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Look who is undermining SCOTUS with unprecedented leaks

Look who is undermining SCOTUS with unprecedented leaks

For more than 270 years the key element in the Supreme Court’s integrity has been the secrecy of the backroom deliberations.   It gave the justices the ability to speak candidly – without concern that their internal discussions would be exposed to political spin. 

Secrecy also prevented justices from being exposed to political pressure before a final decision was reached and announced.  We saw what happened when an early draft of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked.  The purpose of the leak was to undermine public confidence in the Court and to build public pressure on the justices to possibly reverse course.

That leak put the Court in the center of the political debate on abortion.   It undermined the credibility and integrity of the Court – and its ability to operate apart from the political winds of the day.

Since virtually every deliberation in Washington is leaked – no matter how deeply it is cloaked in secrecy — the public may not appreciate that the high court had been an exception – and for good reasons.  That is why the Dobbs leak involving the overturning of Roe v. Wade was so stunning – and so serious.

Following the Dobbs leak, the Court engaged in a major investigation in an effort to find who leaked it.  No one was ever named, but Chief Justice John Roberts imposed additional security measures to prevent a reoccurrence.

They did not work.

The Court has again been subjected to serious leaks.  The News York Times has reported that internal communications between the justices concerning three cases involving President Trump have been leaked.

In the case involving Trump’s immunity from prosecution for official acts as President, the leaks appear to be targeting Roberts’ efforts to seek a unanimous decision.   The second case, Fischer v. United States, dealt with the ruling that the Department of Justice had overreached in its indictments of Capitol Hill rioters.  And the third case, Trump v. Anderson, involved efforts to remove Trump from the Colorado ballot.

These leaks are far more serious than the Dobbs leak because they give more detail about the deliberations and Roberts’ strategy in guiding the cases to a decision.  Professor Josh Blackman, adjunct scholar at the CATO Institute, said the latest leaks are “far worse than the Dobbs leak” because of the detail and the obvious high-level position of the leaker.

The latest leaks leave no doubt that they are coming from someone associated with the liberal minority members of the Court since they all target the conservative members – especially the Chief Justice.  If not one of the justices, most certainly someone closely associated with a justice – someone privy to the most private communications.

It is no small irony that those on the left who complain that those on the right undermine the credibility of government institutions should be covertly damage the Supreme Court through covert sabotage.  Those on the left seem to believe that the only legitimate government institutions are those controlled by the left and run according to the left-wing ideology – and they should be immune to criticism.

So, there ‘tis.

About The Author

Larry Horist

So, there ‘tis… The opinions, perspectives and analyses of businessman, conservative writer and political strategist Larry Horist. Larry has an extensive background in economics and public policy. For more than 40 years, he ran his own Chicago based consulting firm. His clients included such conservative icons as Steve Forbes and Milton Friedman. He has served as a consultant to the Nixon White House and travelled the country as a spokesman for President Reagan’s economic reforms. Larry professional emphasis has been on civil rights and education. He was consultant to both the Chicago and the Detroit boards of education, the Educational Choice Foundation, the Chicago Teachers Academy and the Chicago Academy for the Performing Arts. Larry has testified as an expert witness before numerous legislative bodies, including the U. S. Congress, and has lectured at colleges and universities, including Harvard, Northwestern and DePaul. He served as Executive Director of the City Club of Chicago, where he led a successful two-year campaign to save the historic Chicago Theatre from the wrecking ball. Larry has been a guest on hundreds of public affairs talk shows, and hosted his own program, “Chicago In Sight,” on WIND radio. An award-winning debater, his insightful and sometimes controversial commentaries have appeared on the editorial pages of newspapers across the nation. He is praised by audiences for his style, substance and sense of humor. Larry retired from his consulting business to devote his time to writing. His books include a humorous look at collecting, “The Acrapulators’ Guide”, and a more serious history of the Democratic Party’s role in de facto institutional racism, “Who Put Blacks in That PLACE? -- The Long Sad History of the Democratic Party’s Oppression of Black Americans ... to This Day”. Larry currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

24 Comments

  1. Andrew Gutterman

    Evidence? Or are you just making it up as you go along, similar to what Trump and Vance do? How do you know it’s not someone on the right who is angry at how the right is destroying America? Not everyone on the right worships at the feet of the Trump would be emperor.

