Meghan Markle's staff apparently leaked sensitive High Court documents about the Duchess of Sussex's lawsuit against the Associated Newspapers. A member of her team allegedly "briefed the press" when she filed to stop her friends from being named in public.
According to reports, Justice Warby knew that Meghan's team were behind the leak for one simple reason. Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie apparently tweeted about Meghan's filing 58 minutes later, after the fact.
Warby said in his 20-page ruling that the filing was at 8:32 a.m. on July 9. At around 9:30 a.m., Scobie posted a tweetinforming his followers that Meghan made her move in court to protect her friends' identities.
The judge also reprimanded both the Duchess of Sussex and the Associated Newspapers as they "play out their dispute in public." However, he granted Meghan's request to keep her friends' names confidential and only known to the judge.
Meghan filed to protect her friends after she learned that Associated Newspapers, through its publication, Mail on Sunday, plan to expose the women. They anonymously granted an interview to People Magazine in 2019 to denounce Thomas Markle, Meghan's father, and her accusations against his daughter and Prince Harry.
The friends apparently mentioned in the interview that Meghan wrote her father a letter, which has become the central piece in the duchess' lawsuit against the tabloid. Mail on Sunday published this letter, which her father provided, but allegedly edited its content. The Duchess of Sussex claimed this was a deliberate act to negatively portray her in the media. She is also suing the news outlet for data privacy breach.
Meanwhile, Daily Mail reported that Scobie has a special relationship with the Duchess of Sussex. The royal correspondent apparently believes they are soulmates and he's known in the media circles as Meghan's cheerleader and apostle.
Scobie reiterated that Prince Harry and Meghan didn't sit down with him and co-author Carolyn Durand for an interview for Finding Freedom. The Sussex's representative also said the same statement to clarify speculations that the pair sanctioned the contents of the book.
Critics said that Finding Freedom, which will be out on Aug. 11, will be damaging to the royal family because it contains specific details to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's royal exit. Some royal journalists also said Prince Harry and Meghan may have consented to letting their closest confidants talk to Scobie and Durand because of the level of details in the book.
