The Supreme Court clearly *could* have done more to get to the bottom of the Dobbs leak. Whether it *should* have raises messier questions about the Court's relationship with the executive branch.
I know when this investigation started to spin up, there was some discussion of just how far (de facto as opposed to de jure) the Chief could go (or authorize the marshal to go) without having buy-in from his colleagues, especially when it came to the clerks. Probably hard to tell since the bulk of the report is from the Marshal, but were you able to glean anything regarding to what extent this was “The Chief Justice” versus “The Justices/The Court”? May be some inside baseball peculiar to the institution that’s hard to judge without being on the inside, but it would be interesting to know how much the justices collectively or certain justices in particular were able to steer the course of the investigation by taking steps like putting a foot down and saying “no I’m not ok with the unilateral polygraphing of my clerks.”
It was mentioned that several Supreme Court Justices admitted to telling thier spouses about the decision. I confess, my first thought jumped to Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginny. I'm not familiar with the other wives of the Justices, perhaps that is why she came to mind. However, she would also have opportunity and motive. I realize that this is nothing but speculation. I wonder if further investigation is continuing? Or if rules are being considered for future prevention?
I know when this investigation started to spin up, there was some discussion of just how far (de facto as opposed to de jure) the Chief could go (or authorize the marshal to go) without having buy-in from his colleagues, especially when it came to the clerks. Probably hard to tell since the bulk of the report is from the Marshal, but were you able to glean anything regarding to what extent this was “The Chief Justice” versus “The Justices/The Court”? May be some inside baseball peculiar to the institution that’s hard to judge without being on the inside, but it would be interesting to know how much the justices collectively or certain justices in particular were able to steer the course of the investigation by taking steps like putting a foot down and saying “no I’m not ok with the unilateral polygraphing of my clerks.”
Polygraph? Perhaps the Justices and the Marshal are aware that polygraphs catch high-strung, nervous people, not guilty people.
It was mentioned that several Supreme Court Justices admitted to telling thier spouses about the decision. I confess, my first thought jumped to Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginny. I'm not familiar with the other wives of the Justices, perhaps that is why she came to mind. However, she would also have opportunity and motive. I realize that this is nothing but speculation. I wonder if further investigation is continuing? Or if rules are being considered for future prevention?