moment. outside at the supreme court flag is half staff for the death of antonin scalia who died at age 79 after a hunting trip in west texas. we'll reset for the viewers now joining us. >> this is a fox news alert. i am bret baier in washington. continuing coverage of the death of justice scalia. there is reaction from all over the country, both to scalia, the man, the jurist and emerging political fire storm over who picks his replacement. president obama said he will nominate someone son. and the republicans want to wait until they have a new president hopefully one of their own. >> reporter: the longest

serving justice on the united states supreme court has died. report ares stated that justice antonin scalia died of natural courses in west texas. our colleague passed away. he was an extraordinary individual and jurorist and his passing is a great loss to the country he so loyally served we extend condolences to his wife maureen and his family. he was appointed by president ronald reagan and scalia was the first italian american justice to sit on the court and a conservative and a lifelong catholic. >> one can be sophisticated and believe in god. heck, the first mover is easy to believe more than the big bang. one can believe in a personal

god who loves mankind and one can be sophisticated and believe in jesus christ as having been a son of god, are we not all children of the creator? and triumphed over death. his message after all lives on. >> reporter: the justice was a father of nine children. and worked in nixon and ford administrations he was known for brilliant mind and sharp tongue and clearly written rulings. he was a strong opoint of abortion. and strong advocate in separation of powers. justice scalia was 79 years old. >> joining us now is chuck cooper under president reagan. he was part of the team that recommended scalia to the president and argued numerous

cases and a long- time friend. first our condolences and your thoughts on the sad night. >> thank you, brett. to be honest with you, i am in a state of shock. it is hard to gather one's thoughts. to those of us who knew and loved antonin scalia, we are grieving, especially for his dear wife maur own and his family and also grieving for the court and constitution. he was truly a giant on the court, and a friend and a defender of the written constitution. a leader, be the consummate leader of the movement known as originalism. and so this is a sad, sad day, brett, both at a personal level and you know, a much larger

level. >> chuck, talk about the personal first of all. a lot of stories about antonin scalia. and put it in perspective for someone out there who sees the people sitting on on the bench in black robes and we obviously don't interact with them as we do with politicians, unless you are fortunate to be be at an event with them. for somebody who didn't know, what would you say? >> i would say that it was impossible to be around ninoscalia and know him and not like him. the only people who disliked scalia was the people who didn't know him and anyhow him only through the lens of politics or are differences at the level of politics. you know, i was with him really

over dinner scarcely a month ago, and he was as robust andgre garrous as always. really the most fun- loving person at any table. i had been part of a group many years and along with justice scalia that have a dinner periodically and the only requirement within the group is that each particant. and never off color and always extremely funny. he was the life of every party,

brett and then again, those of us who had the real joy of knowing him and being around him are in a state of grief tonight. >> last thing, chuck, you argued in front of him as well. for someone who want upons to know about justice scalia as the jurist on the supreme court, how would you characterize that? >> well, justice scalia on the bench, he did not suffer fools lightly to it say the least. he was the most probing and incisive penetrating questioner on the court. he never. and he was questioning council, before him, and you know i think

and some other advocates of the court that i know who have personal friendships with him agree with me. if he knew you and you were friends with him. it was a special delight in being tough on you. and maybe i just imagined that, but that certainly seemed to be the case. >> thank you again, and our best to you and yours. >> we'll go to shannon bream. president obama will be making a statement on justice scalia's passing at 8:30 eastern time and you will see it here on fox. >> reporter: that will be interesting, brett. because of all of the things we talked about. there is so much important work for the court to get done this term. affirmative actions and abortion

and union dues and the president's executive action on immigration and the hsscontraceptive man date and so many important cases and the democrats argue that is why the seat cannot remain vacant while the gop is pushing and saying it should be up to the next president. at least that's what senate majority leader mcconnell said. whether he plans to nominate someone. and the court has a lot of work to do on the critical cases and in the event of a tie 4- 4, lower court ruling is in place. for conservatives that could be be a positive. if the texas abortion case remains in a tie, that is a win for conservatives, because the lower court upheld texas provisions that put tough standards on abortion clinics in texas. it will close down 75 percent or more clinics and that will hurt

