The Department of Justice is actively investigating the unauthorized May 2022 release of a draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a pivotal case that led to the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Recent reports indicate that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office has issued grand jury subpoenas seeking testimony from individuals associated with the Court at the time the draft was leaked to Politico. This investigation has been ongoing for over a year, as reported by Fox News.
Pirro is managing the investigation alongside seasoned prosecutors and her deputy, Carlton Davis. Both the Justice Department and Pirro’s office have refrained from making comments.
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MAJOR BREAKING: DOJ has just opened a CRIMINAL investigation in the LEAK of the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, not long after Justice Sam Alito says he thinks he knows who it was
FINALLY!!
ALITO, RECENTLY: "I do have an opinion [of who it was], but the evidence… pic.twitter.com/9bPIVPuWH4
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 5, 2026
This leak, which ignited significant political uproar, revolved around a draft opinion from Justice Samuel Alito that suggested the Court intended to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The publication occurred on May 2, 2022, ahead of the 2022 Midterm Elections.
In the immediate aftermath, Chief Justice John Roberts tasked Court Marshal Gail Curley with conducting an investigation. By January 2023, Curley revealed that investigators could not conclusively identify the responsible party, despite interviewing 97 Court staff members and conducting extensive forensic examinations.
Some staff admitted to discussing the draft with partners, which breached internal guidelines. A review by former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff deemed the investigation comprehensive. The final opinion was released on June 24, 2022.
In May 2025, former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced that the bureau would allocate more resources to address the Dobbs leak among other high-profile investigations. He emphasized the need to prioritize cases gaining significant public interest.
Justice Alito expressed to the Wall Street Journal that he has a strong suspicion regarding the leaker’s identity but acknowledged the difficulty in proving it definitively. He stated that the leak aimed to undermine the Court’s decision.
During a separate Fox News interview, Alito characterized the breach as a severe violation of trust, which escalated threats against the justices and nearly led to the assassination attempt on his colleague Brett Kavanaugh.
