Since I recorded Friday, left-leaning media outlets have started a campaign to finger the right for the SCOTUS leak that revealed a draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn Roe v. Wade and return the issue of abortion back to the states.

NPR’s Nina Totenberg had a lot to say on the subject.

From The Hill:

Totenberg said on ABC’s “This Week” that the prevailing theory is that a conservative clerk released the decision in an attempt to lock in the five justices who voted to support overturning Roe as Chief Justice John Roberts reportedly attempts to pull his colleagues toward a more moderate position.

“That has never, ever occurred before,” Totenberg said of the leak. “That could only, in all likelihood, have come from a justice — that I think is less likely — or perhaps one of the clerks.”

“The only one that makes sense is it came from somebody who was afraid that this majority might not hold,” she added.

Politico leaked Alito’s draft opinion on Monday, spurring protests across the nation as liberals raised fears of abortion rights being overturned for the first time since 1973.

It would be odd indeed if a real conservative did the leaking, not least because conservatives tend to be…well, conservative. And leaking is, generally, a bit more radical than working behind the scenes, which is what Totenberg suggests John Roberts may have been doing to move the majority opinion toward a more “moderate” position. And so a conservative clerk may have gone rogue in a hail mary attempt to shore up support.

Pardon my disbelief while acknowledging the possibility, but if this leak did come from the right, it was the right exemplified by the Bill Kristols and Jen Rubins of the world (which, I’m sorry to say, might not be the most principled in their conservatism).

It would an amazing thing indeed if Brian Fallon of Demand Justice (lknown for their very loud calls to pack the Supreme Court) was caught praising a true conservative when he immediately wondered about the “bravery” of the leaker (whom he called a clerk, which seemed like a good guess). But he, in true liberal DC fashion, was just asking questions, you see.

Is a brave clerk taking this unpredecented step of leaking a draft opinion to warn the country what's coming in a last-ditch Hail Mary attempt to see if the public response might cause the Court to reconsider?

— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) May 3, 2022

The leak will be investigated, but that doesn’t mean any of us will ever know what really happened. The court likes to keep things on the downlow; which is precisely why this kind of leak is grotesque. But SCOTUSBlog has a nice primer on what could have happened, if you’re interested. And I, of course, have my theories on this week’s show.

I also talk about the end of a show I came to late, but found brilliant by its close, “Ozark” (trailer below). And, of course, the slow death of Me Too in Hollywood.

The show lives on Spotify and you can also find me at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, FCB Radio’s Spreaker, and Deezer.