    Reply
    • Doug Corrigan Jr.

      Unadulterated gibberish from a loony leftnik.

      Reply
      • Andrew Gutterman

        That’s all the Right has. Name calling and insults. It’s why Harris is likely to win. The voters who will decide this election have zero interest in name calling and insults.

        Reply
    • Americafirst

      Andrew, you are right. Not everyone worships Trump. But how do you know it is someone from the right that leaked? You seem to want it to be from the right. Why? What if it comes out that it actually was leaked from the left? You have previously expressed your feelings against Trump which leaves us no recourse as to believe you want the right to be guilty. From what I can discern from your past posts, you also are against all Conservatives and Republicans. Am I correct? For me, I do not care who did the leaks. There are so much more important things to worry about besides trying to provoke others against any party. We all need to live together and agree to disagree which I do not see happening on this site, and yes, I have also gotten provoked and did provoke at certain points. We all have feelings. We all have our own thoughts. I am fighting for the soul of America as hard as I can the best way I can. If that is wrong, then tell me and give reasons why. But when I see so damned much bias on this site, I get triggered and fight even harder especially when what I say here is deliberately taken out of context. I am not fighting what you said in your post either. I do want intelligent conversation. IF all people could do that, the infighting would stop. We will appreciate each other more. Thanks for your post above.

      Reply
    • larry Horist

      Andrew Gutterman … Both the Dobbs leak and the Trump cases leaks are clearly to cast negative aspersions on the on the conservative members of the Court — and others associated with the right. That is a very good finger pointer. When have you seen people leak anything against their own interests?

      Reply
    • M.A. White

      The right is destroying America???? Thanks for my laugh of the day. The right isn’t in office right now in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past almost 4 years.

      Reply
  2. dave

    back in your moms basement gutterman, you cant play bot today

    Reply
  3. Darren

    It seems to me that the Right every time you look is pushing for what the Constitution
    reads to the American people.
    The Left are the ones undermining the words of the Constitution, ALWAYS!
    This is reason enough to see who would be leaking the words of the Supreme Court.
    Biden and the new puppet have done everything in their power to disrupt the words of the Constitution.
    BURN IT DOWN, LET THEM ALL IN, AMERICA IS PERFECT NOW, THERE ARE NO WARS GOING ON!
    J6 was all about democracy NOT following the words of the Constitution so people felt compelled to up rise, like
    the Constitution spells out!
    Even then Crooked media took it upon them selves to Judge And Jury the situation.
    Make NO mistakes, if their is a leak in the pipe, that because some one turned the pipe Left.
    That would loosen it RIGHT!

    Reply
  4. Andrew Gutterman

    Darren,

    Please show me in the Constitution where it says Government has the right to control woman’s bodies and what they do with them. This is the Number 1 Rightwing issue right now.

    Reply
    • Americafirst

      You know, Andrew, you sound just like Frank Stetson. Always wanting proof. Where in any of Darren’s posts does he say the Constitution rules women’s bodies? Why do men always have to have anything to say about a woman’s body? I would love to have an answer to that one. If a man has to govern a woman’s body, then he must be a woman. The Democrats are all for LGBTQ, and trans, changing genders. Most of them are men wanting to trans to a woman and the Democrats now want to get rid of women. It’s all over the internet about this. They can’t have it both ways. There is nothing in the Constitution about genders at all. I think Darren is getting fed up with the idiocy of both parties as I am also. It is so hard to remain neutral and not be biased. We are all human, after all. Everyone needs to take a breath, breathe, calm down and allow people live their own lives.

      Reply
    • larry Horist

      Andrew Gutterman … That’s easy. The Constitution protects LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.. Humans have a constitutional right to life. And why do you talk about a woman’s body. A developing human in the womb is NOT an integral part of a woman’s body. It is not standard equipment. Many women never carry a fetus. It is not even something the woman created on her own. Her moral, biological and constitutional responsibility is to nurture, not to destroy unilaterally. Where in the Constitution is there an inalienable right to destroy a developing human in the womb? An abortion is not a number one issue. According to virtually every poll, abortion is at the bottom of the top ten most important issues according to voters — or not even on the list.

