at issue, a colorado business seeking permission not to work for same-sex wedding couples, only this time it wasn t the baker. that case was decided in 2018 when jack phillips refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. back then the court narrowly decided for the baker but didn t determine whether a business owner s speech writes can justify refusing service to gay couples. well, five miles from the colorado baker is a graphic artist named lorie smith who will join me momentarily. she said she didn t want to create any same-sex wedding message at odds with her religious beliefs. she said she had never received a request to design a same-sex couple site, nor had she turned anyone down. smith won. a majority of the court saw colorado s public accommodation laws an unconstitutional attempt by the state to compel her speech. the minority cast the outcome as the first time the court permitted a commercial business to refuse service to a protected class. justice neil gorsuch
i m michael smerconish in philadelphia. the supreme court comprised by appoint east of former president donald trump ended a most consequential term. scotus on voting rights, affirmative action, student loans and adoption. this on top of last year s rulings concerns abortion, guns, religion and climate change. yesterday, the court released a much anticipated opinion concerning speech and gay rights. at issue, a colorado business seeking permission not to work for same-sex wedding couples, only this time it wasn t the baker. this case was decided in 2018 when jack phillips refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. then the court decided for the baker, but didn t determine whether a business owner s speech writes can justify refusing service to gay couples. well, five miles from the colorado baker is a graphic artist named lorie smith who will join me momentarily. she said she didn t want to create any same-sex wedding message at odds with her religious beliefs. she neve
according to committee vice chair liz cheney, that s just a fraction of the evidence they have related to possible witness intimidation. this morning the new york times reports that trump s political organization and his allies paid for or promised to cover the legal fees of more than a dozen witnesses called to testify in the january 6th investigation. it does raise for some ethical and legal questions about the possibility of witnesses being pressured and the possibility of trump trying to influence testimony that has a direct bearing on him. joining us now is john wood, he was until last week a senior investigator for the january 6th committee, he was a u.s. attorney during the george w. bush administration, he also clerked for justice clarence thomas and he s now running as an independent candidate for the senate in missouri. thank you so much for being with us, counselor. when you were with the committee, what was your knowledge of how the attorneys for some of these
insurrection committee. sources tell cnn that cassidy hutchinson has informed the january 6th committee that she was contacted by someone trying to influence what she would testify to. liz cheney presented evidence that member of donald trump s inner circle may have engaged in witness tampering. this morning the new york time s reporting trump s political organization and allies have paid for or promised to pay witnesses legal fees. let s begin with cnn caitlin on all of this live. what s the latest? the house select committee is now grappling with the possibility that there s been witness intimidation or even tampering behind the scenes. kate, the committee vice chair said they were asking witnesses if anyone was trying the influence testimony and she said two witnesses said yes. they received calls from someone they knew. we have confirmed that one of these people on the receiving end of up with of these calls was cassidy hutchinson. she isn t just any witness. she is now
who may have tried to intimidate star witness before she testified. the loved ones of the uvalde shooting victims are sick of waiting for answers. we re sitting here just listening to empty words. that s all it is. empty words. my sister died protect ing her children, her students. sd why the mayor claims he can t tell them anymore. welcome to the lead. we begin with our politics lead. breaking news as we follow the repercussions from cassidy hutchinson bombshell testimony. we have the very latest. reporter: witness intimidation has become a serious focus of the january 6th select committee. cnn has learned both instances the committee presented as examples of possible witness intimidation during the hearing on tuesday were directed at their witness, cassidy hutchinson. he knows you re loyal and you re going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition. i think most americans know that attempting the influence witnesses to testify untruthfully presents