Florida Governor Ron DeSantis slammed those responsible for an unprecedented leak of a draft opinion indicating the Supreme Court is prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade, claiming their actions represent a true and actual insurrection.
DeSantis told reporters that the word ‘draft’ is pivotal, noting that nobody knows what is happening behind the scenes, or just how the draft might change once it’s released as an opinion of the court.
Still, he added that the leak appears to be an “attack on a lot of the Justices” – meant to sway their vote. An act he equated to the Capitol riot on January 6th – a day the media has tried to define as an ‘insurrection.’
“I think it was an intentional thing to try to whip up the public, make it very political, and try to bully one of them into changing one of their positions,’ DeSantis opined. “That’s not something that’s appropriate for the judicial branch.”
“That’s a real significant breach of trust,” he continued. “You wanna talk about an insurrection, that’s a judicial insurrection, to be taking that out and trying to kneecap a potential majority through kind of extra-constitutional means.”
.@GovRonDeSantis weighs in on the SCOTUS leaker: “You wanna talk about an insurrection, that’s a judicial insurrection.”
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) May 3, 2022
Supreme Court Insurrection
Governor Ron DeSantis isn’t the first person to note that intimidation of an institution such as the Supreme Court amounts to an attempt at ‘insurrection.’
In fact, the phrase was trending on Twitter shortly after news surfaced that the draft opinion had been leaked.
Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary under George Bush, in a segment with Fox News host Sean Hannity, argued the same point.
“This is an insurrection against the Supreme Court,” Fleischer claimed. “I’ve already seen people on the Left celebrating this leaker, calling him brave, trying to throw a Hail Mary to stop the ruling from being issued.”
Fox News’ Ari Fleischer: “Make no mistake, Sean, this is an insurrection against the Supreme Court.” pic.twitter.com/uhmofuq0UJ
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) May 3, 2022
Obstruction of an Official Proceeding
Several January 6 protesters have been charged with “obstruction of an official proceeding.” In fact, it appears no less than 174 times on the Justice Department’s log of Capitol Breach Cases.
Does the Supreme Court leak equate to such actions? Does it, as DeSantis suggests, amount to a “judicial insurrection”?
At the very least, it is as he suggests, designed to “whip up the public” and animate Democrat voters as the party is set to endure a bloodbath in the 2022 midterms.
And it appears to be working.
BREAKING: Elizabeth Warren calls for Insurrection on the Supreme Court in newly released video. pic.twitter.com/SNxIlm9EY9
— Mikel Crump ?? (@TheMikelCrump) May 3, 2022
Chief Justice John Roberts described the leak of the draft document as a “betrayal” that was “intended to undermine the integrity of our operations.”
Sounds a little insurrection-y to me, but that’s just my opinion.
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Roberts has called for an investigation into the “singular and egregious breach” of trust and confidence in the Supreme Court.
“I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday directed the marshal of the Supreme Court to launch an investigation into the source of a leaked draft opinion showing that a majority of justices were poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. https://t.co/Um9i7NHK3n pic.twitter.com/flg1PEQlDm
— The Hill (@thehill) May 3, 2022
Governor DeSantis recently signed a bill banning most abortions after 15 weeks in Florida and has said he expects further legal challenges.
“We’re mindful that we also will be challenged under the Florida Constitution and statutes, we think we’re going to win there,” he said.
The law is set to take effect July 1st, and would likely be aided in legal battles by the potential Supreme Court decision.