the woman's right to choose. and joining up with a number of things like the immigration and that at the lower court was a win for conservatives. and if they wind up in a 4- 4, it could be a win with the lower court cases remaining in place. but there is a number of big cases that have been argued. and voted on long ago and the opinion ps were being written and circulated and honed in to being ready for release and in those cases, justice scalia is a deciding vote that may be starting from scratch. these machine -- members are grieving. he was close to people. justice gins berg loved to share wine and traveling with their

spouses and justice ka combshgs an. there are not two more people. but they went to shooting ranges and hunting together. he bridged across the ideological divide to have close friendships with people he differed with on the court. he had a sense of humor and if you go through the transcripts and audio recordings, he got the most laughses and i wonder if he thought of one liners. he would have everyone in stitches and lawyers and participants and he had a robust sense of and he was tough on both sides and he would really question and probe and at times roll his eyes or sigh if he didn't like the answer. you never wondered where you stood with justice scalia. he was transparent. and his dissents were fiery and filled with colorful interesting language and pressing back on

the majority when they got it wrong he thought. he did not hold back. even for the nonlawyers, if you want to see somebody who puts together words well when they are in disagreement, you would be enttained by the dissents and it fits with his personality. he lit up the room and took over the conversation. we talked about the christmas parties and there was a piano to sing christmas carols and he would tell them what they would sing and what. and it is it a hole for the conservative block. >> fascinating as always. and patrick lehe said the supreme court of the united states is too important for the democracy for it to be understaffed for partisan reasons. that is it a live look outside of the supreme court at half

staff. and the ranch where the press is getting ready with a statement from president obama. we are told that the president will make a statement and we'll carry it here on fox news panel. words from justice scalia when he and justice gins berg participated in a forum. and he talks about the origins of the freedom of speech. >> i think our constitution was inspired by the traditions of the common-law and i think what our framers meant by the freedom of speech, for example was that freedom of speech which was the birthright of englishmen at the time. it was the absence of constraint. the absence of corertion.

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♪ >> a special coverage of the death of justice antonin scalia continues as you look live outside of the supreme court. joining me now is congresswoman comstot and she represented him in congress. your thoughts on this evening. >> to know him was to love him. you you heard that outpouring tonight. he was an incredible man and grandfather. one of his sons is a priest, paul, and one of the best memories i have sitting there watching paul watch his father be interviewed in a large gathering and he was up there

and speaker of the night and to see this proud son watching his father and then his son, paul was the priest in the community and to see justice scalia be at a mass and watching his son and be so proud of that son and his other eight children and grandchildren. his name skak and his grandson is his namesake. and we sat together in the graduation and he watched everyone come across the stage and his grandson was there and such a proud and loving grandfather and a wonderful sense of humor and maureen and the kids and grandkids, have that great legacy that he left and it is so hard to think, he is larger than life and for him not to it be here. he lives on my street and him walking by and see the kids and grandkids and it is it an

incredible family and legacy and we love him dearly. >> you worked in the justice department and you were his friend. his impact on this court and the u.s. supreme court over all, can you put that in words? >> it is it a profound legacy. read his majority and dissent. this is somebody who loved the law and had a passion for it. and i first heard him when i went to a federalist society event. he loves people to engage in it. his friends were friends on the opposite side of him for an issue. he understood the give and take of the law and that engagement of it. and so that love of it was infectious and why he had friends across the ideological spent rum. and it is it a huge loss. he had a profound understanding of the law and commitment to it

and so precise and i know previous guest, chuck cooper talked about the dinner we often and i was at that dinner, too. and he was a natural wit and come up with one liners and new all of the foot notes of cases and all of that. he was an incredible once in a lifetime person that you are growing to know. and that's how his member of his family is like. that his wife maureen is an incredible, wonderful person and a family of great faith obviously. and just beloved by all who know them. >> congressman comstock thank you for your time on this sad night. >> thank you. >> we are waiting for the president of the united states looking live on the screen from the rancho mirage in california.

