On Tuesday, senior Republicans called for a criminal investigation and charges against the source behind an expired Supreme Court ruling overturning Rowe v. Wade, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky saying the move was “illegal action” and should be investigated and punished as fully as possible. “
“The chief justice must reach the bottom and the Ministry of Justice must bring criminal charges, if applicable,” he said in a statement.
Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) added on Twitter that he hoped the source would be “fired, persecuted and should serve a real sentence in prison.”
While Chief Justice John Roberts ordered the sheriff’s court to investigate the matter, legal experts said it was unclear what charges, if any, the Justice Department could prosecute for such a violation. A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice declined to comment.
Most leak investigations focus on disclosing information that is classified or contained in confidential financial disclosures that are illegal under federal law.
“Although this appears to be a violation of protocol, tradition and in some respects endangers the integrity of the Supreme Court’s trial, I would not characterize it as a leak of classified information,” said Ari Redboard, a former federal prosecutor. “From a purely criminal investigation, I’m not sure I know what a criminal charge would look like in this case.
Another federal law prohibits the theft or receipt of stolen government information or documents. But legal experts said it was unclear whether the statute – 18 USC 641 – would apply if the source had legal access to the project and shared it with Politico without compensation.
“While 641 is picked up every time there is a leak, we don’t usually see prosecution and convictions occur because the statute is not suitable for leaking a digital copy of a document that the source already had legal access to,” he wrote on Twitter. another former federal prosecutor, Renato Mariotti.
Former federal prosecutor Ken White said a criminal charge would be more likely if the source lied to investigators investigating the matter. And, experts said, a person may face professional consequences, even if he is not charged.
“Whether I think there is any credible charge really depends on the specific circumstances of the leak,” Mr White said.
The draft opinion was published on Monday night by Politico, which he said was written by Judge Samuel Alito and is the court’s opinion, which suggests that the majority supports it. The authenticity of the draft, dated February, was confirmed by Chief Justice Roberts, but he said it was not necessarily the final decision in the case. A Supreme Court spokeswoman declined to comment.
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