INTERNACIONAL
Leaked memos reveal how Supreme Court steamrolled Obama climate plan in 2016 showdown
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The Supreme Court’s emergency order blocking former President Barack Obama’s signature clean energy initiative in 2016 came after a series of leaked internal memos among the justices that revealed a fight along ideological lines about whether to intervene.
The rare glimpse at the high court’s internal memos, obtained by the New York Times, showed Chief Justice John Roberts, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, urging the Supreme Court to block Obama’s effort, while liberal justices pushed back.
Roberts and the court’s conservatives were concerned not just with Obama’s policy itself, but with the possibility that the Clean Power Plan could reshape the power sector before the justices could fully review whether it was lawful, the newly revealed memos show.
«Absent a stay, the Clean Power Plan will cause (and is causing) substantial and irreversible reordering of the domestic power sector before this court has an opportunity to review its legality,» Roberts wrote in one of the memos published by the New York Times on Friday.
JACKSON-KAVANAUGH TENSIONS SURFACE IN CANDID EXCHANGE OVER SUPREME COURT ‘SHADOW DOCKET’
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the Supreme Court’s communications team Monday for comment on the leaks.
The push from Roberts came as the justices were considering what was viewed at the time as an unusual request on the emergency docket, sometimes called a «shadow docket,» from red states and outside groups to halt the Obama-era regulation, which aimed to cut carbon emissions over the next 25 years, before lower courts had fully weighed in, a step that the liberal justices warned would break from longstanding practice.
The emergency docket allows litigants to bypass typical court proceedings and seek immediate relief from the Supreme Court if lower courts block them through restraining orders or preliminary injunctions.
The Clean Power Plan would have involved the Obama Environmental Protection Agency regulating coal, oil and gas plants under the Clean Air Act. Roberts wrote that without the Supreme Court stepping in, «both the states and private industry will suffer irreparable harm from a rule that is — in my view — highly unlikely to survive.»
In another memo, Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee, disagreed, saying «the unique nature of the relief sought in these applications gives me real pause.»
JONATHAN TURLEY: CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS COULD LEARN FROM BASEBALL GREAT TED WILLIAMS WHEN IT COMES TO LEAKS
Former President Barack Obama during a campaign event on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Justice Samuel Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, circulated a memo the same day as Kagan in which he agreed with Roberts.
«A failure to stay this rule threatens to render our ability to provide meaningful judicial review — and by extension, our institutional legitimacy — a nullity,» Alito wrote.
Within a matter of days, the justices temporarily blocked Obama’s Clean Power Plan 5-4 along ideological lines, effectively dealing it a death blow because Democrats would lose the White House later that year. The New York Times noted that the Obama White House dismissed the ruling at the time as a small hurdle but that «behind closed doors, officials were astonished that the court had intervened so quickly.»
The back-and-forth in the memos during the short period of time, from the end of January 2016 to Feb. 9, when the brief decision was issued, showed how fast the justices moved to weigh in on a major presidential action.
Jonathan Turley, law professor at George Washington University, wrote in an op-ed that the anonymous leak of the memos to the New York Times, the second leak of confidential material after the Dobbs opinion leak in 2022, was «clearly designed to wound some of its members.»
«For an institution that prides itself on its confidentiality and insularity, the court is looking increasingly porous and partisan in these leaks,» Turley wrote.
KAGAN SCREAMED SO LOUDLY AT LIBERAL ALLY AFTER DOBBS LEAK THE ‘WALL WAS SHAKING,’ BOOK CLAIMS
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks to the 2025 Supreme Court Fellows Program, on February 13, 2025, at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. (JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The New York Times’ report highlighted that legal experts have long viewed the Clean Power Plan decision as one of the first examples of the Supreme Court using the emergency docket in a way that limits executive power over national policy.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, has been among the most vocal dissenters in emergency cases during President Donald Trump’s second term as the president frequently benefits from the fast-paced docket. Jackson is sometimes joined by her two liberal colleagues, Kagan and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in her dissents, and emergency cases have often split 6-3 in favor of Trump.
Last week, Jackson aired her grievances in a different forum, blasting emergency docket decisions during a Yale Law School speech as rushed, «scratch-paper musings» that undermine the high court’s purpose.
«Given the real world facts that a stay request asks the court to consider, the court’s stay decisions can, at times, come across utterly irrational,» Jackson said. «We cannot expect the public to have faith in our judicial system if, without clear explanation, we consistently greenlight harmful acts.»
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Legal experts have attributed the heightened activity on the emergency docket to a rise in presidents attempting to shape national policy through through executive orders.
«[An increase in emergency motions] coincides with the rise of executive orders and other forms of unilateral executive action really as the primary form of lawmaking in our country with the disappearance of Congress, and that has posed enormous challenges for the court,» attorney Kannon Shanmugam said during a Federalist Society panel last fall.
Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s office for comment.
supreme court, federal judges, white house, environment regulation, climate
INTERNACIONAL
Hamas taps ‘ultimate institutional survivor’ as terror chief, sending message to Israel: expert
Gazans react to the killings of Hamas terror leaders
Ex-political prisoner and activists says people are frustrated with Hamas leadership after Israel’s killing of senior commanders, as many residents say civilians — not Hamas leaders — have paid the price of the war (Credit: Jusoor News)
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An old hand very familiar to Israel has emerged as the new political leader of Hamas following a secret insider election that took months to unfold, and one regional expert said the development signals the terrorist group will not be charting a new course.
