BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts calls leak ‘absolutely appalling’ and slams the ‘one bad apple’ who thinks it will impact the final Roe v. Wade decision as court is barricaded from protests

  • Roberts said he hoped ‘one bad apple’ would not change ‘people’s perception’ of the high court 
  • Workers erected massive fencing around the perimeter of the Supreme Court building on Wednesday evening in the fallout of the Roe v. Wade leak 
  • Fencing is similar to what was put up around the U.S. Capitol following the January 6, 2021 riot
  • The tall, un-scalable barriers are meant to keep pro- and anti-abortion demonstrators clear of the building 
  • Clashes got increasingly violent in recent days, causing Metro Police to activate protest units
  • A leak Monday evening shows a draft opinion signaling an impending overturn of 50-year-old landmark abortion rights ruling from Roe v. Wade 
  • Pro-abortion activists are organizing ‘walk by’ protests of Justices’ homes next week in Virginia and Maryland

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts sounded off about the Roe v. Wade opinion leak on Thursday in a private meeting, calling it ‘absolutely appalling.’

Roberts, in remarks to judges and lawyers in Atlanta first reported by CNN,  underscored that he hoped ‘one bad apple’ would not change ‘people’s perception’ of the high court.

He called the ‘person’ or ‘people’ who leaked the document ‘foolish’ if they thought it would sway votes on the court.

Earlier this week Roberts announced an investigation into the source of the ‘betrayal.’

‘I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak,’ Roberts wrote in a Tuesday statement.

The chief justice decried the leak as an ‘egregious breach’ and an ‘affront to the court.’

‘We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce – permanent employees and law clerks alike – intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law. Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court. This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here,’ Roberts said.

‘To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way,’ Roberts said.