a response from the chair of the senate judiciary committee patrick leahy this afternoon.n a statement i expressed at the time to a number of people involved in the trial i had some real concerns that prosecutors were not meeting their discovery obligations. he went on to say i believe everybody before a court should have a fair trial. he and senator grassley will join me in having a hearing on this matter. that statement from senator patrick leahy just a short while ago on the investigation in this new government report into trial against the late senator ted steven's. >>> let's begin with our lead story and that's gas prices something we're feeling every time we go fumble. the president cycling through familiar themes promoting his record of increased domestic oil and gas production as well as stricter fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks as well as his call for ongoing investments into alternative sources of energy things like wind solar and biofuel. the president traveling to nearby largo's maryland just a motorcade drive away from washington, d.c. in the nati

marco rubio, patrick leahy, both sides of the big xwag date, all that coming up next in a special editionbill karins with your business travel forecast. big storm system going through the west. nuisance stuff in new england today. even a little bit of snow this morning in areas of maine and new hampshire. today will warm up eventually. boston chance of showers. not bad around d.c., slight chance of an afternoon thunderstorm for you. all the stormy weather for you on the west coast. [ male announcer ] we got a real mom and the family car to do an experiment. we put a week of her family's smelly stuff all in at once to prove that new febreze car vent clips could eliminate the odor. then we brought her family to our test facility to see if it worked. [ woman ] take a deep breath. tell me what you smell. something fresh. a beach. a clean house. my new car. [ woman ] go ahead and take your blindfolds off. oh! [ laughs ] look at all this garbage! [ male announcer ] introducing new febreze car. eliminates odors for continuous freshness so you can breathe happy. you know who you are. you can part

patrick leahy, came out saying, the arts yesterday saying you know, hearing that art, hearing what people said i don't see how you can make that case. i don't see how you can say that social security and medicare ar requirement is not and i don't think the court would want to go down that path. the exact same feeling he had on those two provisions, to health care and also the point passed few decades ago, there was the same kind of pushback from people saying, this is a government overreaoo far. it might be unconstitutional, buter programs came to be very popular. they still think hat'en to this care law. >> well, thetually made by just ginsburg in the argument but there is a reason aatnd lawyers but sometimes is not immediately evident from a perspective. the reason is that social security is a government, could you say if you are a critic, a socialized program in which the government collects taxes from everyone usurae program itself. and in order to do that, congress exercised a separate enumerated power within the constitution that is to impose taxes and to spend to provide for the ge

you have some of stevens' former colleagues bashing the justice department and senator patrick leahy, chairman of the judiciary committee says he may have a hearing on what happened here. it shattered morale. and it is still playing out. doj pulled back from some cases that you would prior to stevens case you would have think they would go after, for instance, the allegations against former senator john ensign. they didn't bring criminal charges. they're still loogiking at it. but the shocking developments here, you would have thought they would have gone after him. there were other cases. so it's still playing out. you know, there is still legislation on this trying to change prosecutoral standards. when you look at the report and folks that covered it like myself how strong the special prosecutor was. and the other part is ervin side the justice department was pointing fingers at each other. junior prosecutors in the case, some of them being blamed for the bulk of what happened, they're pointing fingers at their bosses. bosses are saying it was these guys. nobody wants to take respo

patrick leahy said he would like to hold a hearing on this matter now that the report is out. >>> "usa today" is writing about a new government report looking into the investigation of alaska senator stted stevens. it says the davis per me jatd by the concealment of evidence favor zwrobl his defense. joining us on the phone with more background is the investigative reporter for "usa today." thanks very much for being with us. what did you learn? >> well the report today is the report of a court appointed investigator who was brought in to look at the possibility of filing criminal contempt of court charges against the prosecutors who represented the government in the stevens case. and it concluded that the case was quote permeated by the systemic concealment of evidence that could have helped stevens in his defense. at times it found intentional withholding evidence that would have undercut the credibility of government star witnesses or really beefed up the senator's contention that he didn't do anything heath, let's look at the timeline in the fall of 2008. senator stevens up for re-

here is patrick leahy first and senate majority leader harry reid following him. >> very obvious if this law is unconstitutional then tomorrow somebody could come in and attack social security for the same reason. that would be unconstitutional. >> there's a significant school of thought that the administration is, puts them in a better position for the election if it is turned down. now, i think it will be upheld but i don't know but you can read all that stuff as well as i can. bill: if the law was not upheld both men say they expect it to be a major issue in the coming elections. that is clearly the case, whether it is or is not. this is going to play out in the election for the next six or seven months to come and beyond all likelihood. martha: lots more to come on that today. an interesting picture painted by the congressional budget office on the cost implications of the court decision. turns out according to them, cbo it will be cheaper to strip out the mandate but much more expensive to lose the law all together. some interesting numbers here. the cbo says if the court strikes do

