Nearly six months since an opinion draft of the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision was leaked, the source of the breach remains unknown.
Chief Justice John Roberts in early May confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft opinion — which ultimately overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide — and ordered an investigation into what he called an "egregious breach of trust."
Still, nearly three weeks after the court began a new term, a report on the probe and the identity of the leaker have not been released. Visible results of the breach have been the presence of some new protocols, including signs outside and increased security presence when justices travel to give talks.
"Identifying the leaker should be a top priority for the Chief Justice, as the leak has endangered the lives of the justices and their families and undermined the rule of law," Carrie Severino of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network and a former clerk of Justice Clarence Thomas, said, CNN reported.
"The tactic will surely be repeated in the future if the Dobbs leaker is never found and revealed."
Sources told CNN in June that the court's clerks had been asked for phone records and to sign affidavits.
The leaked draft, first reported by Politico on May 2, spurred protests across the country. One man was arrested and charged with attempted murder after he was picked up near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Justice Elena Kagan recently suggested that the justices were going to be updated about the status of the investigation in late fall. Justice Neil Gorsuch last month told an audience in Colorado that a report was coming "soon," according to The Wall Street Journal.
Justice Clarence Thomas said the leak has changed the Supreme Court and described the indiscretion as an unthinkable breach of trust.
"When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that I'm in, it changes the institution fundamentally. You begin to look over your shoulder. It's like kind of an infidelity that you can explain it, but you can't undo it," Thomas said while speaking at a conference in Dallas.
A Gallup poll earlier this month found that Americans' trust in the judicial branch of the federal government sits at 47% — the first time it's below the majority level in the poll's history.
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