      Reply
  5. Andrew Gutterman

    For the record.

    I voted straight Republican ticket from 1972 until 2000, every election. I stopped when i realized the Republican party had become corrupted by the Hard Christian Right, so it no longer reflected true republican values. By default I was forced to vote Democrat if I wanted my vote to count for something.

    I’m probably more conservative than 90% of the fake Republicans out there.

    Reply
    • Americafirst

      Andrew, is that why so many Democrats have left the DNC to join the RNC? One after the other with only two that I know of from the RNC leaving to be DNC.

      Reply
      • Joseph S. Bruder

        Cite your sources? I’ve not heard anything about DNC members (and I think you mean the Democratic Party, not the Democratic National Committee) leaving the Party to join Republicans. There might have been some threatening to leave when Joe Biden was the candidate, but certainly not now.

        On the other hand, more than 100 Republican ex-members of Congress, former Felon Trump’s staff, and national security officials are supporting Harris right now. More than 200 retired generals, admirals endorse Biden, including some who served under Felon Trump. Dick Fucking “Shoot ’em in the Face” Cheney and his daughter have both come out for Harris, and have started a flood of Republican defections. Former Bush, McCain, and Romney staff have supported Harris. And they’re not just endorsing Harris, they’re out there actively campaigning for her. The Republicans for Harris website says they have over 100,000 signed up.

        When you ask a question based on a false assertion, it’s called “Plurium interrogationum”, but the more common name is “gaslighting” (which also includes just making conclusions based on a false assertion). Larry usually starts and ends his columns that way.

        Reply
        • Americafirst

          Felon Bruder, I shortened to RNC and DNC due to my rheumatoid arthritis. Is that okay with you that I don’t exactly type the way you want me to? You really have some nerve. Do you really think I am gaslighting like you do? NOPE! Most of my information comes from sources attached to Gitmo. Now, believe me or not, but Gitmo does not lie and neither do I! Gee, look at all the now deceased criminals endorsing fake Kamala that you mentioned. Do you know them personally? The are all on the “executed Gitmo lists that you refuse to look up for yourself probably because you do not want to be proven wrong. Oh well, we can’t save ’em all.

          Reply
    • Seth

      So prove it. Join the NRA

      Reply
  6. Joseph S. Bruder

    Interesting… 3 of the cases with leaks involved Felon Trump, and the 4th would have been the Dobbs decision for which Felon Trump claims responsibility. I have no doubt that the justices were reporting back to their billionaire masters, who probably informed Felon Trump on the progress of “his” cases – that is, if they didn’t report it to Trump directly.

    Felon Trump kept top secret documents lying around in bathrooms and on a stage at Mar-a-Lago, and minimum-wage flunkies were carting the boxes around. He’s a blabbermouth, and doesn’t have any concept of keeping a secret. Maybe it’s Felon Trump who was stupid enough to leak the info.

    Before you go blaming liberals, clean up your own damned house.

    Reply
    • Americafirst

      No, Trump deliberately had those documents there to get the crooked FBI. Trump also has every right to have any documents he wants and needs at Mar A Lago. He is the legal and rightful President of the United States Republic and Mar A Lago is his “White House” while the felon and fake Biden plays house at President. Trump is also the legal Commander in Chief. There was a video out right after Trumps second inauguration about his inauguration from the military. I can’t find it now. It was from Derek Johnson. Believe what you do and don’t want to but make damned sure you do not become a traitor over this.

      Reply
      • Joseph S. Bruder

        You can’t find it because it never happened. Felon Trump lost his right to classified materials the day that Biden was sworn in as President. And shortly thereafter, Felon Trump was completely cut off from Pentagon briefings because he’s a fucking threat to national security. You fucking MAGAs will believe anything.

        Reply
        • Seth

          And you dumbocrat assholes believe in your cult. That’s what makes you people the deplorable bastards that you are And what’s been wrong with the tradition of electing white men as president? Obama looked for the chance to get even with whitey If kumala is elected it will be the same

          Reply
        • Americafirst

          YOU are a threat to all of America, you felon!