senator patrick leahy joins us now. last month you were here and visited the military prison and you met with alan gross. first of all, what is his condition and what can you tell us about the conversations you had with raul castro about his release? >> first off, i was surprised, i'd seen pictures of him before he went down. he's lost a considerable amount of weight. certainly the facility he's staying in is not something that you or i or anybody else would want to. a very small cell he shares with two other inmates. he's finally getting to get some exercise but very little. i talked to raul castro about this, and i did to the foreign minister and other cuban officials. they all acknowledged to me that mr. gross, they do not consider him a spy. they considered that he broke cuba's laws. i said, well, given that he's not a spy, don't you think two years, he spent two years there. he's not in the greatest of health, his family has health conditions. why not release him? i feel that he was probably misadvised and i think

senator patrick leahy of vermont was one of those in there. he said that basically, democrats are concerned by the tough questioning. they believe that this is what the justices are supposed to do before issuing a ruling. they've got to ask the tough questions. one other thing that is very interesting is that the supreme court is releasing those audio recordings for everybody to be able to listen to shortly after the proceedings wrap up and that really is a signal of how important they know the decision in this case will be. back to you. >> certainly a fascinating look inside the u.s. supreme court. thank you. >>> also new, prince george's county police are verging a robbery and abduction in hyattsville. it happened late last night on 59th avenue. according to police, the victim said two armed suspects approached him as he was walking into his home and demanded money. they forced him into his own car and drove him to the atm. once they arrived back in the neighborhood, the suspects noticed police. that is when they crashed 199parked car which

. >> i know senators patrick leahy and richard shelby were down in cuba and talked to raul castro.did he tell them? have you -- i know you must be afraid to hope, but do you feel that it's really building to a point where this could happen very quickly? >> erin, i think you're right. i am afraid to hope. i feel like i've been burned a couple times. but president castro told senator leahy that he knew that alan wasn't a spy. so hearing those words gave me a little hope that there will be some room for negotiations. >> what emotion is the one that you feel the most? is it frustration, sadness, loneliness, or anger? >> i'm very lonely. i miss alan's companionship so much. i also -- i have never been an angry person before, but now i am. i have a lot of anger. which is very difficult for me. >> well, we will keep you updated on that and whether there could be some sort of a breakthrough tomorrow. >>> now let's check in with anderson. yep, i'm sending the dancing chicken to every store in the franchise to get the word out. that could work. or you could use every door direct mail from th

and of course the big mass here will be taking place as well as we have senator patrick leahy.t u.s. senator to visit with fidel castro in recent weeks. and marco rubio, the senator from florida, who is very strongly, he is cuban american and strongly anti-the castro regime. that does it for us. tamron hall, my colleague is here with what's next on "news nation." >> hi there. in our next hour, we're following two big breaking stories. the first audio is coming out from today's supreme court arguments on the president's health care law. could there be signs the court will find the law unconstitutional. i'll talk with an attorney who actually filed a brief defending the law itself. what are the tea leaves that folks are reading that leads them to believe this law could be found unconstitutional? plus, trayvon martin's parents are as andrea mentioned, headed to capitol hill. we'll tell you why they are there. which democrats are meeting with them. we'll have the latest for you next. ♪ oh. let's go. from the crack, off the backboard. [ laughs ] dad! [ laughs ] whoo! oh! you're up!

fore, the development of a credible afghan national security force, all of that is about ultimate patrick leahy giving the afghans tough tee for their country and the ability to protect their people and that, i think, is often at the heart of president karzai's conversations with us and his motivation. >> rose: what is your mission, and what's the timeline of your mission? >> well, certainly it is to prevent al qaeda from having a safe haven in afghanistan and preventing afghanistan from becoming a launching pad for international terrorism. but it's also to prevent the taliban from overthrowing the afghan government and creating within the afghan national security forces a credible security force that can stand on its own and ultimately defend that government so that the government can become a viable governing-- or governing institution. >> rose: and those who argue that the taliban simply knows that there's a timeline for the u.s. to leave and that they're prepared to wait because they know what the timeline is, and then to engage in as good a civil war as they can engage in, is that, in your

