpoint of the Left — masters at propaganda. Where are rent-a-mob crowds at SCOTUS? The sky-screamers didn’t materialize. I see more news maggots there than protesters, and the feel of news coverage is of disappointment in the absence of Molotov cocktails. Not to say protests will not eventually appear, but it appears the leak was released ahead of plan. The time to light up the streets is summer, when the ruling comes down, not early spring.
So, maybe it’s truly a rogue clerk who acted independently of a SCOTUS.
Was the leak timed to sway Kavanaugh who, according to the Politico report, would be 1 of the 5 aligning with Alito — Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Barrett, Kav. If so, and if Kav buckles, it sure harks back to his circus Senate approval, no? The attack by the Left then was an insurance card for now.
This type of strategy would rule out a spontaneous leak by a rogue clerk. So, maybe it’s a clerk who acted in concert with a SCOTUS.
It appears to me the best explanation of the leak’s timing lies in an attempt to turn Kav before he settles on his vote. The leaked draft was from February; it’d be interesting to know its current form to see if it’s been modified to gain Kav’s buy in. I suppose we’ll have to do a diff when the ruling finally comes down. (Unless it’s leaked once more in the interim!!)
One thing for sure is that Roberts has a real problem on his hands now.
(P.s.: Huh. And just like that, The Federalist weighs in with the same conclusion as me about how Roberts brought this on!! That means they’re in the big leagues now … hahahaha.)
(P.p.s.: Was it, in fact, a leak? Twitter dude Mike Cernovich, who has a gigantic following, is hinting at an outside source like NSA as the source of the Politico story. A hack, not a leak. Hmmm. Hack or leak, the intent to sway Kav would be )
(P.p.p.s: Breaking news that Roberts will involve the SCOTUS marshals, not FBI (or at least FBI directly), which is a good sign.