it s been a week of major rulings at the supreme court, culminating with the most anticipated decision in more than a decade, health care reform. chief justice john roberts caught many observers off guard by siding with the four liberal justices to uphold president obama s signature accomplishment. cnn s kate balduan begins our coverage. kate, this was a ruling that went against conventional wisdom. i would absolutely say so, candy. it was a bombshell ruling with the chief justice, as the swing vote joining the court s more liberal justices in the majority narrowly upholding the main provisions of the president s health care law. the justification for that is what surprised many court watchers. the court justice writing for the majority that the mandate was unconstitutional, under the commerce clause, really rejecting the argument that the obama administration and congress stood behind the most. instead, the majority said the law was upheld under congress s power to tax, a
whether to hold attorney general of the united states, eric holder, in contempt of congress. that vote expected this hour. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. it s the most anticipated supreme court decision in more than a decade. and one that impacts the lives of almost every american as well as the presidential campaign. in a 5 to 4 split, the supreme court upheld the affordable care act, a law so tightly bound to president obama that both critics and supporters call it and i m calling it now what they are calling it, obama care. behind the historic ruling and meticulous legal reasoning that caught many observers offguard as well as the surprise split that saw the chief justice of the united states, john roberts, siding with the courts four liberal justices. kate bolduan begins outside. reporter: absolutely, wolf. a bombshell ruling. the individual mandate, the centerpiece, but getting to that conclusion was a surprising revelation. the chief justice wr
point, partisan politics and a sitting u.s. attorney general cot in the cross fire. eric holder is in copenhagen this morning. yesterday a house committee voted to recommend citing him for contempt of congress for not turning over documents from that botched fast and furious gun operation. you will remember that program allowed guns to end up in the hands of mexican drug cartels and is connected to the death of at least one u.s. law enforcement officer. those documents are now off limits to republicans and everybody else because the president has invoked executive privilege to keep them under wraps. it brings us to joe jons live from washington, d.c. this morning. good morning. good morning, soledad, the contempt issue moves to the full house of representatives as early as neck week. holder is the first obama administration official to be held in contempt by congressional committee. the point man on all of this for the republicans, of course, is chairman darrell issa. he ta
start. nice to have you with us. i m ashleigh banfield and i m zoraida sambolin. it s 5:00 a.m. here in the east. let s get started. attorney eric holder to be held in contempt in congress. yesterday the members of the government oversight and reform committee voted along party lines to recommend citing him for contempt for failing to turn over subpoenaed documents from the botched fast and furious gun operation, documents that are now off limits to republicans, and everyone else, because the president has invoked executive privilege to keep all of those documents now under wraps. joe johns is live from washington, d.c., this morning. joe, this is the first time that president obama has used the executive privilege. i think it was president clinton that maybe used it 14 times. how rare is this, and what is going to happen next to the attorney general? reporter: it is rare, but on the other hand, presidents do it, and most presidents do it at least once or twice during
i wonder, avery, if this lighter sentence that he got, because, you know, he was staring at possible jail time, this lighter sentence, does this in any way jeopardize this law that d.c. is trying to enforce? i think that s a wonderful question. i m dumb struck with the result. i mean, the truth is that gilbert was looking at 20 years because of a prior gun charge. and the fact is that this law is very, very clear. judge robert morin looked at the information submitted. i think this is brilliant in terms of the defense, johnnie cochran and o.j. i m stunned at the result. and, you know what, i think what you have to look at here is sort of maybe be a little streetwise. if you are caught and you don t have the ability to hire the former united states attorney for the district of columbia in defending you, maybe you re not going to go to jail for five years or ten years or 20 years. i think it is the incorrect