          Reply
    • AC

      With this comment of mine, my bet is I may present Frank S. With a challenge for number of words. I apologize in advance for possible eyestrain or Attention Deficit
      Opinions, one’s own perspective base, drives personal responses in comments in Reply PBP affords its readers. Opinion is subjective reasoning on any given topic. Subjectivity by definition is nuanced it may or may not actually be the objective truth in the comment article’s content information. After all, PBP bills itself as an organization which provides subject commentary from the conservative perspective.
      Readers should know PBP’s given perspective going in and have no illusions about its article writers’ position being nothing other than conservative based bias. PBP in its writers’ articles are not apologetic about their perspective being unwavering.
      The oddity resident in free speech freedoms is that what a person says in writing or by mouth does not by law need to be in fact the objective truth. Propaganda is wrong but it’s covered by free speech. Intentional shading of facts central to giving the whole truth while conveying pertinent information is the means by which opinion writers sell a perspective specific their preferred philosophy.
      So, however Horist and company spin their stories, right or wrong, sneaky or forthrightly, they are not technically breaking any law. Misinformation writing may find it way into media and not be stopped for a reprimand.
      Again, the US Constitution grants authors, pundits. News reporters, and journalists in general a wide swath of grace comparing works of true fact and writing that is more fiction novel.
      There is the liberal perspective with its own biases. It is the counter point to the conservative perspective. How these two very different philosophies may work together to accomplish governing which provides benefits for all citizens and unfair burdens on no one, that’s Democracy. Each person living within this nation’s boarders deserves the same rights enjoyed by every other individual person residing here.
      If we can’t give room for others different view points, then we can’t expect others to allow us our voice. In the not to distant future the present racial Western European heritage majority will no longer be the majority race nor the predominant ethnic group. Our children and grandchildren will need to assimilate and welcome all peoples equally, if this nation is to not only live and survive as a democratic republic, then now is the time for divisions to cease, taken down walls that separate us, break through stubborn bias barriers, and deny our anger toward those we hold grudges against by reason of a perceived irreconcilable difference.
      Horist, the book you published just recently, what is your point for writing a text that lays all accountability for black people’s disenfranchisement, denial of civil rights, and general discriminatory practices keeping of color in poor housing, injustices bourn at the hand of law enforcement, justice system, and the penal code, at the feet of the Democrat Party. In your book’s lengthy 400 pp plus, have you satisfied to the point of being sated in your hunger and thirst for revenge being meted on your most despised mortal enemy? It’s doubtful. 400 pp plus was insufficient space to unload the whole lot of all your unforgiving heart’s keeping tons of animosity toward those who won while you lost.
      What hight of fame and great wealth will relieve the jealousy that burns within while politicians, historians, economists, and Credited authors grow rich on speaking awards, official books published, prestigious professorships attained, and certain media personalities who pulldown mega paychecks. All the above when totaled, you believe, they amount to nothing compared to your depth of insight and expertise in matters of which others can not conceive..
      50 years in the trenches with the down trodden black people and working for little recognition, with no pay. How humbling could that be for someone such as you.
      Again, a book that was 20 years in its making must be your final opus. The length to which your creative energy had to have been stretched for all those pages must have left you tapped out. Straining in that final chapter for the closure you imagined would sum up the whole of your thinking.
      When this notion is being ravaged by dissension, disunity, factional civil disobedience, military grade firearms sold without question, repeated assassination attempts and continual long gun shootings that have become mere statistics replacing proper focus on human life lost unnecessarily. Terror on our streets, in otherwise calm suburban neighborhoods gun shots ring out, campus housing killings, grocery market multiple deaths, sniper laying in wait positioned to pull off a rain of bullets from indiscriminate fire power, and murder-suicide occurrence happening in alarming frequency
      More effort must be expended in the war declared on gun availability and ease of ammo purchasing as individual citizens, as well as from journalists, pundits, commentators, social media posts, media in general, PBP in particular, and every person who is a credible public face and commands an audience while speaking from a formidable pulpit. Putting a stop to gun carnage which is now becoming normalized by its proliferation across every state in our republic
      Larry made mention of our constitutional guarantee of freedom to experience life in full. Liberty to become who you are meant to be, and to pursue happiness your whole life long. I added a few words to Larry’s, but the message stands. If the U.S. Constitution guarantees our freedom to have, to become, and to pursue these states of being why is it that too many lives are cut short, and personal liberty continues to be denied in cases by the millions, and finally we come to the individual’s pursuit of happiness upended and stolen in a violent life ending assault by rifle.
      Larry Horist, this is hyperbole at its most critically serious as a pandemic health situation in our cities, rural areas, ball parks, theaters, private residences, golf coarses, political rallies, and any place people can be found, followed, and victimized.
      This situation is both a national health issue and a national security consequence. It is a festering cancer sickening society and our physiological wellbeing.
      Considering we need all hands on deck fighting for basic life liberty, and the thought of the pursuit of happiness. Sniping at you political adversaries in a book targeting an entire political party for sledged happenings that were likely as much or more the making of Republican hands than any fault of Democrats in a lump sum.
      The limb you are climbing on with your assumptions and rush to judgement is not healthy enough and will not sustain your weight. The limb’s core has been hallowed out by rot. Wood wasps have dug in and weakened what you thought was stout and dependable. Your assumptions lack true understanding and your evaluation was significantly in error. Understanding better those ideas you misjudged, would come in very helpful. Other’s perceptions are worth your consideration and not their obliteration.
      Making a good read out of my writing means you have endured your distaste for me and my perspective. Your comments, if any, are predictable and similar to your others. These I intend to abide.
      More likely is it that you are so full of yourself as a newly published writer of historical fiction in book form. That I have no expectation regarding a comment with your face atop it.