we will hear from the president himself not only on the legacy of antonin scalia and can the sad event and it is moves forward for the president nominating for this vacancy. our special coverage. fox news coverage of the death of justice antonin scalia continues after the break. ibs-d. you know the symptoms when they start. abdominal pain. urgent diarrhea. now there's prescription xifaxan. xifaxan is a new ibs-d treatment that helps relieve your diarrhea and abdominal pain symptoms. and xifaxan works differently. it's a prescription antibiotic that acts mainly in the digestive tract. do not use xifaxan if you have a history of sensitivity to rifaximin, rifamycin antibiotic agents, or any components of xifaxan. tell your doctor right away if your diarrhea worsens while taking xifaxan, as this may be

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ends presidents day at sleep train. >> this is a fox news alert as we wait for the president's comments from california. blake burm an is traveling with president obama in california. >> reporter: we are told president obama will speak any moment here.

it is two hours away east of los angeles. it was supposed to be a vacation day working out in the the morn anything played golf with best friend here in the pga west court in the laquinta and one of the best golf courses and then the news of justice antonin scalia. the president will be speaking about this in a matter of minutes we are led to believe. and according to the the print pool, the president will address whether or not he will nominate someone. that is a political issue in all of this going forward. as we mentioned we expect to hear the president any moment now. >> thank you, blake, we'll head there live when the president takes to the microphone. joining us now is johnathon turly. your thoughts on the impact of this. obviously we talked about the life and legacy and what it means for the u.s. supreme court and the nation?

>> it is it a seismic event for the court and country. and people talk about justice scalia bigger than life. it is his personality and jurisprudence. he moved the needle on the court to the right. but he played an interesting role on the court. he was pure as you could get to his juroris prudential viewses. the court is often critized for people resolving cases in conflicting ways. scalia wasn't. he was consistent and you could disagree with him and he was disciplined intellectually of the court. that had an impact on the court. and it was an authtensity as a jurist. he would sometimes disagree on cases with the conservative members on the fourth amendment

and he could surprise people. you would not be surprised if you knew the jurisprudence. to him that came first. his removal from the court couldn't be more significant. and i expect there will be a battle royale just for president obama to replace the conservative icon. >> as we wait for president obama's comments tonight. it will be interesting to see and we are hearing he will make a nomination and democrats are pushing forward for the vacancy and the senate to confirm it quickly. however our producer on capitol hill said if there was a situation where the president would have a recess appointment and considering what we heard from the senate and majority leader mitch mcconnell. republicans will not allow the vacancy be built and they will hold the line. both bodies of congress are

offering in the perfect parliamentary status. the house and senate will not meet in coming days or week and this is an adjournment and not challenge the appointments. and they have agreed to adjourn. is it possible be that the president makes a recess appointment considering the politics in this town. >> it is it possible. it would be a tremendous mistake. and i testified on that recess appointment and i was a critic to the federal courts. and while it had occurred. it occurred with the supreme court. and in my view, it does great damage to it article three, which is part of the constitution describing judicial functions and it will be the most aggressive and confrontational move that president obama has taken and that is saying a lot. if it he wants to put a nominee

on the court, he needs to present one to the senate. they will likely oppose it. that's how the system works. and the recess appointee to play a critical will appointment would undermine the integrity of the court. i hope that president obama will not listen to advisors. and it is a 4- 4 tie. and if you are on the democratic side and the administration's point of view and facing the republican senate it says no, you are not going to do why wouldn't you try to move forward. >> i am hoping that the people would see that there is great violence to the purpose of the court and the integrity and

history of the court and appoint someone who is a judicial attempt. that is not what the framers or function of the recess appointment is about. the senate is back in session. this would be an effort to evade the majority in the senate and by the way it is it a 4- 4 split. the public union's case and without scalia it is 4- 4. and this is a two- sided coin. in the end of the day, it is hard in washington to talk about the principles and restraint at this time, a recess appointment is a perfectly horrible to the court. >> not to belabor the point and

it did happen in 1956 with the death of sherman minton. eisenhower named william brennan in a recess appointment and turned out to be the court's most liberal members and eisenhower appointed him. it can happen. i have a question about the term of congress. and i talked about this with congressman issis the recess in which a president can appoint someone in that time and understanding that you are against it either way. >> it would be considered a recess is. it is more complex. because of how the congress adjourns and how it ends its sessions. but that would be a particularly controversial move the standing

