Joe Biden Ignores Institutional Threat to Supreme Court in Reaction to Leaked Draft

US President Joe Biden speaks to members of the press prior to boarding Air Force One at J
ICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden ignored the institutional threat to the Supreme Court after the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion from a justice, in a statement Tuesday.

“We do not know whether this draft is genuine, or whether it reflects the final decision of the Court,” Biden said.

The president did not condemn the destructive behavior of someone likely working within the court and breaching the trust of the court.

Biden also avoided questions about the leak itself during remarks he made to reporters before leaving Washington, DC, for a trip to Alabama.

The leaked Alito draft is from February, so it could change significantly before it would be announced or released after the final decision in June.

Republicans and conservatives condemned the leak as an attack against the Supreme Court, in an obvious attempt to change the opinion or pressure justices to change their votes.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) condemned the leak in a statement as “dangerous, despicable, and damaging.”

“Deliberation and the maintenance of decorum and confidentiality are vital to the free operation of justices and the judicial system,” he said.

“Last night’s stunning breach was an attack on the independence of the Supreme Court,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement Tuesday. “By every indication, this was yet another escalation in the radical left’s ongoing campaign to bully and intimidate federal judges and substitute mob rule for the rule of law.”

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