JUST IN: CNN Sources Reveal Supreme Court ‘Burn Bags’ Lying Around, Other Lapses In Lead-Up To Leak of Abortion Draft

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CNN sources say poor document security in the leadup to the leak of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization draft included “burn bags” lying around unattended in hallways and printers without security logs.

Several weeks ago, the Supreme Court released the results of its investigation into the identity of the person who leaked the draft opinion that predicted the Supreme Court decision effectively overturning Roe v. Wade in a 5-4 ruling in Dobbs in late June.

The upshot? According to the investigation report, the team investigating the leak “has to date been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence.”

An exclusive CNN investigation by CNN Supreme Court Reporter Ariane de Vogue reveals the conditions under which the leak occurred — and the concerns of at least some inside the SCOTUS building:

New details revealed to CNN by multiple sources familiar with the court’s operations offer an even more detailed picture of yearslong lax internal procedures that could have endangered security, led to the leak and hindered an investigation into the culprit.

Supreme Court employees also used printers that didn’t produce logs – or were able to print sensitive documents off-site without tracking – and “burn bags” meant to ensure the safe destruction of materials were left open and unattended in hallways.

“This has been going on for years,” one former employee said.

The problem with the justices’ use of emails persisted in part because some justices were slow to adopt to the technology and some court employees were nervous about confronting them to urge them to take precautions, one person said. Such behavior meant that justices weren’t setting an example to take security seriously.

The justices were “not masters of information security protocol,” one former court employee told CNN.

The Dobbs leak and decision accompanied a reversal in Democrats’ political fortunes heading into the midterms, which had been shaping up to be a Republican landslide, but wound up much closer than expected in the House.