NPR stands by report as three SCOTUS justices refute Gorsuch-Sotomayor feud

NPR is remaining defiant in the face of overwhelming criticism of its report outlining an alleged feud between Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Sonia Sotomayor, which has been refuted by a third of the highest court in the land. 

Gorsuch, Sotomayor and Chief Justice John Roberts fired back against a story published by NPR on Tuesday which alleged that Gorsuch refused to wear a mask while on the bench next to Sotomayor, who has diabetes and makes her vulnerable to COVID, despite having been asked by Roberts. 

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"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," NPR's chief legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg wrote. "Chief Justice John Roberts, understanding that, in some form asked the other justices to mask up. They all did. Except Gorsuch, who, as it happens, sits next to Sotomayor on the bench. His continued refusal since then has also meant that Sotomayor has not attended the justices' weekly conference in person, joining instead by telephone."

On Wednesday, Gorsuch and Sotomayor issued an unprecedented joint statement declaring the NPR's story "false."

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"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," the statement read. 

Roberts flatly denied NPR's reporting, stating, "I did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other Justice to wear a mask on the bench."

NPR repeatedly defended its report both after the Gorsuch-Sotomayor statement and the Roberts statement, telling Fox News it was standing by Totenberg's report. 

Totenberg doubled down on her reporting, writing in a follow-up article, "What is incontrovertible is that all the justices have at once started wearing masks—except Gorsuch. Meanwhile, Justice Sotomayor has stayed out of the courtroom. Instead, she has participated remotely in the court's arguments and the justices' weekly conference, where they discuss the cases and vote on them."

Totenberg shared her report, tweeting "NPR stands by my reporting," which was panned by critics. 

"Oh dear. Come on," Washington Examiner commentator Becket Adams reacted. 

"The evidence doesn't, so that's not a good thing," Tablet Magazine's Noam Blum tweeted.

DISPUTED NPR REPORT CLAIMED GORSUCH REFUSED TO WEAR MASK DESPITE PLEA FROM SOTOMAYOR: ‘100% FALSE’

"The protagonist in the story doesn’t though," Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross similarly wrote.

"Again proving NPR does propaganda, not journalism," Grabien Media founder and news editor Tom Elliott knocked NPR.

"This tells us a lot about NPR and nothing about the accuracy of the reporting," RealClearInvestigations senior writer Mark Hemingway concluded. 

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Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.