The Supreme Court released a brief statement on Wednesday pushing back against recent reports claiming Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Justice Neil Gorsuch to wear a mask during hearings.
The statement comes amid reports from several outlets, including NPR, which cited unnamed court sources claiming Sotomayor did not feel safe in close proximity to unmasked people, noting the justice has diabetes and has recently been participating remotely. All nine justices are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and all but Gorsuch, who sits adjacent to Sotomayor, wear masks during hearings.
“Reporting that Justice Sotomayor asked Justice Gorsuch to wear a mask surprised us. It is false,” the Supreme Court wrote in a statement. “While we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends.”
While the highest court denied that Sotomayor asked Gorsuch to wear a mask, it did not mention the reason for Sotomayor’s recent decision to participate in oral arguments remotely. Sotomayor has operated remotely for at least three oral argument hearings in recent weeks.
SUPREME COURT’S NEIL GORSUCH WON’T WEAR MASK, AGGRAVATING SONIA SOTOMAYOR
A court spokeswoman said Wednesday that Sotomayor would continue to participate remotely from her chambers for the remainder of the week, according to a tweet from New York Times Supreme Court reporter Adam Liptak.
Notably, the NPR report never claimed Sotomayor asked Gorsuch to wear a mask. Rather, the article suggested Chief Justice John Roberts acknowledged Sotomayor’s concerns about COVID-19 transmission.
“Chief Justice John Roberts, understanding that, in some form asked the other justices to mask up,” NPR wrote.
The Supreme Court’s statement prompted some journalists to raise skepticism online over the matter, including Elie Mystal, who tweeted, “The report was that Roberts asked him to wear a mask, not Sotomayor. So… I don’t get this statement.”
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The Washington Examiner contacted the Supreme Court but did not receive a response.