tea party grass roots activist michael patrick leahy joins us. >>> first, bill karen with a check ofs great. seeing june-like temperatures once again today. today the first day of spring. we are going to watch some areas paying for that. this time of year, not that warm in the ocean. relatively cool. a lot of fog along areas of the east coast especially southern in your hand, northern mid-atlantic. philadelphia, delays. laguardia one hour. fog lifts throughout the day and then a beautiful june-like afternoon. temperatures once again in the mid-70s, even up to northern new england, temperatures in the 70s. unheard of. usually there's still snow on the ground, and a ton of rain in texas. dallas, major airport delays and that line of storms is approaching the houston airports. a problem too. the forecast today, very warm. it's 64 now in chicago, and look at this afternoon. 85 degrees. approaches one of the hottest temperatures you've ever had in march. there's d.c. cherry blossoms out about two weeks early and the fog is beginning to lift for a beautiful afternoon. you're watching "morn

some very telling things tip was sitting a few feet away from senator patrick leahy.kennedy was speaking he actually to me looking at him seemed very concerned. he was wincing, that's my interpretation. he seeped bothered by the questions coming from justice kennedy. he wasn't the only one in the courtroom who was unhappy about what justice kennedy was asking at least initially. megyn: there is speculation folks supporting this law would be able to pick off alito or roberts or scalia. it looks like the four conservatives did not telegraph support for this law. it will come down to kennedy. >> reporter: scalia and alito clearly opposed to the mandate. i would be surprised if they do an about-face. justice roberts indicated he wants to solidify a particular line of thought on this mandate. he was hard on both sides. he did not sound like somebody who was 100% ready to cast his vote against the mandate. but he didn't give anything away today in court because he seems as if he was truly questioning both sides and vet them for more information and asking these attorneys to

covenant of liberty, the ideological origins of the tea party movement tea party activist michael patrick leahy compares the origins of the boston tea party to the modern day tea party. richard palace examines the relationship between britain's first with -- woman prime minister margaret thatcher and president ronald reagan in reagan and thatcher bluejeans showdown:the inside story of how obama fought back against the tea party political journalist david koren offers an inside look at the decisions made by the obama administration. look for these titles in bookstores this coming we can watch for the authors in the near future on booktv. >> you are watching booktv. up next david rothkopf look that the relationship between public and private power in the world that is this is different debts of capitalism. he is joined by hormats and daniel yergin. it is an hour and a half. >> good afternoon. via i m the editor of "foreign policy" and i'm delighted to welcome you to this sneak preview of david rothkopf's new book "power, inc.," the epic rivalry between big business and government and the reckonin

she's been lobbying the white house and she's been lobbying the vatican and she spoke to senator patrick leahy went to cuba and spoke to rafael castro who said look, allen gross is not a spy. still, there's no guarantee that the pope will do anything on his behalf and whether or not he'll be released and i have to say it was a pretty powerful interview and here's what she said, wolf, a snippet about her advocacy and what this has been like emotion emotionally. >> i hope it's very likely we haven't been told anything, but we've been working with the highest authorities of the church for quite a while now and we're very hopeful that he will intervene on allen's behalf. >> what emotion is the one that you feel the most? is it frustration? sadness? loneliness or anger? >> i'm very lonely. i miss allen's companionship so much. i also -- i've never been an angry person before, but now i am. i have a lot of anger which is very difficult for me. >> the situation, wolf, it's impossible to imagine the things that can happen to disrupt their life. they've had 40 years of marriage. allen's mother is termi

. >> and to that argument i want to quote what senator patrick leahy has said, he's the democrat thatialry charp. i think it's a clear cut case. i think you have to stretch to say this is unconstitutional. social security or medicare. if you say this is unconstitutional then you have to say social security or medicare is unconstitutional and i'm not so sure the skourt prepared to do that. that sounds like logical argument. >> i would say this, can the court force someone into a contract. a contract is between two mutually agreeable parties. if i'm coerced or compelled into a contract that is -- there is nothing mutual about that and that contract is null and void. we're talking about the congress's power to regulate commerce. the difference between the commerce clause and other clauses and the constitution are that nowhere did the drafters give congress the power to create commerce. they gave them to create money and regulate it. the navy and the army and regulate it but they gave the power to regulate commerce, not create commerce. that's what this effectively does. >> although if it

