SCOTUS officials to reportedly ask clerks for phone records in leak investigation

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Supreme Court officials are reportedly taking an "unprecedented" step and asking law clerks to provide their cell phone records and sign affidavits as part of an investigation into the leak of a Roe v. Wade-related draft opinion, CNN reports per three individuals with knowledge of the matter.

Some clerks are apparently so taken aback by the requests for private data that "they have begun exploring whether to hire outside counsel," CNN writes. "That's what similarly situated individuals would do in virtually any other government investigation," one appellate lawyer told CNN, noting it would be "hypocritical" if the court prohibited its own employees from taking advantage of "fundamental legal protection."

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.