‘It is False’ – Justices Gorsuch, Sotomayor and Roberts Rebuke NPR’s Report About Masking Feud #MaskGate
Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch and Sonia Sotomayor disputed NPR’s reporting on a so-called masking feud.
“Reporting that Justice Sotomayor asked Justice Gorsuch to wear a mask surprised us. It is false. While we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends,” Gorsuch and Sotomayor said in a joint statement to the media.
NEW: A statement from Justices Sotomayor and Gorsuch:
“Reporting that Justice Sotomayor asked Justice Gorsuch to wear a mask surprised us. It is false. While we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends.”
— Adam Liptak (@adamliptak) January 19, 2022
Chief Justice Roberts chimed in and said he never asked Gorsuch or any other justice to wear a mask on the bench.
MORE JUST IN on Maskgate, this time from the Chief Justice: “I did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other Justice to wear a mask on the bench.”
— Robert Barnes (@scotusreporter) January 19, 2022
On Tuesday NPR reported Justice Sonia Sotomayor is still working remotely because fellow justice Neil Gorsuch refuses to wear a face mask.
Triple vaxxed Sotomayor, 67, is overweight and has diabetes so she is at high risk for severe illness or death from Covid.
“It was pretty jarring earlier this month when the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court took the bench for the first time since the omicron surge over the holidays. All were now wearing masks. All, that is, except Justice Neil Gorsuch. What’s more, Justice Sonia Sotomayor was not there at all, choosing instead to participate through a microphone setup in her chambers.” NPR’s Nina Totenberg reported.
“Now, though, the situation had changed with the omicron surge, and according to court sources, Sotomayor did not feel safe in close proximity to people who were unmasked. Chief Justice John Roberts, understanding that, in some form asked the other justices to mask up.” Totenberg said.