of a president and makes a president more than just another politician. is often restraint and on on not doing things you could do. when you you have time to put p forward a nomination. it is a process pie which we are suppose ped to reach a compromise. final shout thoughts on scalia. >> i had wonderful times speaking with justice scalia. we share an italian heritage. i have an irish name from my father and italian from my

family. and he loved the italian culture and it was virtually impossible to sit down with and not come away truly liking him so much. he was warm and funny and he loved to talk to law students and loved to talk about the law. and people tended to view him through the ideological lens. and in today's politics, we often forget it is possible for us to like each other even if we disagree. he just wanted to spend more time with him. he quite frankly was fun and interesting and passionate and authentic. and in this city. this is reflected in today's campaign and politics. people are looking for auththen city. >> he was truly one of a kind. >> johnathon. thank you for your time.

let's bring back your panel. hillary clinton out with a statement. my thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends as they mourn. i did not hold justice scalia's views but he was dedicated public servant. and the republicans in the senate and campaign trial who are calling for the seat to be vacant dishonor our constitution. the senate has a constitutional responsibility that it can not abdicate. >> you are encouraged that hillary clinton is concerned with the constitution. republicans who are elected in 2014, many of them ran on opposing president obama and his judicial nominees. this was a issue in the 2014 election. and democrats will argue that president obama has every right

to nominate a justice, republicans can say we were are elected in part to stop the president and that's the way the constitutional system works. i do think that it is hard to overstate how hard it is for president obama's legacy. he will be assured to do everything possible to get this nominee, if who ever he nominates on to the court. whatever, you know, questionable legal maneuvers he might make. >> a recess appointment. >> he will do anything. he will do it. if you are looking back on president obama's legacy in 20 years and he is able to maneuver a nominee on to the court, we'll be talking about three things. obama care, and iran deal and his legacy on the supreme court changing the direction of the supreme court for the foreseeable future. >> we are looking at live on the the supreme court in the left and we are within a few minutes

of president obama making a statement there. david? >> my twitter feed and inbox is blowing up with conservatives and including conservative legal analyst and can who think that mitch mcconnell are fine on precedent. and not doing going to confirm a obama nominee to the court. and what that tells you, that the politics of this thing it is go to be there whether or not the senate republicans are there. and now they are there. that train left the station. and unless president obama can do a work around, it is not going to happen. and this is going to be a much bigger issue in the presidential campaign. and it has been an issue. this is what presidents can do

that last for decades after they are are in office. and after they left office. and i think that looking at this, this is also for so many conservative voters out there that feel like the new republican majority in the senate let them down, this is something they can do. and that's why this is going to change. >> this is interesting. the supreme court comes in the bottom of the list of things that are important to voters when you ask the question. on the top are the other issues. abortion, executive power, immigration, gun rights, they come toward the top and national security and the economy. defactor, the supreme court decide those cases and is a major point for the electorate. >> they don't largely because we read about supreme court decisions and they go out in the

news and there is not much to discuss. when the poll question is asked in a week or two we'll hear about it. >> justice scalia's death and a time bomb. who replaces scalia and the swing vote in a supreme court currently balanced between conservatives and liberals. >> hi, brett. mitch mcconnell will not be the only one in the republican party in the senate who wants to wait a year until that vacancy is filled. >> reporter: we heard from senator grassly and he explains why he thinks that the 45th and not the the 44th, should be the one to pick the next supreme court nominee. here is what he said. given the huge divide and this president has made no bones about his goal to use the court

to circumvent congress and push through his agenda, it makes sense to defer to the american people and elect a new president and select the supreme court justice. there is a push back from harry reid. he said it is unprecedented to wait that long and the minority ranking member pat lehe said that no one should wait at all. and the process should start right away and we hope to hear president obama speak in california. and in the senate, there has been a tradition to the thurman rule and it is unofficial and there is a thought and no lifetime appointments given after the summer before the presidential year. since it is so close to the presidential election and things are influx and really in here and the court and presidential

