Politico’s office in Arlington, Va.Credit…Ting Shen for The New York TimesMoments after Politico published a draft opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. that would strike down Roe v. Wade, a scoop that rattled the country, the publication’s top editors sent an email to its newsroom.“After an extensive review process, we are confident of the authenticity of the draft,” Politico’s editor in chief, Matthew Kaminski, and its executive editor, Dafna Linzer, wrote. “This unprecedented view into the justices’ deliberations is plainly news of great public interest.”The editors did not explain what that review process entailed, or how the lead reporters on the story, Josh Gerstein and Alexander Ward, had obtained the draft. The article said that the document was provided by “a person familiar with the court’s proceedings,” and that the person had provided additional details that helped authenticate the document, but didn’t say what those were.Mr. Kaminski declined to comment further.“We’re going to let the story and our staff note speak for themselves,” he said.News organizations around the world, including The New York Times and The Associated Press, quickly followed Politico’s reporting. In an interview with Mr. Gerstein on “The Rachel Maddow Show” Monday evening, Ms. Maddow told Mr. Gerstein that he would “always in your entire life be the reporter that broke this story.”On Tuesday, …
