Justices Gorsuch and Sotomayor say they're 'warm colleagues and friends' but don't deny reporting about Gorsuch's mask defiance

• Sotomayor and Gorsuch called each other "warm colleagues" after reporting about the two came out on Tuesday.

• NPR reported that Chief Justice Roberts asked the justices to wear masks on behalf of Sotomayor but Gorsuch refused.

• The justices' statement doesn't directly refute the reporting.

Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch on Wednesday issued a rare joint statement following an NPR report that Gorsuch has refused to wear a mask at the Supreme Court, leading Sotomayor, who has diabetes and is at risk of severe illness from COVID-19, to participate in oral arguments and conferences remotely from her chambers.

"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 justices said in the statement.

The statement doesn't directly address NPR's reporting that Chief Justice John Roberts had asked the justices to wear masks on behalf of Sotomayor, and all of them did, except for Gorsuch. The statement also did not address Sotomayor's remote participation.

A few hours after the justices released their statement, Roberts also weighed in on the matter, refuting NPR's reporting about him.

"I did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other Justice to wear a mask on the bench," Roberts said in a statement.