race, that tradition not likely to be honored. and there is a lot to be happening. and we'll hear from the president and the leaders of the democrats and republicans who are digging in their heels. we want to hear from the the president what his idea is. >> we may. we may or may not. >> peter doocey. thank you. we'll go to kevin cork from the white house. we'll hear from the president but we don't know how much he will lay out for us. kevin. >> reporter: you are right. you will hear the name a great deal and now is the not the time to talk about the horse race or potential jurist that will be nominated. he will nominate someone to the height court. democrats have said on line and statements, they feel it is not only the president's right thing to do historically. and i found it captivating to

read our colleague's note about the one tight window where the president could send one to the high court in this recess opportunity given what we heard from the senate majority leader. and tonight, the president and first lady are going to join with the american public in saying thank you to the memory of a man who was a legal giant and one with of the all- time great jurorist on the supreme court even if you disagreed with the perspective, you have to know that justice scalia is a great mind and interestingly i listened to judge napolitano talk about him. he is a man who not only had a sense of humor and dignity, he had a great sense of what he believed was right and wrote with force and clarity as well. the president will make comments 4 to 6 minutes in length. he

will talk about the man more than the way forward. but we expect that as well. >> thank you. and just to give you a flavor. nancy pelosi, the house minority leader releasing the statement. whether or not you agree with him, justice antonin scalia served our nation with distinction and served on the supreme court 30 years and one of the strongest voices in the american debate about our constitution and leaves a formidable record of jurisprudence and articulation of his understanding of the constitution. my sincere condoll epss to his wife and family. justice scalia died from natural us causeses in a hunting trip. we'll go to shannon as we wait for the president. >> he is always a strong voice on the court and during arguments and would often get in

tiffs, not only with the people presenting the cases but fellow justices. that seems to be convincing each other and engaging with the advocates to make the cases. he was never one to pull a punch. you knew where you stood with him arguing the topic and having a conversation. he was a large personality and he was a lot of fun and lived life to the fullest. he said that even though people were concerned about the health and prayed for him and conservatives wanted him to stay on the court forever. it didn't stop him from living life. he was very much a family man and devout catholic. nine children and more than 20 grandchildren. he adored him and he loved the work on the the court. and he was saying, he was not

against retiring. he didn't show signs of slowing down. next month would have been his eight 0th birthday. >> and the unionion case. it is written and heavily drafted at this point. that it could be be a case where there is an impact by his missing vote. and any decision that he voted on, those votes will not matter and it will go back to the drawing board and some of the cases they will start fresh depending on where the other votes fell. that is done behind closed doors. and he had quite a sense of humor and he's on the top of the list for the most laughs and sarcasms of the court. he was a character and he will always be there. and i remember a few years back,

there was a argument about religious monuments placed on government parkings and he was arguing and asking where do we draw the line. and different groups have a right to post. what if we have a monument to chocolate chip cookies, that drew laughs and he pushed people to look at the reality and how far they would go in real life. not just sitting there and arguing about the remote parts of the constitution. he wanted to urge people to think about how they played out in real life. he would often stop and look at them and say do you really mean that? do you think it will play out like you think it will? talk about the reality of the case. he telegraphed where he stood on things. he is a strong voice of the

conservative block. they thought he would unfoy the court. but we would hear behind the scenes, he was not a a compromiser. >> looking at the court. justice robert and kennedy and alito and thomas. does clarence thomas take the mantle of being most conservative and least animated and differs in style most significantly from antonin scalia. but the most conservative on the bench now? >> i would say very similar in most of their decisions and you would find them together a lot on tough cases for sure. but justice thomas is not a big voice or personality on the court. off he is. he has a booming voice and a smile that lights up the room and a college football.

