federal government has the right to bring the lawsuit against the state and if so whether the state court judge had the right to issue an injunction that applied to state court judges, clerks and so forth. so there s basically two questions the court will consider on november 1st. is sb-8 constitutional in the state case, and can the federal government sue over a law like this. the reason that s important, the federal government said to the supreme court earlier this week and again today in a reply brief, they said to the supreme court in us lens, look, if you let texas get away with this, then states can pass laws in essence, nullifying supreme court decisions but handing off the enforcement to private parties and you ll never be able to do anything about it. surely you don t want to stand around with your hand in your pockets and let that happen. that was the government s argument. the supreme court now is going to hear these two cases and then, of course, on december 1st, the court
reporter: the conservative justices have been pushing back. amy coney barrett appeared at an event with the top senate republican mitch mcconnell and declared my goal is to convince you this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks. and at times alito blasted the media for portraying the court as a cabal. calling the criticism that the court was acting in a way that was sneaky or dangerous, very misleading. and these competing comments come at a time when issues are only set to get more divisive. of course that texas abortion law was actually decided on strictly procedural grounds. on december 1st, the justices will hear arguments on the merits of the mississippi abortion law that restricts most abortions after 15 weeks. it is leaving many to wonder will the court ultimately
is now underway. justices began hearing arguments today on an agenda that will include some huge social issues. fox news chief legal correspondent anchor of fox news at night shannon bream tells us what s on the docket. for the first time in 18 months, the supreme court gathered for in person arguments monday in a mostly empty courtroom. justice thomas known for rarely speaking from the bench dove right in this morning. some say newly confident in his role as the leading voice for the conservative wing. justice kavanaugh participated remotely having tested positive for covid-19 last week. the term kicking off today includes several potentially landmark cases. part of the blockbuster nature of the term will depend on whether they really go very far and overrule roe v. wade or simply narrow re it in the abortion case. on december 1st, the court will consider mississippi s law banning most abortions after 5 weeks.
same vaccine. again, just in a smaller dose. bret? bret: alex, thank you. the u.s. supreme court will hear arguments over mississippi s law banning most abortions after 15 weeks. on december 1st. opponents say the law invites states to ban abortion entirely. earlier this month you may remember, justices refused to block a texas law that restricts abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. there is increasing focus tonight on some of the other people allegedly involved in the investigation of the trump-russia connection. last week the first criminal charge was filed against a former clinton campaign attorney. there s a lot of information in the indictment filed that sheds some light into the work and scope of the special counsel john durham. this evening, how one member of the current administration may fit in. here s chief washington correspondent mike emanuel. an indictment in the john durham probe may only be scratching the surface. one expert says this indictment exposes a type of n
about allegations that voting machines were rigged. they found nothing. you can tell me all you want to about, you know, how this could have been hacked or whatever. but it s a counting machine. so you just reconcile the two. there s a pile right there. how many ballots? 1,000. now, let s see who they re for. there s been no discrepancy reported anywhere. reporter: barr was urged to speak up by then senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, who was worried about maintaining republican control of the senate. mcconnell said barr was the only person who could, quote, inject some reality into trump. on december 1st, barr publicly declared there was no evidence of widespread fraud. multiple sources who witnessed the president s reaction told me they had never seen him so angry. one said, he had the eyes and mannerisms of a madman. how the expletive could you do this to me? why did you say it? trump demanded. because it s true, barr replied. you must hate trump, the president respo