Scalia renews criticism of Roberts' health law ruling but denies infighting

USA Today: Scalia Disputes Talk Of Supreme Court Infighting
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is dismissing reports of infighting among court conservatives regarding the health care decision. Appearing today on Fox News Sunday, Scalia also said he did not know if Chief Justice John Roberts changed his mind about the heath care law and decided to provide the key vote to uphold it. "You'll have to ask him," Scalia said (Jackson, 7/29).

The Hill: Scalia: Future Cases Could Establish New 'Limitations' On Guns
In the wide-ranging interview, Scalia defended his view that "there's simply no way to interpret" the individual mandate at the center of the 2010 healthcare law as a tax - the finding by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. that prevented the law from being overturned. "You don't interpret a penalty to be a pig. It can't be a pig," Scalia said of the ruling. "You cannot give the text a meaning it will not bear" (Berman, 7/29).

Politico: Scalia On Obama: 'What Can He Do To Me?'
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Sunday said he did not "view it as a threat" when President Barack Obama in April predicted his signature healthcare overhaul "will be upheld because it should be upheld" and that anything less would constitute "judicial activism" by the high court. Scalia conceded in an appearance on "Fox News Sunday" that Obama's forceful comments on a pending Supreme Court case were "unusual, but as I say I don't criticize the president publicly. And he normally doesn't criticize me." But when host Chris Wallace pressed, asking whether Scalia, who in June sided with a minority seeking to overturn the law, felt "any pressure as a result of that to vote a certain way," Scalia laughed. "No. What can he do to me? Or to any of us?" the justice responded (Vogel, 7/29).

Meanwhile, in another Sunday interview show-

The Hill: Sen. Durbin Optimistic Lawmakers Can Avert Impending Sequester Cuts
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Sunday he expects lawmakers to reach a deal after the election that would fix the agreed-on sequester which will automatically cut $109 billion from defense and discretionary spending next year and over $1 trillion the next 10 years, including $500 billion from defense (Needham, 7/29).