John Roberts calls draft leak ‘absolutely appalling’

Which states would ban abortion if the law is struck down? 1:33 Atlanta (CNN) — Chief Justice John Roberts said Thursday that the leak of a draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade is “absolutely appalling” and stressed that he hopes “one bad apple” doesn’t change “people’s perceptions” of the highest court in the land and his personal one.
In his first public appearance since Monday’s leak, Roberts also said that if “the person” or “people” behind the leak think it will affect the work of the Supreme Court, they are “naive.” Roberts was speaking at a meeting of attorneys and judges at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference while the court is in a brief recess. The justices will meet again during their closed-door conference in Washington on May 12. Roberts’ comments come at a time when there have been demonstrations on both sides of the Roe repeal issue across the country and abortion rights supporters fear states in large swaths of the South and of the Midwest ban the procedure when the court issues a final decision in early July. The draft opinion, written by Judge Samuel Alito and published by Politico late Monday, calls on the court to vacate Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 opinion that legalized abortion across the country. “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote. The judge said Roe’s decision was “egregiously wrong from the start” and that his reasoning was “exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.” Roberts did not want to completely annul Roe v. Wade, meaning he would have dissented from one side of the opinion, the sources tell CNN, likely with the three liberals on the court. The court confirmed the authenticity of the draft opinion, but has stressed that it was not final and did not reflect the final position of any member of the court. In a statement, Roberts called the leak an “egregious breach” and a “betrayal of the trust of the court” and launched an investigation into the source of the leak. — This is a developing story. Devan Cole contributed to this report.