The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the May 2022 leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade. Federal prosecutors are now employing grand jury subpoenas to compel testimony and gather information, marking a significant escalation in the effort to identify the individual responsible for disclosing the Court's confidential deliberations. The investigation, which has reportedly been underway for at least a year, is being overseen by Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, alongside career federal prosecutors and senior deputy Carlton Davis. Neither the Justice Department nor Pirro’s office has offered public comment on the ongoing probe.
"I personally have a pretty good idea who is responsible, but that’s different from the level of proof that is needed to name somebody." Justice Samuel Alito, Supreme Court Justice
The revelation of a criminal investigation brings renewed national attention to an incident that deeply shook the nation's highest court more than four years ago. On May 2, 2022, Politico published a leaked draft majority opinion authored by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The confidential document indicated that a majority of justices had voted to reverse Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, landmark decisions that had established and affirmed a constitutional right to abortion. The unprecedented disclosure ignited a political firestorm across the country, occurring just months before the 2022 midterm elections. It also raised profound concerns regarding the sanctity of confidentiality and security within an institution whose internal processes are traditionally shielded from public scrutiny.
In the immediate aftermath, Chief Justice John Roberts promptly ordered an internal investigation. Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley was tasked with determining how the sensitive document reached the public domain. However, this internal inquiry, which included interviews with 97 Supreme Court employees and law clerks—all of whom signed sworn affidavits denying responsibility—ultimately failed to pinpoint the leaker. In January 2023, investigators concluded they were "unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence." The investigation examined electronic systems and devices but could not definitively trace the leak. While some Court employees admitted to discussing the draft opinion or preliminary vote counts with spouses or partners, violating internal confidentiality rules, these admissions did not establish who provided the document to Politico. Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff later reviewed the investigation and affirmed its thoroughness.
Despite the internal inquiry's conclusion, the identity of the individual responsible for the original disclosure remained unknown even after the Supreme Court issued its final Dobbs decision on June 24, 2022, formally overturning Roe v. Wade. The Department of Justice's new criminal investigation elevates the incident to a different level of scrutiny, bringing the full weight of federal prosecutorial power to bear.
This renewed federal effort follows a public announcement made in May 2025 by former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. Bongino had revealed that the FBI planned to dedicate additional resources to several high-profile investigations, including the Supreme Court leak. Other cases cited at the time included the discovery of cocaine at the White House during the Biden administration and the ongoing Washington, D.C., pipe bombing investigation. Bongino indicated that federal officials had evaluated various matters involving potential public corruption that had garnered significant public attention, leading to decisions to reopen certain investigations or provide them with enhanced resources. The Dobbs leak was explicitly named among these priorities.
Justice Samuel Alito has also publicly voiced his frustration regarding the failure to identify the leaker. In a 2023 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Justice Alito suggested he harbored suspicions about the person responsible. "I personally have a pretty good idea who is responsible, but that’s different from the level of proof that is needed to name somebody," he stated. He further posited that the disclosure was likely intended to prevent the draft opinion from becoming the Court’s final ruling. In a separate interview with Fox News, Justice Alito characterized the incident as a severe breach of trust and warned that the leak had placed members of the Court’s conservative majority in danger, referencing a threat made against Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The current criminal investigation by President Trump's Department of Justice marks a potentially consequential development, primarily because prosecutors are now pursuing testimony through grand jury proceedings, which carry legal weight not present in an internal Court inquiry. However, the issuance of subpoenas does not confirm that investigators have identified the leaker or established that a criminal offense has definitively occurred. No individual has been publicly named as a suspect in the information reported recently, and no criminal charges have been announced. The central mystery of the leak, therefore, remains unresolved. More than four years after a confidential Supreme Court opinion entered the national press, federal investigators are still working to determine who disclosed it. With U.S. Attorney Pirro’s office now actively pursuing testimony from individuals connected to the Court, the investigation into one of Washington’s most closely watched leaks has entered a critical new phase.
