5 key quotes from Supreme Court Justice Alito’s shocking interview centered on leaked Dobbs draft opinion

Joy Reid says Justice Alito is playing ‘mullah’ in his dissent in SCOTUS’ abortion drug ruling

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Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito sat down with The Wall Street Journal for a shocking interview published Friday in which he shared his views on last year’s leaked draft decision of a ruling that would overturn Roe v. Wade.

In the interview, Alito said he had a “pretty good idea” who leaked the draft decision, but that it wasn’t proof enough for the court to name the suspected individual, and that the leak was an effort to intimidate justices on the court. 

Here are five key quotes from the interview that provided insight into how one of the country’s longest serving justices viewed the nation-rattling developments, as well as the heated 2018 confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh:

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ALITO SAYS HE HAS A ‘PRETTY GOOD IDEA’ ON WHO LEAKED DOBBS DRAFT DECISION

© Michael Caterina /South Bend Tribune via AP Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito addresses the audience during the “The Emergency Docket” lecture Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021 in the McCartan Courtroom at the University of Notre Dame Law School in South Bend, Ind. Michael Caterina /South Bend Tribune via AP

1. According to Alito, the leak of the draft decision, which was published by Politico last May, “created an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust. We worked through it, and last year we got our work done. This year, I think, we’re trying to get back to normal operations as much as we can. . . . But it was damaging.”

2. “I personally have a pretty good idea who is responsible, but that’s different from the level of proof that is needed to name somebody,” he said, without providing further detail or clue on the identity.

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3. On the motivation of the unnamed individual to leak the draft decision, Alito said, “It was a part of an effort to prevent the Dobbs draft . . . from becoming the decision of the court. And that’s how it was used for those six weeks by people on the outside — as part of the campaign to try to intimidate the court.”

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© AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File The Supreme Court is seen at sundown in Washington, on Nov. 6, 2020. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File

4. When addressing the theory that a conservative leaked the draft opinion in an attempt to solidy the majority opinion for overturning Roe v. Wade, Alito said, “That’s infuriating to me. Look, this made us targets of assassination. Would I do that to myself? Would the five of us have done that to ourselves? It’s quite implausible.”

5. Alito also gave his thoughts on Kavanaugh’s highly-publicized confirmation hearing, in which the latter was accused of sexual assault decades prior. 

“After Justice Kavanaugh was accused of being a rapist during his Senate confirmation hearings, he made an impassioned speech, made an impassioned scene, and he was criticized because it was supposedly not judicious, not the proper behavior for a judge to speak in those terms. I don’t know—if somebody calls you a rapist?”

© Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images

Fox News’ Adam Sabes contributed to this report.