A US House committee will hear testimony on Thursday from a former anti-abortion leader who said he was told ahead of time about the outcome of a major 2014 Supreme Court ruling on contraceptives.
Reverend Rob Schenck recently told the New York Times that received information from the 2014 ruling of Hobby Lobby v. Burwell weeks before his public announcement after he and two conservative allies dined at the home of Judge Samuel Alito and his wife.
For his part, Judge Alito has denied being involved in the alleged leak eight years ago with the religious freedom decision.
Schenck is set to appear Thursday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing. titled “Improper Influence: High Court Operation and Politicking at SCOTUS,” according to a previously released witness list, Reuters noted.
A majority opinion written by Samuel Alito was leaked last June overturning the landmark Roe vs. Wade of 1973 that had legalized abortion throughout the country and was published in the Politico newspaper.
Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts ordered the bailiff of the Supreme Court to investigate the leak, calling it “treason.” Judge Alito revealed that this year’s leak put him and his colleagues at risk.
The 2014 Hobby Lobby decision was a victory for religious conservatives, as it exempted family businesses that objected on religious grounds from the federal requirement that any health insurance they provide to employees must cover birth control for women.
Some Democrats have said that the leaks show that the Court needs more oversight and that the increasingly conservative body is susceptible to influence peddling, the same media outlet published.
With information from Reuters
Source: La Opinion
