This had to be what the leaker was looking for.

Monday night’s bombshell of a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion did irreparable damage to one of the few remaining bastions of institutional trust in American politics, and indisputably poisoned an already politicized judicial system.

But President Joe Biden’s response was, if anything, even worse.

A three-point statement from the White House on Tuesday contained not one word of condemnation for whoever was behind the leaked document.

In a statement on Tuesday confirming the leaked draft was authentic, according to Reuters, Chief Justice John Roberts called the leak a “betrayal” and an “egregious breach” of the court’s trust.

Constitutional law expert Jonathan Turley called it an “original sin of judicial ethics” and said it was no doubt intended "to trigger a response outside the court.”

And late Tuesday morning, Joe Biden obliged -- with exactly the kind of "outside-the-court" response the leaker had to be hoping for.

The White House statement started by asserting the administration didn’t know if the leak was genuine or final – which might well have been true.

After that, it was two paragraphs of Democratic boilerplate, describing how the Biden administration tried to defend abortion rights in the Supreme Court and how this supposedly "devout Catholic" had ordered his “Gender Policy Council” to prepare for any contingency in case the court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade.

But it was the final point that mattered – and had to make the SCOTUS leaker very happy with this act of judicial terrorism:

“Third, if the Court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose,” the statement said. “And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November.  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.”

In other words, Biden is more interested in capitalizing politically on the leak than condemning it.

There’s no doubt the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the potentially landmark abortion case pending before the court, was going to be an issue in the November midterm elections.

It was due to be announced before the end of the court’s current term, so in June or early July. Any high-court decision on abortion five months before an election is going to be huge. One that overturns Roe v. Wade is going to be reverberating for decades.

What the Biden White House did, though, was treat the leak as though it was just a weapon to use in a midterm election battle where Democrats, thanks to Biden's dismal performance, are looking at a disaster.

And most importantly, what the statement emphatically did not do was condemn the treacherous weasel inside the court who breached centuries of Supreme Court trust and betrayed American tradition for a fleeting tactical advantage, in service of an industry that has destroyed more than 60 million lives since 1973.

It's appalling.

And Americans noticed:

Where's the part where he condemns the leak and wonders what the motivation was of the leaker?

— Kathleen Stinehart (@stinehart8) May 3, 2022

Nothing about how abhorrent it was for someone to leak this? That tracks.

— Matt the King (@MattTheKing) May 3, 2022

There are no more boundaries in this country… Confidential documents being leaked, people being canceled, we’re headed down a dangerous road

— Ron Nelson, Jr. (@IamRonNelsonJr1) May 3, 2022

Did I miss the President’s announcement that the release of the draft document is a crime, he’s authorized immediate investigation and the person or conspirators will be swiftly charged?

— Debbie (@Hi808de) May 3, 2022

Given that the leaked ruling is a majority overturning the legal and moral monstrosity that makes up the Roe ruling -- and the abortion regime in the United States -- there’s little doubt that the leak came from the court’s liberal wing: a clerk, a staffer or even a justice.

The fact that Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders issued statements immediately after the leak to make it a campaign issue shows how progressives want to play this.

Their respect for the Supreme Court as an institution for interpreting the Constitution is non-existent -- their outrageous tactics surrounding the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh proved for all time that there are no depths to which they will not sink when it comes to the power of the judiciary.

And in his statement from the White House, Biden played along, like the leftist-appeasing, partisan hack his disastrous 15 months in the Oval Office have proven him to be.

Whoever was behind the leak probably couldn’t be happier.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.