      ,

      Reply
      • AC

        There is more truth than made up fiction in an old saying,
        “loose lips sink ships”. Someone with inside information knows it’s confidential and sensitive due to its provenience originating with SCOTUS justices and their clerk staff. The later would be on a need to know basis. How and why any information leaks may be politically based. But, the first order of business commonly boils down to one question, who was the loose lipped insider. Then, more questions follow; where did the confidentiality measures fail, why wasn’t it better protected, what motivated the person into perpetuating the dishonorable act and jeopardize the Court.
        Quid pro quo seems to be at the core here as with most transfers of possession. It got Trump into trouble with Congress and it will prove consequential for those responsible.
        No one really knows who the players may be this time. It’s wild conjecture based on hunches which are fueled by politically biased opinion. Horist has no smoking gun as proof for his contention that Democrats are a nefarious lot.
        Imagination peaked by political paranoia tends to avoid rational common sensibility. With the article’s more proclamation than insinuation it’s clearly a case where proof detailing the actwith objective facts is absent.
        Convincing readers that Democrats have hatched a plot against SCOTUS appears like malevolent writing. It’s tantamount to the underhanded unsavory plotting of a garden variety conspiracy theorist. No real longterm benefit can come of allowing unsub opinions tule.
        A rule of thumb for assessing where denialism and irrational hatred come from. Look to a person’s own opinion. As in that place of kept experiences. memories, motivation drivers, secreted emotions, and random hostile ruminators.
        Reading this article gave me the impression that I had seen these ideas before in a PBP article. Sure enough, I recall now, the writer was Larry Horist. Larry’s writing for PBP publication predominantly involves comments on and stories with Democrats taking the leading roles. Isn’t there something specious and odd when a devout conservative Republican appears to dedicate his fault finding apparatus primarily towards the minutest detail about Democrats he perceives as mendacious. When someone gives an inordinate amount of negative focus on an object of his distain, that is called an unhealthy obsession. Mendacity has obsessive mean characteristics. Over time and much use in Larry’s commentaries the term “mendacity or mendacious” has risen in Larry’s compendium of best descriptive terminology to higher status with each use.
        Readers may look forward to more incidences where the term is inserted the closer Election Day gets. Then, comes Inauguration Day. Between the two dates is prime territory for political mud slinging. .

        Reply

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