and he is a character in a different way. but he hasn't spoken in oral arguments or asked a question in ten years. clarence thomas. >> let me interrupt you. here is the president of the united states. >> good evening, everybody. almost 30 years justice antonin nino scalia was a larger than life president on the bench. brilliant legal mind and an energetic style and decisive wit and colorful opinions. he influenced a generation of judges, lawyers and students and profoundly shaped the legal landscape. he will no doubt be remembered as one of the most consequential judges and thinkers on the supreme court. justice scalia dedicated his life to the cornerstone of our democracy and the rule of law. tonight, we honor his

extraordinary service to our nation and remember one of the more toweringes of our time. antonin scalia was born in trenton, new jersey to an italian immigrant family. and after graduating from georgetown, he work withed in a law firm before entering a life of public service. he was assistant attorney general for the office of legal council and the judge on the circut and associate justice of the supreme court. a devout catholic he was a proud father of nine children and grandfather to many loving grandchildren. justice scalia was an acid hunter and opera lover and a passion for music that he shared with justice ruth vader- gins berg. michelle and i were proud to welcome him to the white house with a state dinner for prime

minister david cameron and tonight we join his fellow justices in mourning this remarkable man. obviously today, is a time to remember justice scalia's legacy. i plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time and there will be plenty of time for me to do so and the senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote. these responsibilities that i take seriously as should everyone. they are bigger than any one party. they are about our democracy. they are about the institution to which justice scalia dedicated his professional life to make sure it functions as the beacon of justice that our founders envisioned. but at the this moment, we most of all want to think about his family. michelle and i join the nation

in sending our deepest symptthees to his wife maureen and their loving family. a beautiful symbol of a life well lived and we thank them for sharing justice scalia with our country and god bless them all and god bless the united states of america. >> president obama the in rancho mirage, california honoring the life and legacy of justice antonin scalia, who is dead at the age of 79 saying that he influenced generations of lawyers and saying that the president is mourning this remarkable man and also saying that scalia was someone who held close to the rule of law, clearly the president ideologicaly on the different side of the spectrum of antonin scalia, but the president taking time to honor scalia's service

in the court, and also saying briefly that he plans to fulfill his constitution although duty to nominate someone to replace scalia on the court and he hopes that the u.s. senate scalia on the court and hopes the u.s. senate plans to move forward with its constitutional responsibility to go through the confirmation process for that person, but not spending a lot of time on that in this speech. jonathan turley, professor from george washington university joins us again. we talked all about this recess appointment possibility. it seems the president signaling that at least at first he's going through the regular nominating process. >> well, i think he set the right tone. he did not want to get into the future moves when we are as a nation mourning the loss of this great jurist. i also am certainly happy that he did not suggest that he was going to do a recess appointment, although that can happen. it happened with 12 people on

the court. 11 of those 12 were ultimately confirmed. the first one rutledge was not. but you had earl warren, who received a recess appointment after the death of chief justice vincent. i've always been a critic of those recess appointments. i think it does great harm to the courts to have someone who is not there permanently. the whole idea of the framers was to have people that were protected by lifetime tenure and it's all the more important when you're on the supreme court. i'm glad he certainly didn't get into that. but i think he was right not to get into the weeds, not to get into the politics but to focus on the man. whatever happens from this point on in terms of the nomination is going to get heated very quickly. his decision not to use a recess appointment may put more pressure as time passes by in the white house for him to reconsider that.

but the point here is that scalia's unique position on court was such that anyone, even a moderate nominee will move the center of gravity on the court significantly and could, in fact, flip a number of cases. it could actually change the governing doctrines in a number of fields that are currently held by a 5-4 margin. >> that's the very interesting thing about it. first of all, scalia was an ally to barack obama on some executive power issues. but i always said we talked about the great dissenters and i included scalia in that. he was a great dissenter. he was better than when he had the majority of the court.

he tended to speak in clear, direct terms. he would call the court to task. one of the things that he would often correct the court about is really the question that produces moans from my students. and that is the function of the court, what are we doing here. he would ask that question a lot. citizens in democracy make important decisions. it's their government. and whether the court agrees on abortion or famer tif action, that it need to first look at what its function is. and to leave those things to the public that should be left to them. and that was a very powerful, consistent and strong voice. >> jonathan, really quickly, we're getting word that he received last rites from a catholic priest at a texas ranch where he died, and we're hearing that in presidio county, texas,

on issues that he was most important, life and the preservation of life, it seemed like antonin scalia was leading the way on that court. >> the people who identified themselves as pro life lost one of the greatest champions in the history of this country. he spoke consistently and powerfully that this issue should be left to the states. he was a strong opponent of roe v. wade. he wrote a powerful dissent. what they lost was not just a voice that was amplified and powerful and penetrating, but they also lost the intellectual leader on this issue. not to denigrate the other justices, but scalia really did sort of suck the oxygen out of the room. he was incredibly clever, very smart. and his opinions brought a depth and a scope to the conservative side of the court that will be very hard to replace.

