Some clerks are apparently so alarmed over the moves, particularly the sudden requests for private cell data, that they have begun exploring whether to hire outside counsel.
The court's moves are unprecedented and the most striking development to date in the investigation into who might have provided Politico with the draft opinion it published on May 2. The probe has intensified the already high tensions at the Supreme Court, where the conservative majority is poised to roll back a half-century of abortion rights and privacy protections.
Chief Justice John Roberts met with law clerks as a group after the breach, CNN has learned, but it is not known whether any systematic individual interviews have occurred.
The cops have a saying, "If they lawyer up it's proof of guilt." While this is not true in all cases, it stands to reason that the one responsible will be among the ones who did hire lawyers.
If it's deemed to be a matter of National Security, then certain rights just go out the window. Canadians had to ask the same question during February's Trucker Protest.
The Constitution of the United States protects the right of a person to be "secure in his person and papers" from unwarranted search and seizure. Requesting the data from the clerks voluntarily is not unwarranted search and seizure. If they do not voluntarily cooperate, then the Justices will have to get one of the magistrates to issue a warrant for the data. To obtain that warrant they must show probable cause that this data will show guilt of the crime.