CNN legal analyst Asha Rangappa asked on Tuesday why Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch was doing an interview on television, seemingly unaware justices have done television interviews over the years.
"Uhhhhh why is a Supreme Court justice doing a TV interview," Rangappa wrote on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/AshaRangappa_/status/1206976384083599361
Not only have justices been interviewed before, but Gorsuch sat for an interview with Rangappa's CNN colleague Ariane de Vogue just three months ago. Also, CNN extensively interviewed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for its heavily promoted movie RBG, a documentary that chronicles her rise to "superstardom."
For Supreme Court justices, television interviews are rare but not unprecedented. Ginsburg appeared on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show in 2015 and did a 2018 interview with CNN anchor Poppy Harlow. Justice Clarence Thomas was interviewed by Fox News host Laura Ingraham in 2017. Justice Stephen Breyer sat down for an interview with Wolf Blitzer back in 2015. In 2013, Justice Sonia Sotomayor was interviewed on CBS's 60 Minutes.
Justices have also done interviews on programs outside the realm of television news, including late night comedy shows. Justices Sotomayor and Breyer appeared on CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2018 and 2015, respectively. Both were promoting their new books. Sotomayor was also interviewed on The Daily Show in September of this year.
During his Tuesday appearance on Fox & Friends, Gorsuch talked about his book, A Republic, If You Can Keep It, and he also discussed how his life has changed since joining the nation's highest court two years ago.
Rangappa was hired by CNN to be a legal and national security analyst. Her analysis has included defending anti-Semitic Democratic congressional candidate Valerie Plame, accusing Attorney General William Barr of committing a crime, and pleading for Democrats to begin impeachment this past summer.