Angela N., CC BY 2.0 DEED, via Flickr, Cropped by Resist the Mainstream

In a Sunday interview, retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer expressed his belief that a justice likely did not leak the court’s draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, which effectively ended the recognition of a constitutional right to abortion. 

“Do you have a sense of what the motive of the leaker was?” NBC's Kristen Welker asked Breyer in an interview aired Sunday on “Meet the Press.” 

While Breyer shied away from answering directly, he said he does have theories, but didn’t want to discuss them at length. 

However, Breyer, who retired in 2022, did say who he thought did not leak the draft opinion, commenting, “I'd be amazed if it was a judge.”

Breyer's comments came amid an interview on his new book, “Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism,” which is critical of conservative justices over their decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

In June 2022, just days before Breyer’s retirement, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which upheld a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The ruling overturned Roe v. Wade, paving the way for states to make their own laws involving abortion.

The decision came just weeks after an unprecedented draft leak published by Politico, which showed Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion outlining the decision to overturn, thus ending the recognition of a constitutional right to abortion.

After the leak, churches and pro-life groups across the nation were subjected to violent and destructive attacks, including a pro-life center in New York getting “firebombed” by protesters, menacing graffiti on church properties across the nation, and a letter from a radical abortion group called “Jane's Revenge” declaring “open season” on pro-lifers. 

Conservative justices also saw repeated protests outside their homes in response to the leak and ultimate decision. 

“It’s unfortunate,” Breyer said regarding the decision itself, with Welker following up and asking, “Were you angry?”

“You try to avoid getting angry or that – you try in the job – you try to remain as calm, reasonable and serious as possible,” he said.

“Did you think that a compromise was possible before the leak around 15 weeks?” Welker asked. 

“I usually hope for compromise,” Breyer responded. 

“So you were hopeful there could be a compromise?” she continued. 

“You want to put words in my mouth,” Breyer responded lightheartedly. “I'm careful what I say on this. Because I say our interests are different. I don't want to make news. I've written what I thought. If you think there's news in here or in the dissent, go right ahead. But, I don't want to say something in addition.”

Breyer also refused to answer whether he was “surprised” that an internal investigation into the leak didn’t identify the leaker. 

“You want to ask that question to somebody who knows something about it. Ask the people who do internal investigations like that. They're the people to ask and that they occur all over the government,” he responded, adding that he was simply “disappointed, I was sorry about the leak.”