Q&A Of the Day – SCOTUS Abortion Leak & Its implications for Florida’s Law
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
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Today’s entries:
- Now the FBI is involved they will do a great job as they did with Hunter Biden laptop. They will lose everything!
- Brian, this decision means Florida’s law will stand right?
- @brianmuddradio You know if these women would worry more about not getting pregnant, than getting abortions we wouldn't have to do so many abortions. Just a thought.
- @brianmuddradio - #RoeVWade leak is a perfect example of your famous phrase 'two sides to stories, 1 side to facts'!
Bottom Line: These are just a few of the notes I received on back of the breaking news of the historic leak of a potential majority opinion pertaining to abortion rights. On back of the leak the FBI quickly announced they were investigating the origin of the leak – which one might imagine should be rather straight forward to unravel. I’ll address the points and questions brought about, including the implications for Florida, in breaking all of this down. Let’s start with the leak itself.
A Supreme Court leak of this magnitude, distributed the way this was, was unprecedented. SCOTUS leaks are not, however. Previous Supreme Court leaks include none other than the original Roe V. Wade case in 1972. Justice William Douglas had drafted a memo (not an opinion as is the case with this leak) pertaining to the case indicating how the court would rule. The leak was received by Time who published it prior to the actual decision being issued. In 1977, a leak was received by NPR that the Supreme Court would not review convictions of those convicted in the Watergate cover-up. In 2004, a leak from law clerks leaked the SCOTUS deliberations in Bush v Gore – Florida 2000. The leak was issued to Vanity Fair. And then there was the one that perhaps changed the course of history in the country. The 2012 ruling on the Affordable Care Act. A 2012 leak to Forbes stated Justice Kennedy would vote against the ACA – which proved true. However, the assumption at the time was that his vote would fully strike down the law. A subsequent leak to CBS revealed that Justice Roberts changed his mind to fully strike down the law, after the initial leak regarding Kennedy and instead decided to rewrite the law as a tax in order to make it constitutional.
What the 2012 ACA ruling and leaks revealed was that Chief Justice John Roberts may potentially be influenced by external factors. That no doubt factors into the timing of this SCOTUS leak. A potential pressure campaign to influence a Justice or two who is on the fence about this. What makes this leak unprecedented is not just the significance of this particular ruling, but that it’s the first time an actual draft of an apparent prevailing court opinion has been leaked. So now I’ll wade into the current considerations. Let's start with the FBI investigation.
At the request of Chief Justice John Roberts, the FBI has opened a probe into the leak. In the grand scheme of federal investigations – this should be about as straightforward as they come. Politico is a left leaning inside the beltway entity. The Politico reporter Alito’s opinion was leaked to was Alexander Ward. That’s notable because Ward is a National Security reporter for Politico. He has nothing to do with the SCOTUS beat. That’s a first, telling, place to start. Whomever leaked it to Ward would almost certainly be an operative whose worked with him previously. The only way there isn’t a quick, easy, explanation to how this happened – would be if somehow there were some kind of hack into where this draft was being stored (though there’s no indication that’s the case). Almost certainly this was one of the very few law clerks with access with an intentional reason for leaking it to a Politico Reporter with no direct connection to the Supreme Court. Now, I hear your skepticism of the FBI investigation and understand. In fact, most Americans do.
According to Rasmussen’s polling as of January only 46% of Americans held a favorable view of the FBI compared to 47% who held an unfavorable view of the agency. It was the first time in American history there’s been net distrust of the FBI by the American people. And it’s sadly been earned. The failures of the FBI to connect the dots to stop attacks at Stoneman Douglas and the Pulse Night club are examples within Florida. The evidence of the FBI’s involvement in the Trump-Russia Collusion conspiracy stands as another. So yeah, it's unfortunate that most of us don’t trust the FBI. A legit investigation with a clear finding and accountability for any involved would be an opportunity for a faith restoring moment here. As for the implications for Florida’s law...
If, and it’s a big if, this draft ruling proves to be the actual decision in the Mississippi abortion case – the ruling would squarely place the onus for abortion policy in the hands of the states. As I’ve often depicted when discussing abortion policy previously, abortion was never legalized by the Supreme Court, because the Supreme Court doesn’t make law. Under our system of government, we’re free to do what we see fit provided it isn’t restricted by law. The abortion question has always been one about whether unborn babies have rights. Under Florida’s law, the answer is yes, starting at 15 weeks – which the SCOTUS decision would allow to stand.
And yes, as always, there remain two sides to stories and one side to facts. I’ll continue to bring you the facts.