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Sen. Patrick Leahy questions Roberts closely on his previous writings on the balance of power between the Congress and the executive branch.

He and Roberts go back and forth about the appropriateness of asking Roberts to comment on a hypothetical question. "Are you saying that Congress could not pass a law saying you must withdraw forces?" Roberts: "No, I'm not... but [those issues] could come before the court and I have to resist answering those questions."

He says a Reagan era memo on the eligiblity for pension benefits for soldiers (which protected the prerogatives of the executive branch) reflected his job as an associate counsel to President Reagan. In that role, he says he zealously guarded those prerogatives.

Leahy: "Does Cong. have the power to declare war?"

Roberts: "Yes."

Leahy: "Does Cong. have the power to stop a war?"

Roberts: "Through the power of a purse....[but] that's a question that is difficult to determine in the abstract."

Posted by Marc Ambinder | 10:11 AM