{"id":2593244,"date":"2026-04-21T10:49:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-report-unveils-kagans-emotionally-abusive-treatment-of-scotus-clerks\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T10:51:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:51:57","slug":"new-report-unveils-kagans-emotionally-abusive-treatment-of-scotus-clerks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-report-unveils-kagans-emotionally-abusive-treatment-of-scotus-clerks\/","title":{"rendered":"Report Unveils Kagan&#8217;s &#8216;Abusive&#8217; Treatment of SCOTUS Clerks"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnew-report-unveils-kagans-emotionally-abusive-treatment-of-scotus-clerks%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2593244&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/politifact-is-ticked-that-we-fact-checked-their-false-fact-check\/\" title=\"PolitiFact Is Ticked That We Fact-Checked Their False Fact-Check\">federalist article<\/a> by Shawn Fleetwood discusses a Daily mail excerpt from Mollie Hemingway\u2019s book, which alleges that Justice Elena Kagan is \u201cemotionally abusive\u201d toward her law clerks. Based on interviews with over 100 former clerks and staff, the book describes Kagan as demanding, demoralizing, and sometimes harsh, with some <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >observers suggesting psychological issues<\/a>, and contrasts this with Justice Clarence Thomas\u2019s reportedly more humane treatment of his clerks. The piece also notes other Supreme Court tensions, including claims that Justice Sonia Sotomayor treated permanent staff poorly, and it ties these anecdotes to broader coverage of the Court, such as Hemingway\u2019s reporting on the Dobbs decision and related threats, alongside Kagan\u2019s confrontations with justice Breyer. The article includes author details and tag links and situates the revelations within ongoing discussions about the inner workings of the Supreme Court.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pHM-QjX4EbM\">Notre Dame Law School\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/21\/new-report-unveils-kagans-emotionally-abusive-treatment-of-scotus-clerks\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=New%20Report%20Unveils%20Kagan%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%98Emotionally%20Abusive%E2%80%99%20Treatment%20Of%20SCOTUS%20Clerks&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/21\/new-report-unveils-kagans-emotionally-abusive-treatment-of-scotus-clerks\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=New%20Report%20Unveils%20Kagan%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%98Emotionally%20Abusive%E2%80%99%20Treatment%20Of%20SCOTUS%20Clerks&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/21\/new-report-unveils-kagans-emotionally-abusive-treatment-of-scotus-clerks\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/21\/new-report-unveils-kagans-emotionally-abusive-treatment-of-scotus-clerks\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=New%20Report%20Unveils%20Kagan%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%98Emotionally%20Abusive%E2%80%99%20Treatment%20Of%20SCOTUS%20Clerks&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/21\/new-report-unveils-kagans-emotionally-abusive-treatment-of-scotus-clerks\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Justice Elena Kagan has often been viewed as the most strategic and analytical of the Supreme Court&rsquo;s three liberal justices. But what she&rsquo;s also known for behind the scenes is being &ldquo;emotionally abusive&rdquo; to her law clerks. <\/p>\n<p>According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/oDq0X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Daily Mail report<\/a> released Monday, Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway&rsquo;s new book, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Alito-Justice-Reshaped-Restored-Constitution\/dp\/1541607139\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the&nbsp;Supreme Court&nbsp;and Restored the Constitution<\/a><\/em>, contains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/reporters-notebook-the-cocaine-scandal-at-the-white-house\/\" title=\"White House Cocaine Scandal: A Reporter&#039;s Take\">intriguing details<\/a> about the inner workings of the court and its justices. While largely focusing on Justice Samuel Alito and his career, it also digs into each of his colleagues and their personas &mdash; including Kagan. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-399366216\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>According to the outlet, Hemingway &mdash; &ldquo;who spoke with over 100 former clerks and staff for the book&rdquo; &mdash; reported that &ldquo;several of Kagan&rsquo;s former clerks, &lsquo;along with others at the Court, have described her as &ldquo;emotionally abusive,&rdquo; &ldquo;demanding, demoralizing, demeaning,&rdquo; and &ldquo;a hard a**.&rdquo;&lsquo;&rdquo; Others have seemingly compared her to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, meaning that she moves from being &ldquo;extremely kind to extremely angry,&rdquo; Hemingway writes.