It was only a week ago today that Politico dropped its bombshell report — a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court that five judges were prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade.
A spokesperson from Politico told CNN’s Oliver Darcy that it was the most-trafficked story in the outlet's 15-year history. Even before this past weekend, the story had nearly reached 11 million views.
Dafna Linzer, executive editor of Politico, was a guest on Sunday’s “Reliable Sources” on CNN and told host Brian Stelter that there were two issues to consider before publishing the blockbuster story: Was the document authentic and was it in the public’s interest to publish it?
“Once we knew it was authentic,” Linzer said, “we knew it was in the public interest and we were ready to go.”
Linzer, as you would expect, did not talk about the source of the draft opinion or how Politico obtained it, but she was 100% certain it was authentic.
She said, “I think we were all fully aware of just how unprecedented something like this is — to be able to peek inside internal deliberations of the Supreme Court, which is not exactly the most transparent branch of government. And getting a good sense of that, we understood … that it was a story, very much a Politico story actually, because it is as meaningful and as important to people across the political spectrum. People feel as passionate and invested in the outcome of this case regardless of their party affiliation.”
The latest interesting reads surrounding Roe v. Wade news
Live from New York …
“Saturday Night Live,” as expected, weighed in on the Roe v. Wade debate, starting with a cold open featuring host Benedict Cumberbatch and set in 13th-century England. It started with an announcer saying, “We now go to that profound moment of moral clarity, almost a thousand years ago, which laid such a clear foundation for what our laws should be in 2022.”
The skit also poked fun at the leak with Cumberbatch’s character saying, “Let's be careful, the worst thing that could happen is that someone leaks this conversation to the town crier.”
Weekend Update also had several comments about the topic, including cast member Kate McKinnon playing Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
What about leaks?
No, this isn’t about Politico getting the Supreme Court draft opinion about Roe v. Wade. Late last week, The New York Times’ Julian E. Barnes, Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt wrote this: “The United States has provided intelligence about Russian units that has allowed Ukrainians to target and kill many of the Russian generals who have died in action in the Ukraine war, according to senior American officials.”
The next day, NBC News’ Ken Dilanian, Courtney Kube and Carol E. Lee reported, “Intelligence shared by the U.S. helped Ukraine sink the Russian cruiser Moskva, U.S. officials told NBC News, confirming an American role in perhaps the most embarrassing blow to Vladimir Putin’s troubled invasion of Ukraine.”
Then the day after that, New York Times’ opinion columnist Thomas L. Friedman wrote, “As a journalist, I love a good leak story, and the reporters who broke those stories did powerful digging. At the same time, from everything I have been able to glean from senior U.S. officials, who spoke to me on condition of anonymity, the leaks were not part of any thought-out strategy, and President Biden was livid about them. I’m told that he called the director of national intelligence, the director of the C.I.A. and the secretary of defense to make clear in the strongest and most colorful language that this kind of loose talk is reckless and has got to stop immediately — before we end up in an unintended war with Russia.”
What about the media outlets reporting these stories? David French, senior editor at The Dispatch and contributor to The Atlantic, told CNN’s Brian Stelter that this is different from reporting on a story that could, as a result, jeopardize lives.
“What we’re talking about here is the conduct of a nation and the conduct of our intelligence agencies and … the most important, arguably, story in the world right now,” French said. “And I think what’s important here is that I’m seriously doubtful this is news to the Russians. If you’re talking about the ability of Ukrainians to uncanningly target key Russian military targets, that is something that logic suggests is sort of outside of the capability of the Ukrainian military acting alone.”
French continued, “I do think the main problem, as a practical matter with the leak, is the sense that the administration officials are bragging about it. That it’s something that they’re trying to throw into Russians face or … take political credit. … And that’s where it gets a bit more dangerous because what’s happening is they’re essentially dunking on the Russians in public, so to speak.”