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Comment by cato_the_elder | Hacker News Reader

Kudos to them for being careful about metadata. However, it probably doesn't really make a difference in this case. There are only so many SCOTUS clerks [1], and it's probably not hard to identify the person who leaked this.

Sotomayor's clerks are the most likely candidates, and among them Amit Jain [2] has been a previously a source for the Politico reporter Josh Gerstein [3]. (before becoming a SCOTUS clerk)

[1]: I think they are entitled to 4 law clerks each term, with the exception of the chief justices who's entitled to 5.

[2]: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-supreme-court-na...

[3]: https://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2017/02/trump...

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I don't know how SCOTUS works. Considering the age of the judges, I wouldn't be surprised if they have a bunch of secretaries and admin assistants with access. Hell, cleaning staff could have seen and photocopied it.

It's also conceivable (although I find it less likely) a conservative leaked it because they were afraid of a defection. Now any defection would look like caving to public opinion.

You certainly lay out a possible case, but I don't think they available information warrants such confidence (especially naming a specific person)

> You certainly lay out a possible case, but I don't think they available information warrants such confidence (especially naming a specific person)

That's absolutely true, that part is just speculation. (and FWIW, it's not my theory either, I just paraphrased the social media chatter)

But my point is that the number of candidates is limited. (and I disagree with you about the plausibility of a Republican leak, given that it was leaked to Politico)

I've seen the Jain theory, but I don't buy it. IMO it seems more likely the source was initially in contact with Ward, who brought in Gerstein (as senior legal affairs reporter) to assist and vet. The reverse seems less likely: if Jain leaked through Gerstein, why bring in a national security reporter as co-author?

If the court wants to avoid the leaker becoming a martyr, or otherwise giving the leaker power to further destabilize the court, they may not want to ever publicly identify them.

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