The question of whether the infamous leak of a draft opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case will ever be resolved remains unanswered. The matter remains a topic of interest not only due to the leak itself but also due to the impact it has had on both the Supreme Court and the broader legal landscape.
Following Justice Clarence Thomas’s recent virtual appearance at a legal conference in Washington, D.C., attention has again turned toward court security. This pivot was necessitated by an unexplained risk which precluded Thomas from attending the event in person. The heightened security measures reflect a response to the 2022 leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion in Dobbs, which ignited public protests and even an assassination attempt on Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The Supreme Court formally confirmed the authenticity of the draft a day after it was published by Politico. Chief Justice John Roberts characterized it as an “egregious breach” of trust and ordered an investigation. Despite significant efforts, however, the Court announced in January 2023 that it had been unable to identify the leaker. The investigation was led by Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley, whose efforts, as assessed by an independent review from Michael Chertoff, were considered thorough but inconclusive.
The issue was further complicated by the differing treatments of court employees and the justices themselves during the probe. Upon appeal for more rigorous federal involvement, the FBI announced in May 2025 that it was scrutinizing the Dobbs leak case more closely, directed by then-FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. This investigation continues, but five-year statute limitations for theft of government property are posing time constraints for potential prosecutions.
Theories about the leaker abound within the court, as Justice Samuel Alito indicated in a 2023 interview. He mentioned having a “pretty good idea” of the person responsible, though lacking the proof required to take concrete action. The Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi has remained reticent about ongoing investigations, although Bondi implied that further leads might exist when testifying before the House Judiciary Committee in February.
With so much at stake, from legal precedents to the intimate functioning of the nation’s highest court, whether the mystery of the Dobbs leak will ever be solved is a matter that remains open. Time, evidence, and perhaps technical ingenuity seem to be the critical factors in this ongoing investigation. For more details, you can access the full account here.