The left's war on the Supreme Court has a new target: Chief Justice John Roberts.

The New York Times published a lengthy article, citing leaked information, that paints Roberts as having "steered" three major cases to benefit Donald Trump personally.

Johns Roberts targeted

In February, Roberts had sent his colleagues a scathing memo blasting an appeals court for having “failed to grapple with the most difficult questions altogether" in the controversy over President Trump's immunity defense.

Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion in the court's eventual 6-3 ruling, warned of a dangerous spiral if presidents are not granted sufficient protection from prosecution by their political opponents.

The court's unanimous ruling on Donald Trump's ballot access dwelled on similar fears of a breakdown in the political system. From the beginning, the justices agreed that letting individual states block presidential candidates was "out of the question," the Times reported.

Roberts told colleagues he wanted the opinion in the politically explosive case to be unanimous and unsigned. The justices ultimately reached broad agreement on the main issue, but they expressed differences of opinion over the role of Congress in enforcing the so-called "insurrectionist ban."

January 6th controversies

In another January 6th-related case, the court ruled that the Justice Department had gone too far in its interpretation of a federal obstruction law.

According to the Times report, Roberts took over writing the opinion from Samuel Alito, who was initially assigned the case by Roberts. The switch came after Alito became the target of scrutiny over a Times article about flags that his wife had flown on their property.

The flag controversy fueled an effort among progressives to tie the court's conservatives to the Capitol riot, but Alito refused pressure to recuse himself from January 6th cases.

Roberts has long been seen as a mild-mannered moderate, and until now, he hasn't come in for the same kind of scrutiny as arch conservatives like Alito and Clarence Thomas. In light of the leaks, liberals are accusing Roberts of becoming a pro-Trump ideologue.

Did Roberts change?

But did Roberts change? Or did he just put his foot down against a radical assault on America's political system?

Mark Paoletta, a friend of Justice Clarence Thomas and an attorney for his wife, applauded Roberts for rejecting "partisan" and "destructive" efforts to weaponize the law against Trump.

“Chief Justice Roberts did a magnificent job this past term as chief justice, including building a 9-0 decision on rejecting the partisan, destructive, and unconstitutional efforts to throw President Trump off the ballot, and he is maligned for this superb work,” Paoletta said.

The Times based its reporting on Roberts on "details from the justices’ private memos, documentation of the proceedings and interviews with court insiders, both conservative and liberal."

Paoletta blasted the extensive leaks as evidence of a mounting left-wing conspiracy to undermine the Supreme Court, which has faced fierce attacks from Democrats in Washington. The court's historic ruling overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked two summers ago in what was then an unprecedented breach.

“These leaks also demonstrate that the liberals are bent on tearing down the Supreme Court because they are not getting their way,” Paoletta said.