Shannon Bream Runs Montage of CNN, MSNBC Bashing Gorsuch Over Discredited NPR Story

Leia IdlibyJan 20th, 2022, 1:56 pm
 

Fox News anchor Shannon Bream aired a brutal montage of CNN and MSNBC anchors slamming Justice Neil Gorsuch over a now-discredited NPR report.

The report, by NPR’s Nina Totenberg, claimed that Gorsuch refused to wear a mask while taking the bench earlier this month, despite the fact that Justice Sonia Sotomayor has diabetes, which puts her at elevated risk in the event she contracts Covid-19.

Totenberg reported that Sotomayor, who “has been the only justice to wear a mask on the bench since last fall,” did not feel safe near those who were unmasked amid the Omicron surge.

“Chief Justice John Roberts, understanding that, in some form asked the other justices to mask up,” read the report. “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.”

Both Justice Sotomayor and Gorsuch denied the report in a joint statement, writing, “It is false. While we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends.”

Roberts also released a statement disputing the report, saying, “I did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other Justice to wear a mask on the bench.”

NPR and Totenberg have stood by the reporting, despite it getting disputed by three justices.

Bream had challenged the report prior to the statements from the justices, sharing that her own Supreme Court sources told her the story was “not accurate.”

The anchor took things one step further after gaining support from Gorsuch, Roberts, and Sotomayor, running a montage of CNN and MSNBC anchors reporting on the story, and bashing Gorsuch on its basis.

“Anti-mask insanity has now reached the highest court in the land,” MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace said on Tuesday’s edition of Deadline, while Joy Reid slammed Gorsuch for “risking the life of your colleague.”

Reid went on to call Gorsuch a “rotten co-worker,” “dangerous to be near in a pandemic,” and “tonight’s absolute worst.”

“Can you put a mask on to be polite?” asked MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski.

CNN’s Kassie Hunt also questioned why Gorsuch was refusing to wear a mask despite the fact that other conservative members of the court were willing to do so.

“This fake news traveled fast,” Bill Hemmer said following the montage. “So many outlets ran with it for 24 hours. And that sticks.”

Despite the statements from the justices, NPR has backed Totenberg’s story, the reporter posting the outlet’s defense on Twitter:

“NPR stands by its reporting,” Totenberg wrote. “What is incontrovertible is that all the justices have at once started wearing masks — except Gorsuch. Meanwhile, 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.”

Watch above, via Fox News.

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