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Chief Justice Roberts facing backlash

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    Conservatives angry over his decision on health care

  • Duration 3:17
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-- -- cannot read very he was the swing vote that nobody saw coming.

Chief Justice John Roberts with the majority upholding obamacare.

But did Roberts changed his vote late in the process and was the court prepared to strike down part of if not all of the president's health care law.

Correspondent Shannon Bream has the story.

There are a lot of clues in -- structure of the opinion suggests that this may have been a a late switch there.

Our strong signals tonight that Chief Justice John Roberts may have flipped his vote in recent weeks.

Decide that the court's liberal bloc finding the mandate in the health care law unconstitutional use of congressional taxing power.

After initially agreeing with conservatives to throw out the entire law that -- -- Only does seem in places to head at least at one point being the majority opinion you can see various verbal clues one other notable aspect.

Is the fact that they pointed out that the tax issue wasn't really discussed that argument.

And so that suggests at least that might have been a somewhat late breaking development.

As legal scholars continue to digest the opinion some assert that the -- many references to justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's quotes dissent is telling.

Because she didn't write one per -- However she did break from the majority opinion on key issues so what she wrote that looks to be a concurring opinion could be fairly characterized as a form of dissent.

Potentially quieting speculation that she was in the minority at some point.

The -- supporters say the opinion simply proves that Roberts is truly functioning as the umpire he promised to be during his confirmation hearings calling only balls and strikes.

I think that.

The Affordable Care Act opinion goes a long way -- Towards saying that the Roberts court is not just motivated by politics.

That at times they can put the law.

And the good of the country above their personal political preferences.

And do what the constitution requires.

There was plenty of political pressure and play in the weeks between the time the case was argued in March and the release of the opinion on Thursday.

The president April statement in the Rose Garden that he was confident the court wouldn't take the quote unprecedented extraordinary step of overturning the law.

And a very public lecture by senate judiciary committee -- Democrat Patrick Leahy who called -- Roberts to put the brakes on a Supreme Court he viewed as increasingly political.

The Chief Justice is -- Chief Justice of the United States.

-- 320 million of us.

It worries about the public's perception of the court did -- Roberts at some point some legal scholars say that could backfire that I think he's called the integrity of the court the question.

By at least having the appearance here particularly as we talked about with the the appearance that he may have switched his opinion late in the process.

It appears to be a politically motivated choice rather than a legally motivated -- Did -- -- -- to split at some point because of political pressure we may have to wait decades and for the release of internal court documents.

To get answers about exactly how this decision -- together.

Well we do know this Fox News polling after the case was argued -- 67%.

Of those surveyed.

Believed politics would definitely play a role in the justices' decision to ask him more on this for the panel Shannon thank you.

The costs event.

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