‘Targeted’ says Supreme Court judge
In an interview published Friday, Republican Justice Samuel Alito said he was threatened after a leak last year revealed the court was preparing to end the constitutional right to an abortion.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito.
Getty Images via AFP
Samuel Alito, the author of the decision that effectively buried the federal guarantee of abortion, told the “Wall Street Journal” that he had a “very precise idea” of the author of the leak. Bomb in the country in May 2022. But he did not say more about the presumed identity of this person.
The Supreme Court was profoundly reshuffled by former Republican President Donald Trump, who brought in three justices, cementing his conservative majority (six out of nine justices). “Those of us who were supposed to be the majority, because they approved my draft decision, are actually (potential) assassination targets,” he said. “It is rational for people to believe that they can stop the outcome by killing one of us,” he added.
Samuel Alito “doesn’t feel physically at risk because we have a lot of security”. He said he moves “basically in a tank”, adding that “I don’t really go anywhere without a tank and without my police officers”.
“No One Protects Us”
As for the leak, “I personally have a very precise idea of who is responsible, but to designate someone, a different level of evidence is necessary,” he said. He said the publication of the draft decision had “created an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust” in the court. “This year, I think, we’re trying to get back to normal as much as possible … but it took its toll”.
This unprecedented leak, revealed by the Politico site, caused an earthquake. The media reported that they had obtained a draft of the majority resolution authored by Samuel Alito. In this text, Magistrate Roe v. Wade, who argued nearly half a century ago that the U.S. Constitution protected women’s right to abortion, was “absolutely off base from the start.”
“Roe v. Wade should be overturned,” said Samuel Alito, arguing that the right to abortion “is not protected by any provision of the Constitution.” The ruling finally came two months after the leak on June 24, 2022. Today, “We receive harsh criticism every day, and it’s often I think that’s unfair,” he told the “Wall Street Journal.” “Nobody, almost nobody is protecting us.”
Asked by one of his colleagues on the court, conservative Clarence Thomas, about the ethical questions raised by an American media outlet about the billionaire, Samuel Alito said he preferred not to talk about the matter.
AFP
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