Wow. Jeffrey Toobin: How Chief Justice John Roberts orchestrated the Citizens United decision.

[BzaDem]

62. I've read some of Toobin's work. His information though is usually not absolutely confidential

information like this.

As for his prediction, it very well could be accurate. But I don't think he has any inside information telling him this. He came out with his prediction immediately after oral argument, based on the tenor of the argument. (And he wasn't the only one; the argument did not look good.) In particular, his prediction came out even before the justices cast their votes, and before he could have talked to anyone. He walked right out of the court on argument day to make the prediction.

If someone told him the outcome of the case, that would be a gigantic breach in security. No outcome has been leaked before the announcement in several decades (and the last time it happened was one day before the opinion announcement, in different circumstances). If this outcome in particular were leaked, there are massive dangers relating to insider trading. (This decision has the potential of reshaping a huge part of our economy.) Even given these revelations (a few years after the events in Citizens United occurred), I would be absolutely shocked if anyone other than the justices and law clerks knew the outcome in the case.