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Justice Department Opens Supreme Court Leak Investigation

3 articles from 3 outlets First seen: November 05, 2026
Outlets: 1 left · 2 right · Earliest publisher-stamped report: Fox News

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the 2022 leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, according to multiple reports. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s Washington office is leading the inquiry, sources familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner and Fox News.

The investigation is being handled mainly by career prosecutors, according to the Washington Examiner. Fox News reported that Politico published the draft before the court issued its 2022 ruling, and that an internal investigation ordered by Chief Justice John Roberts did not identify the source of the leak. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment, according to the Washington Examiner and Fox News.

Written by Pure Report from 3 reports across the political spectrum · updated 2026-11-06 09:54 UTC

The reporting behind this story · 3 sources · as of Nov 06, 09:47 UTC

What we know

  • The Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation into the leak of the Supreme Court's draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
    receipt “Prosecutors have now launched a criminal investigation into who leaked the high court’s 2022 decision that overturned the right to abortion.” — verbatim from The Daily Beast · article
  • Jeanine Pirro is overseeing the criminal investigation.
    receipt “The criminal probe is being overseen by Jeanine Pirro, a Trump loyalist installed as U.S. attorney in Washington.” — verbatim from The Daily Beast · article
  • The Supreme Court's internal investigation failed to identify the leaker.
    receipt “The Supreme Court launched its own probe into the leak but ultimately failed to nail down the person responsible.” — verbatim from The Daily Beast · article

How each side framed it · in their own words

Left
We found no editorialized framing in the left-leaning coverage we ingested (1 outlet, 1 article) — it reported the story straight.
Right
characterization of the leak's impact
“the leak triggered an internal investigation, competing theories about the leaker’s motives, and an enduring rupture in trust inside the court.”
Washington Examiner
characterization of the breach
“for some of the justices, the disclosure represented a betrayal of the confidentiality on which their deliberations depend.”
Washington Examiner
characterization of the breach
“Justice Clarence Thomas compared the breach to infidelity during an appearance in Dallas shortly after the draft became public.”
Washington Examiner

Framing spectrum · 3 outlets

Fox News · 4/100 · Wire-neutral Washington Examiner · 14/100 · Public broadcaster The Daily Beast · 14/100 · Public broadcaster
wirepublicmainstream flavoredpartisanadvocacy
Range 4–14/100 (Wire-neutral → Public broadcaster) Average 11 Articles by lean: 1 left · 0 center · 2 right

Coverage patterns

Earliest report in our feed set (publisher timestamps): Fox News (right), Nov 05, 18:50 UTC.

Lean Outlets Articles Who
Left 1 1 The Daily Beast
Right 2 2 Fox News, Washington Examiner
Report-by-report timeline · 3

Coverage patterns reflect only the ~50 feeds Pure Report ingests — not the full media universe. Timestamps are publisher-reported. Lean labels are Pure Report's classification. Articles are grouped by automated clustering, and counts include syndicated wire copies.

Compare the coverage

Fox News LEANS RIGHT 1 article 4 Wire-neutral
DOJ initiates criminal investigation into Supreme Court leak regarding Roe v. Wade
The Daily Beast LEANS LEFT 1 article 14 Public broadcaster
DOJ Initiates Criminal Investigation into 2022 Supreme Court Leak
Washington Examiner LEANS RIGHT 1 article 14 Public broadcaster
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro Heads Probe into Supreme Court Draft Leak