WASHINGTON—White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s administration has “an interest in finding leakers” when questioned about the consequential Supreme Court leak during a press briefing.
Leavitt addressed a question from The Daily Wire on the May 2022 leak of the draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case that eventually overturned Roe v. Wade. Justice Samuel Alito has said the leak made the justices targets of assassination.
“I know generally speaking the president has an interest in finding leakers and he believes it is unacceptable,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt pointed out that the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has “taken tough action at her agency on leakers.”
“Leaking is unacceptable to this president and to the leaders across the board in this cabinet, especially when it puts people in harm’s way,” Leavitt added.
The leak prompted illegal protesting outside the homes of the Supreme Court Justices, hundreds of attacks on pregnancy centers and Catholic Churches, including fire bombings and vandalism, and inspired a man to travel from California to Maryland with the intent of killing Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Authorities arrested 26-year-old Nicholas Roske in 2022 in Kavanaugh’s Maryland neighborhood, carrying a bag full of weapons and burglary tools, after he called the police on himself. Court filings show that Roske described himself as “actively suicidal” and said he wanted to “do something positive before I die” by taking out Kavanaugh before the justice could vote to overturn Roe.
He found Kavanaugh’s neighborhood online, according to court documents. He saw an article with a “picture of the family’s house,” including the house number.
“I was thinking about — I was thinking about killing Brett Kavanaugh and then killing myself,” he said to the officers who arrived on the scene, according to January court filings. “And then I texted my sister that I loved her. And then she called me and she told me not to do it. And then I called 911.”
“I saw the news and it was upsetting, and I was already suicidal,” he told detectives later, as he described how he tracked down Kavanaugh’s home and planned the assassination. “And I don’t know. It was something to — it was like a project, I guess.”
“When I saw the leaked draft, it made me upset and then it made me want to — I don’t know,” he shared. “I was under the delusion that I could make the world a better place by killing him.”
Many on the right have suggested that the draft opinion was leaked by a progressive Supreme Court clerk in an effort to push the court to change its decision. Following the leak, conservative activists and legal experts quickly called for the Supreme Court to release its decision in Dobbs.
In an early May 2022 editorial, the Wall Street Journal editorial board expressed concerns that an “abortion fanatic” might “commit an act of violence” in an effort to subvert the court’s expected decision to overturn Roe.
“One question is how fast the Court should now move to publish its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,” the board said. “There’s an argument for getting it out fast to make it a fait accompli.”
“Politico said the Alito draft was circulated in February, so the Justices have had ample time to absorb it and respond,” it continued. “We hate to say this, but some abortion fanatic could decide to commit an act of violence to stop a 5-4 ruling. It’s an awful thought, but we live in fanatical times.”
Almost three years later, the Supreme Court has still not identified its leaker. Roske’s trial will begin June 9, according to POLITICO.
