It would be difficult to cite a higher American public interest than conducting a criminal investigation of the Supreme Court leak. The current security of the justices and the long-term viability of the court as an institution depend on it.
It was entirely appropriate for the court to confirm that Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion in the Mississippi abortion case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, is not at this point an authoritative ruling of the court. There could understandably be public confusion on that point, so it was incumbent on the court to clarify.
