Republicans like Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell are shocked, shocked! that someone would leak Alito's draconian opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. They had their talking points ready, and pointed the finger at "radical leftists" inside the Court. (First clue: The only radicals clerking at the Court are right wingers.)
Joe Scarborough gives a pretty good explanation of why it was actually a pissed-off right winger who leaked the opinion (Morning Joe devoted the first half hour to the topic). He explains it was an attempt to lock in conservative support who might be wavering about the harshness of Alito's decision. That sounds right.
But I'll tell you how I knew: It was leaked to Politico.
Liberals don't leak to Politico, it's not even in the liberal media ecosphere. Liberals leak to the New York Times, or the Washington Post -- or maybe Mother Jones. Not Politico.
But here's the other thing: How did conservatives know the particulars of this decision before the leak? The Wall Street Journal's editorial page (another prominent right-wing mouthpiece) wrote an editorial about it the day before!
And how did Republicans all have their talking points organized so widely, so quickly?
Look: The kind of liberals who clerk at the Court are idealists, not troublemakers. The radical right wingers? We already know they feel entitled to win by any means necessary. This isn't even close.
But it probably wasn't a clerk. The most likely suspect is Ginni Thomas. And John Roberts knows it.
