Supreme Court secrets spill out: Insider names 'hard a**' Justice who is 'emotionally abusive' and leaves clerks with 'fear in their eyes'

By VICTORIA CHURCHILL, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 01:57, 21 April 2026 | Updated: 02:01, 21 April 2026 The Supreme Court is notoriously hard to crack.  But now a bombshell new book is exposing the secret goings-on behind the scenes, including scathing tales about Justices from their former staff. In her forthcoming book, Alito: The Justice Who Reshaped the Supreme Court and Restored the Constitution, conservative journalist and author Mollie Hemingway lifts the lid on the justices' treatment of clerks. The book is focused on Justice Samuel Alito - who has been the author of opinions defending gun rights and limiting the power of labor unions during his time on the bench and has recently been rumored to be mulling an exit from the Supreme Court. Each justice usually gets four clerks per 'term,' with those selected for the role going through a highly selective and competitive process to score a spot in the halls of power. Hemingway, who spoke with over 100 former clerks and staff for the book, sensationally claims that liberal Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor are the worst justices to clerk for. Hemingway alleges that several of Kagan's former clerks, 'along with others at the Court, have described her as "emotionally abusive," "demanding, demoralizing, demeaning," and "a hard a**."' 'Kagan's clerks had fear in their eyes,' Hemingway said someone who clerked for a different justice recounted to her. US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan leaves the funeral service for retired US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at Washington National Cathedral on December 19, 2023 US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks at the New York Law School's Constitution and Citizen Day Summit, in New York, Tuesday, September 16, 2025 The book's author, Mollie Hemingway, during a Fox News appearance Other former aides speculated that there is 'something psychological going on there,' Hemingway writes.  Other clerks compared Kagan to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, moving from 'extremely kind to extremely angry,' Hemingway claims. Another former staffer said Kagan is 'like Klobuchar' - a reference to Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, who was the subject of a New York Times article about her alleged poor treatment of her staff. Meanwhile, Sotomayor is said to have treated members of the Court's 'permanent staff' like 'valet[s].' There are known 'stories of [Sotomayor] barking at them to help her carry her bags,' per Hemingway's book. Hemingway describes Kagan and Sotomayor's behavior as distinct from their colleagues', and notes that most former clerks and permanent staff members have great opinions of their former bosses. Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative, Hemingway says, is among the most beloved by staff.   'He knows everybody's name. He doesn't just know their name. He knows when they're having a new grandchild or where they grew up. He really, really cares about people,' Hemingway writes.  Turning to the subject of her book, Justice Alito, Hemingway said that he's more reserved than people expect, but still 'very kind to the staff and clerks at the Court.' She writes that the 76-year-old has surprised 'many' with his 'wit and sense of humor.' 'His staff and clerks adore him so much. Most of the justices have pretty good relationships with staff and clerks,' Hemingway added, underscoring that Kagan and Sotomayor, 'those with reputations to the contrary, are the outliers.' US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito attends an event in Rome, Italy, September 20, 2025 US Supreme Court justices pose for their group portrait on October 7, 2022. Seated (L-R): Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Samuel A. Alito, Jr. and Elena Kagan. Standing (L-R): Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson Over a decade of relationship-building with the annual rotating roster of short-term clerks and the institution's permanent staff, Hemingway has built a rolodex of deep-rooted contacts. While writing the book, she also interviewed some of the justices themselves, placing her in an elite club, one that rarely includes conservative female reporters. A significant portion of the book focuses on the fallout from the unprecedented leak of a draft 2022 Dobbs decision, authored by Alito, which overturned the Roe v Wade ruling of 1973 that established the constitutional right to an abortion.  Hemingway also claimed of that landmark decision that after the leak, the liberal justices delayed the 'decision from being finalized.' Amid the slew of death threats, justices had to wear bulletproof vests. 'If they'd killed one of the majority justices, Roe would not have been overturned,' Hemingway noted, adding that 'the liberals knew that, and they delayed their dissent for nearly two months.' The Supreme Court is notoriously hard to crack. But now a new book is exposing the secret goings-on behind the scenes 'It's just unconscionable... I do think that the justices were very frustrated that they got no help from Merrick Garland, and they got no help from the Department of Justice,' Hemingway noted, before adding that Congress also did little to protect the justices. After the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last year, President Donald Trump's administration requested $58 million to protect Supreme Court Justices and executive branch figures. Congress had previously approved additional funding for their own security ahead of last year's August recess break following escalations of political violence against members of both political parties. The Daily Mail reached out to the Supreme Court for comment and representatives for Kagan and Sotomayor. The book is the second literary foray into the world of the Supreme Court for Hemingway, who previously authored a book in 2019 about the confirmation process for Justice Brett Kavanaugh. She is also the author of Rigged: How the Media, Big Tech, and the Democrats Seized Our Elections, which was released in 2021, and Trump vs the Media, released in 2017.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. 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