the court was a fabulous court. it was one you looked forward to being a part of. we actually trusted it was we were a family. we loved it. just to be clear, the 11 years he is talking about, that s before john roberts was on the court, chief justice. is he trying to take a swipe at the guy who is supposed to be leading the charge? it s public swipe. it does bring to mind the fact that this opinion has not come out yet. there are things that need to be determined. politics happening on the court. in a way we haven t seen in the past. we will see what the opinion actually says. it s still a jump ball. questions about whether john roberts is still trying to bring conservatives over to a moderate position on the issue of abortion. coming up, when racial reckoning isn t enough, what will it take to spark real change in america?
roberts arrived. why? because the court is in a very weird place right now. this court it s a very private place in ordinary circumstances, and there are norms of behavior that have been observed there not really for decades but for centuries. i mean, the supreme court as an institution, in terms of how it operates, has not really changed much in decade after decade. and now we have a situation where an opinion the draft opinion has been leaked. there have been subsequent leaks about subsequent developments in this abortion case, and the court is really in some institutional disarray. now, that is not as important as the result that appears to be coming. what matters is that the supreme court is about to take a right away from american women that they ve had for almost 50 years.
this one. he might not get buy-in from someone like brett kavanaugh, who in the end, laura, has voted against abortion rights. it might not happen and the odds are against it. there s a really strong possibility there. and the fact that clarence thomas wanted to complain about the chief so publicly last week suggests that at least the tensions are high enough and you could possibly with thwarting clarence thomas goal of reversal of roe. you re right, joan. and there are conflicts of interest, even coming from the wife of justice clarence thomas. but, you know people who live in glass houses you know the end of the saying. i appreciate so much hearing from you in particular. now, of course, to the war in ukraine. ahead, the first russian put on trial for war crimes since this invasion began has now pleaded guilty. and what he said in court to the widow of the civilian he murdered and what this trial may
but just in terms of the institution, the court is really in a place it hasn t been, and they are flailing around, and i think justice thomas clear diss of chief justice roberts in that comment is an illustration of how discomforted they all are by the current situation. right on. listen, and the possibility of what s going to happen with roe v. wade, that is the more substantive issues here. but you have to look at there is a sitting justice, clarence thomas. he is taking a clear swipe, as you called it, at the chief justice. the chief justice is not taking a swipe at clarence thomas. clarence thomas is talking about the integrity of the court when you have his wife who he has gotten lots of criticism from. to what end? why is clarence thomas talking about the integrity of the court and yet he s taking a swipe at the chief justice and the chief justice is not doing the same thing. it does not make sense. it seems very hypocritical.
this is not the court of that era. i sat with ruth ginsburg for almost 30 years, and she was actually an easy colleague for me. you knew where she was, and she was a nice person to deal with. sandra day o connor, you can say the same thing. hm, justice clarence thomas couldn t say the same thing about chief justice john roberts. even suggesting at one point that there isn t much trust among his colleagues. a tension simmering within the high court only adds more uncertainty to the fate of roe v. wade, and we also know very well justice thomas, this court is not like that of ruth bader ginsburg, by virtue of the fact that this is pending the way it is. for more on this, joan biskupic, cnn legal analyst joins me now.