senator patrick leahy, chairman of the house judiciary committee had reaction to the whole notion ofmedicare are somewhat similar. let me play what he had to say and get your reaction after that. >> you say this is unconstitutional, then you got to say social security and medicare are also unconstitutional. i'm not sure the court's prepared to do that. >> congressman burgess, why is that argument wrong? >> well in fact that was the argument made by justice breyer yesterday morning and i wasn't here in 1932 when the social security act was passed. my understanding is it did, the supreme court did look at that as well. social security is an annuity payment. it is an insurance payment that is, that people make in order to have that benefit at the end of their working lives. maybe it's good, maybe it's bad, but at the same time, we're entering into an entire new realm with this law, and as a consequence i think it does require everyone from a legislative branch to the executive branch to the judiciary to be very circumspect how it's enacted. >> excellent of you to join us, doctor, thank

i actually recently went on a visit to cuba with senate patrick leahy of vermont and shelby of alabamauses. it was a great opportunity for me. i had never been to cuba. to get to meet with cuba leaders. we met with dissidents. i got to meet with alan gross, a usid worker arrested by the cubans for bringing communication equity to the jewish community in havan a. it's an island that struggles under the u.s. economic em bargo. it has had a negative effect on the cuban people and society but it's a society that is as close to stalinist in its irestrictions on press and freedom as any i have ever seen. we have full and open trade and diplomic diplomatic relations with vietnam. i am not clear why that wouldn't be the best way forward. the question in front of us is: what's the best path to creating a free and viberant and open cuban community. there are 400,000 cuban americans a year traveling to cuba. you can see the impact. i had notteen been before but senator lay he helay herelehey said howit was noticeable how many vehicles and european tourists. the rest of the world is active activel

[applause] two outstanding senators, patrick leahy and barry sanders.] you have an outstanding mayor- elect. [applause] given up for grace potter and the nocturnals. [applause] i also want to thank carolyn and the entire host committee for helping to organize this unbelievable event. one last thing i want to do. i want to express my condolences to everybody who knew and loved melissa jenkins. i knew some of the -- i know some of the elected officials are going to that funeral. a woman who devoted her life to her community and helping to shape young minds. i know that from what's heart is broken. all we can do is live our lives the way that pays tribute to her by looking out for her students and sons. michele and i want to express our thoughts and prayers to everyone who knew her. [applause] now, i am here -- [applause] you know -- [applause] maybe i should just quit while i am ahead. [laughter] i am glad to take off my jacket. it is a little warm. [applause] i am here not just because i need your help. i am here because the country needs your help. ther

patrick leahy said yesterday, i do not see how you can make that case.e said he did not want to see the court go down that path. those are the exact feelings he had. he also made the point that when the laws were passed a few there was the sameose the sam kind of pushed back. over time, those programs came to be very popular. they still think that will happen to the health care law. point was made by justice ginsburg in the argument. there is a reason and that is one that lawyers understand but sometimes is not immediately evident from a logical perspective. the reason is that social security is a -- if you are a critic, you could say a socialist program. the government collects taxes from everyone and runs insurance programs itself. in order to do that, congress exercises a second in the real power in the constitution, to impose taxes and to spend, to provide for the general welfare. congress, in doing that, from its limited set of tools that it has, picked up a pool where the authority is very clear, to tax and to spend. social security, medicaid, and

patrick leahy saying that -- host: to your thoughts in this decision by the supreme court. kevin, you are first on our democrats' line. good morning. what do you think about the decision? caller: i think it was great. the supreme court has 32nd spots on all the cable networks. i am glad they held out. they should never be televised. host: when you say there will be 30-second spots, you are saying that the proceedings will be reduced to sound bites? caller: yes. it is a terrible concept to have the supreme court televised. terrible concept. host: is this only because of the nature that it would reduce the amount of -- reduce it to sound bites? caller: i to reduce the commitee of the supreme court. host: joy kupper -- joe, independent line. hello. caller: the perception will be that the supreme court gave us a terrific health care bill. the reality is, there was a democrat making backroom deals that give us the health care bill. the larger issue is, and you should know this, the democrats had a deal with brian lamb that they were going to be open, transparent, and c-span was

michael patrick leahy joins us live. >> great to be with you. >> let's look at the tea party myths outow and you can tell me whether or not they're true. you're out of business and you have lost all political party. >> not true. instead of having rallies, we're organizing to get out the vote and i have good news for everybody out there. we are going to, if need be, drag the republican nomination to victory across the finish line. >> well, and that brings up the second point and that's that tea party members won't vote for mitt romney. are you telling me that if mitt romney is the nominee, you'll support him? >> you know, the polls show that he pretty much has the same amount of support as santorum and gingrich, whoever the nominee is, the tea party will support the most conservative candidate. >> what about the suggestion that your view of government spending is out of the mainstream? >> you know, within weeks of the obama administration, we saw a pattern of financially reckless extremism. that really showed little respect for the constitution. the tea party is mainstream and we respec