>> jonathan turley, thank you. your thoughts on the president's comments? is. >> i thought the president gave in tone and scope a very appropriate speech. i don't think there was anything overly political about it. i don't think that nen should hold it against him that he made it clear he plans to nominate a successor and he would like to send it to vote, particularly after mcconnell made it clear there's not going to be a successor confirmed in the remainder of the president's term. but what the president foreshadowed in these remarks, which he could have held back and dpoen in a day or two, is that he isn't playing along on mccobble's plan. i think that's going to play into a lot of things that happen on the hill and on the trail. what you're going to see recycled and you're going to hear a lot from republicans and conservatives is that one of the reasons -- this is where i think in will go, one of the reasons that i will do this is they feel

the president has gone around them one too many times and therefore they're going to use the right they have -- even if technically it's outside of the spirit we have come to sexpect, to confirm a successor. >> i think the president's comments were appropriate. i think he had to address the fact that he intends to make a nomination. i thought the tones of his comments were perfectly appropriate. i think it's right that republicans will raise those objections, and you heard that foreshadowed a little bit in lindsey graham's interview earlier with john roberts when he said look, i'm deferential to the president. i believe in the executive ought to be in a position to see his nominations confirmed in the absence of major objections or a lack of qualifications. so lindsey graham who has voted to confirm many of president obama's judicial appointments signaled he was not likely to do

that in this case because it was so consequential and the mount and democrats pushed and pushed and pushed to change the rules. >> final thoughts, does this happen quick sfli -- quickly? >> i think that the president will actually probably take a little bit of time in nominating somebody. and i think he'll try to play it politically on the senate, i'm playing by the spirit of the constitution and the rules and therefore you should do the same. >> steve? >> yeah, i think he probably moves reasonably quickly. interesting to see whether he would pick a sort of hard left jurist, as one might expect from the president, or if he tries to put republicans in a bit of a political pinch by micking somebody who might be more moderate. maybe a former republican senator, to force republicans to oppose somebody who they otherwise might support. >> but tonight is about the life and leg 1i, as the president said, of antonin scalia. we spent a lot of time talking about the process, we talked

about his life. it's a major day in in the nation. we have the loss of one of the nine supreme court justices. and he is obviously a figure larger than life, not only on the bench but off, as we talked about throughout this special coverage. we will have continuing coverage of the death of the supreme court justice antonin scalia right here on fox news channel at 11:00 p.m. eastern time, two hours from now. i'll be right back here as we recap the republican presidential candidate's debate from south carolina. we've been talking all night about the importance of this, and how it plays out on the presidential campaign trail. it will probably be talked about right up front. if you're the debate moderator, you are tearing up the rundown right now and you are asking questions that deal specifically with this. not only the candidates' thoughts, but also their way

forward. and how big a decision that is for nominating another supreme court justice. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. for this special coverage, fair, balanced, and unafraid. we leave you comments from justice scalia, made on "fox news sunday" on july 29, 2012, about the most important role of the u.s. supreme court. >> the most important role we play and the reason why we have life tenure is precisely because now and then we have to tell the majority, the people, that they can't do what they want to do. that what they want to do is unconstitutional and therefore go a i way. you can say that's not popular. you can say that's undemocratic, in a small sense it is. in the smaller sense, it isn't. because it's the american people who gave us that power. it's the american people that said know, there's some things wes ear not going to let future

legislators to do even if they want to do that. and we're simply applying that judgment of the american people over time. right now on justice, mourning an icon of the supreme court. justice antonin scalia dead at 79. tonight, i'm joined by those who knew him as we look back at the man who left his park on the nation's highest court. >> i think things are better as far as the supreme court's jurisprudence is concerned by my likes. they're better today than what they were 26 years ago. it's all right. breaking tonight, the leading conservative voice on the nation's highest court is silenced.