Justice Department Steps Up Criminal Probe Into 2022 Supreme Court Dobbs Draft Leak

The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the 2022 leak of the Supreme Court's draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, and prosecutors have recently issued grand jury subpoenas, according to a New York Times report published Thursday. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro is overseeing the inquiry. Prosecutors are seeking testimony and information from people who worked at the court when the draft in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization was disclosed to Politico in May 2022. The final ruling came nearly two months after the leak and let states set narrower limits on abortion. The Supreme Court ran its own investigation and said in January 2023 that it could not determine who provided the draft. A source familiar with the probe said career prosecutors are handling it primarily, while a Justice Department spokesperson declined to confirm or deny an investigation. Next steps were not immediately clear. Newsweek noted that some potentially applicable federal statutes are nearing five-year limitations periods and that President Donald Trump and other conservatives have kept calling for the leaker to be identified.

The New York Times, the left-leaning outlet, leads with the investigation accelerating and says investigators are using subpoenas and other law enforcement powers to take the Trump administration into the court's inner workings. Its framing centers on the executive branch reaching into another branch. The right-leaning Washington Examiner and Daily Mail both credit the Times for the scoop. The Examiner leads with Pirro's office and a confirming source, stresses career prosecutors, and notes the Justice Department's refusal to comment. It also describes the leak's lasting damage to trust inside the court. The Daily Mail calls the probe unprecedented and adds context the others omit: Pirro's office has struggled to win grand jury indictments in several high-profile cases, and the department faces criticism over politically motivated weaponization. Both sides agree on the core facts: Pirro leads the inquiry, subpoenas have gone out, and no leaker has been identified. Newsweek, the alternative outlet, largely tracks these facts but adds the limitations-period timing.