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Kagan&rsquo;s clerks had fear in their eyes,&rsquo; Hemingway said someone who clerked for a different justice recounted to her,&rdquo; the Daily Mail described. &ldquo;Other former aides speculated that there is &lsquo;something psychological going on there,&rsquo; Hemingway writes.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Hemingway also detailed comments from a former clerk for another justice, who drew a stark contrast between how Kagan and Justice Clarence Thomas treat their respective clerks. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not just that she has clerks work hard. So does Thomas. But he treats them like human beings. The consistent impression is that Kagan is abusive,&rdquo; the former clerk told Hemingway. <\/p>\n<p>But it&rsquo;s not just Kagan who has a bad reputation for her reported mistreatment of individuals at the court. <\/p>\n<p>According to The Daily Mail, Justice Sonia Sotomayor &ldquo;is said to have treated members of the Court&rsquo;s &lsquo;permanent staff&rsquo; like &lsquo;valet[s].&#8217;&rdquo; The outlet reported an excerpt from Hemingway&rsquo;s book about how there &ldquo;are known &lsquo;stories of [Sotomayor] barking at them to help her carry her bags.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The revelation of Kagan&rsquo;s treatment of clerks comes days after Fox News reported <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/18\/explosive-report-as-dobbs-majority-faced-death-threats-liberal-justices-slow-walked-release\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">separate findings<\/a> from <em>Alito<\/em> about the role the Obama appointee played in delaying the release of the court&rsquo;s 2022 <em>Dobbs<\/em> decision overturning <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em> and the made-up &ldquo;constitutional right&rdquo; to abortion. <\/p>\n<p>Hemingway detailed how the liberal justices slow-walked the release of the decision despite the wave of left-wing threats leveled against their conservative colleagues. This included Kagan, who, according to Hemingway, angrily confronted Justice Stephen Breyer about his willingness to accommodate Alito&rsquo;s request that the dissent quickly finish their opinion amid these security threats. <\/p>\n<p>Per Fox News, Hemingway wrote that &ldquo;Kagan remonstrated with Breyer not to accommodate the majority, screaming so loudly, observers noted, that the &lsquo;wall was shaking.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/abusive\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">abusive<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/alito-the-justice-who-reshaped-the-supreme-court-and-restored-the-constitution-2\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elena-kagan\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elena Kagan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/law-clerks\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">law clerks<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mollie-hemingway\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Mollie Hemingway<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/scotus\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SCOTUS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/sonia-sotomayor\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Sonia Sotomayor<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/the-daily-mail\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">The Daily Mail<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a concise paraphrase:<\/p>\n<p>Mollie Hemingway\u2019s new book portrays Justice Elena Kagan as highly strategic but also described by several former clerks as emotionally abusive, demanding, and demoralizing, with some noting fear and suggesting psychological issues. A former clerk even contrasts her treatment with Justice Clarence Thomas, who is said to treat clerks like human beings. The piece also cites claims about Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who allegedly treated court staff as assistants and barked orders. Separately, it notes Hemingway\u2019s account that liberal justices delayed the Dobbs decision, and that Kagan angrily confronted Justice Breyer about finishing the dissent amid security threats. The reporting comes from The Daily Mail\u2019s coverage of Hemingway\u2019s book, with Fox News also addressing the allegations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2593245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Elena-Kagan.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5609,23356,11028,50944,6994],"class_list":["post-2593244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-allegations","tag-clerks","tag-kagan","tag-report-2","tag-scotus"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Elena-Kagan.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2593244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2593244"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2593244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2593248,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2593244\/revisions\/2593248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2593245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2593244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2593244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2593244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}