Pete Williams
From NBC's Pete Williams
The US Supreme Court today ended a national moratorium on executions, upholding the constitutionality of the form of capital punishment used in nearly every state -- lethal injection.
The court's ruling was on a 7-2 vote, though different justices found different reasons for joining the opinion.
The two dissenters were Ginsburg and Souter.
From NBC's Pete Williams
In something of a surprise, the U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear an appeal involving the FBI's unprecedented search of the Capitol Hill offices of Congressman William Jefferson.
A federal appeals court ruled that the FBI wrongly used its own agents look through the material seized to determine what might be covered by congressional privilege. This is a considerable victory for Jefferson, largely validating his objections to the search and giving him certain bragging rights. But prosecutors claim they have sufficient evidence independent of the search. The cash in his freezer, for example, was found well before Jefferson's offices were searched.
The court today handed down just one decision, a victory for Delaware. The state hoped to stop construction of a proposed British Petroleum liquified natural gas port on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. The court, acting in its special role as the sole decider of disputes between the states, ruled Delaware has a say in what's built on the New Jersey side of the river involving projects that would extend into the river, where both states have joint authority.
From NBC’s Pete Williams
The U.S. Senate's Judiciary committee voted today to recommend that Joshua Bolten, White House chief of staff, and former top aid Karl Rove be found in contempt of Congress.
The committee voted 12-7 to send the contempt issue to the full Senate. The votes follow refusals by Bolten and Rove to comply with committee subpoenas for documents and testimony about the fired US attorneys. The White House has asserted executive privilege for both of them.
Two Republicans, Arlen Specter and Charles Grassley, joined the committee Democrats in the contempt vote. Today's action means contempt citations are now pending in both the House and Senate. The House Judiciary Committee has recommended finding Bolten and former counsel Harriet Miers in contempt.
If either the full House or Senate vote to cite Rove, Bolten, or Miers for contempt, that would send the question to the Justice Department and, ultimately, to court, beginning a process that would very likely take at least two years to resolve.
From NBC’s Pete Williams and Domenico MontanaroA senior administration official says
Gonzales' resignation was entirely his own decision. The official says Gonzales sent a letter to the president on Friday stating his intention to step down by mid-September but that the president did not accept it and instead invited Gonzales to Texas to talk about it.
Gonzales and his wife went to Crawford. The president and Gonzales talked Sunday and the president accepted, reluctantly, the official said.
Solicitor General Paul Clement will become acting attorney general once Gonzales is gone.
Here are the reactions from presidential candidates we’ve heard so far:
CONTINUED >>
NBC's Pete Williams reports that Chief Justice
John Roberts, who was hospitalized yesterday after suffering a seizure, was just released from the hospital.
VIDEO: Chief Justice Roberts leaves hospital
From NBC's Pete Williams
BREAKING NEWS: Chief Justice John Roberts has been taken to a hospital in Maine after falling at a summer vacation home.
The court says Roberts fell at a summer home in Port Clyde, Maine. An ambulance was called, and he was taken to a nearby hospital "as a precaution." The court says he was conscious during the trip to the hospital, and an emergency response team member tells NBC News Roberts was "alert."
He fell earlier this afternoon, sometime between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm ET, the court says.
Roberts is 52 and has has been chief justice for two terms, joining the court in late September 2005. He has no history of health problems.
****UPDATE**** Long before John Roberts was a federal judge, he apparently suffered a seizure while playing golf. It was in January 1993, while he was in private practice. News reports at the time say he was not allowed to drive for several months and took the bus to work. There's no indication that doctors ever figured out what happened. The White House called it an "isolated, idiosyncratic seizure."
**** UPDATE II **** The Supreme Court says that Roberts suffered a benign seizure today.
From NBC's Pete Williams
Wyoming's US attorney has stepped down, apparently to clear the way for him to be considered a replacement for Sen. Craig Thomas, who died on Monday.
Matthew Mead's announcement says, "Mead was born and raised in Jackson, WY. He has a family ranching background and a Wyoming ranching operation, to which he now returns." He's been US attorney since October 2001.
Mead is the grandson of former Wyoming GOP Sen. Cliff Hansen, and he is close to Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D), who will select Thomas' replacement from a list of three nominees assembled by the state Republican party. Mead was an assistant US attorney when Freudenthal was the US attorney in Wyoming.
