What is this? Democracy dies in....silence?

Thursday afternoon, CNN’s Wolf dedicated a segment with host Wolf Blitzer and Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic wondering why the current eight Supreme Court justices have remained silent and not opined on the three-decades-old sexual misconduct allegation against nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Perhaps more insane than anything Biskupic or Blitzer said was this CNN chyron that’s fit for a straightjacket: “Supreme Turmoil; How Justices Feel About Partisan Confirmation Battles.”

“There are eight people who have not weighed in on the scandal and the partisan politics swirling around Brett Kavanaugh's nomination — the Supreme Court Justices....Joan, let’s talk a little bit about these eight Supreme Court justices. What’s stopping them? Can they speak out? Would it be appropriate,” Blitzer wondered at the top of the segment.

Biskupic responded by pointing out what should be obvious, which was that “[t]hey might, but in this case, they’re not going to.” She noted that they didn’t sound off (read: defend) Merrick Garland in 2016, “[s]o I wouldn't expect a single one of them to speak out publicly” even though “[t]hey all have their personal views about the process, as you know.”

“They don't like that it's become more politicized. Chief Justice John Roberts has said that it taints the Court. But, you know, they all — a group of them have personal connections to Brett Kavanaugh, so there's some differences among them that I think are worth exploring that we're not going to hear from them publicly, but that we know,” Biskupic added.

She elaborated on Roberts’s ties to Kavanaugh in both Bush administrations, seeing what Clarence Thomas thinks about the Kavanaugh controversy, how Neil Gorsuch is also an alum of Georgetown Prep, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s feminist viewpoints that’d align with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, and Elena Kagan having experience with judicial confirmations.

“And they're all being silent, at least for now. Joan Biskupic, thank you very much for that analysis. Very good analysis indeed,” Blitzer concluded.

But again, Supreme Court justices aren’t going to comment as per the Court’s strict desire to maintain impartiality and not become involved in the country’s day-to-day political fights. So what’s the point of CNN covering this? Oh, that’s right. They’re often in the business of gossip, not news.

To see the relevant transcript from CNN’s Wolf on September 20, click “expand.”