- Mitch McConnell criticized a leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion on a major abortion-rights case.
- McConnell also slammed Democrats over their reactions to the leak.
- "Real leaders should defend the Court's independence unconditionally," he said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday sharply criticized the release of a draft opinion that shows the Supreme Court is poised to undo abortion rights, and lashed out at Democrats over their reactions to the report.
The Kentucky Republican characterized Monday evening's unprecedented leak as "an attack on the independence of the Supreme Court" and accused the "radical left" of playing a part in the release of the draft opinion.
"By every indication, this was yet another escalation in the radical left's ongoing campaign to bully and intimidate federal judges and substitute mob rule for the rule of law," McConnell said in a statement.
Politico obtained what it says is a draft opinion, reportedly written by Justice Samuel Alito, on a major abortion rights case that's still pending. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision by late June.
In the 98-page draft opinion, the court's majority would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion almost 50 years ago.
In light of the leak, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer immediately expressed outrage at the possibility of the Supreme Court overturning Roe.
"If the report is accurate, the Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past fifty years – not just on women but on all Americans," the Democratic leaders said in a joint statement on Monday night. "The Republican-appointed Justices' reported votes to overturn Roe v. Wade would go down as an abomination, one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history."
President Joe Biden on Tuesday also weighed in on the leak, calling on voters to elect abortion-rights supporters to political office if the Supreme Court eventually decides to throw out Roe.
"At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law," he said in a statement.
McConnell, who did not address the substance of the draft opinion, said the comments from the nation's top Democrats are "disgraceful."
"Real leaders should defend the Court's independence unconditionally," he added, urging for the leak to be investigated and punished "as fully as possible."
The top Republican also called on the nine justices to "tune out the bad-faith noise and feel totally free to do their jobs, following the facts and the law where they lead."