Khalil al-Hayya, who has been a key negotiator for Hamas and who has survived multiple alleged assassination attempts, will now lead the group’s political bureau. But Middle East Institute Senior Fellow Jaser AbuMousa told Fox News Digital his election is not exactly a passing of the torch.
«Expect more of the same, deliberately,» AbuMousa said. «Al-Hayya is Hamas’s chief negotiator and its ultimate institutional survivor, so you’ll see continued engagement at the negotiating table, ceasefire talks, prisoner exchanges, but do not mistake that for moderation.»
HAMAS SAYS IT WILL DISSOLVE GAZA GOVERNMENT, BUT ISRAEL WARNS GROUP STILL SEEKS HEZBOLLAH-STYLE CONTROL
Al-Hayya, Hamas’ longtime chief negotiator in indirect ceasefire and hostage talks with Israel, will now lead its political bureau. (Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images)
«Al-Hayya’s victory is best understood as an act of institutional self-preservation: a battered organization reaching for the most familiar hand available,» AbuMousa warned. «He is an experienced operator, and his elevation signals that Hamas, after the destruction of Gaza and the losses since Oct. 7, 2023, has prioritized organizational cohesion, armed continuity, and the preservation of its Iranian relationship over a genuine political reassessment.»
Several members of al-Hayya’s family, including four sons and other relatives, have also been killed in Israeli operations, according to reports.
In September 2025, Israel reportedly sought to kill al-Hayya in Qatar, striking a building where the Hamas delegation was staying.
«This is the paradox of Hamas leadership right now: the top job is essentially a death sentence, which is part of why the chair sat empty for nearly two years after Sinwar was killed,» the expert said.
ISRAEL’S MILITARY ELIMINATES HAMAS TERRORIST WHO HELPED ABDUCT AMERICAN-ISRAELI HOSTAGE, 3 OTHERS
Analysts say Al-Hayya’s elevation signals that Hamas, after the destruction of Gaza and the losses since Oct. 7, 2023, has prioritized organizational cohesion, armed continuity, and the preservation of its Iranian relationship. (Iranian Leader Press Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«Al-Hayya himself also survived the Israeli strike in Doha last September. For an ordinary executive, that would be disqualifying,» he noted. «Inside Hamas it’s the opposite — surviving assassination is a credential.»
«Expect him to lead the way his predecessors did: rarely in public, moving between Doha and mediating capitals, communicating through statements and negotiators rather than appearances, with the real command decentralized so no single strike decapitates the movement,» AbuMousa continued. «An organization that rewards who has suffered most, rather than who has led best, has no real mechanism to correct course after a catastrophe like this one. That’s what should make anyone nervous.»
«Al-Hayya lost his four sons, which is a real and profound loss for any father. But two things can be true at once,» he noted. «His personal grief is genuine, and inside Hamas that sacrifice also functions as political capital that lifts him above criticism.»
IDF CLAIMS TO HAVE TAKEN OUT HAMAS COMMANDER WHO PARTICIPATED IN OCT 7
Al-Hayya replaced Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in late 2024. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
While Al-Hayya replaced Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024, his rise to power followed a secret election that stretched over months.
«After the near-total destruction of Gaza and staggering losses since Oct. 7, Hamas had a moment to reassess, and it chose continuity instead,» AbuMousa said. «It elevated a loyal survivor tied to Iran and the military wing rather than someone offering a different path.»
«The real story,» according to AbuMousa, «is that Hamas decided its safest bet was to remain exactly what it was: armed, aligned with Tehran, and unwilling to reckon with where its own decisions led Gaza.»
He also cautioned against viewing the leadership vote as a mandate from Gazans.
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«This was a closed vote by a leadership council, not an election by the roughly 2 million Gazans whose lives Hamas claims to represent and who haven’t voted since 2006. Many of them blame Hamas for exposing them to this catastrophe,» he said.
«And watch the likely governance model: not a return to running Gaza openly, but a Hezbollah-style arrangement where Hamas sheds visible responsibility while keeping its weapons, its security structures, and a veto over any political deal,» he added.
middle east, israel, hamas, terrorism, conflicts
INTERNACIONAL
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INTERNACIONAL
Inside Fauci’s private diary: What he wrote about Trump, TV personalities and celebrities
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Newly released diary entries by Dr. Anthony Fauci offer an unfiltered look at what the nation’s top infectious disease expert really thought of the politicians, television personalities and celebrities who filled his orbit during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Released by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., the diaries chronicle Fauci’s day-to-day role during the COVID-19 pandemic through meetings, phone calls and personal observations. The release comes days before Fauci is scheduled to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee after being subpoenaed by Paul.
The entries feature everyone from President Donald Trump to Julia Roberts, Steph Curry, Larry Ellison and Hunter Biden, offering an unusually personal look at the people who crossed Fauci’s path during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Early entries portray a warm working relationship between Fauci and Trump. Fauci wrote that Trump repeatedly directed questions to him during White House meetings, called him «the smartest person in the world,» told him, «We are counting on you,» and later appeared «enamored» with him as Fauci’s national profile grew.
FAUCI’S NEWLY RELEASED COVID DIARIES REVEAL BIZARRE FIXATION ON FAME AS PANDEMIC DEATHS MOUNTED
President Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci are seen during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing. Fauci’s newly released diary portrays an initially warm working relationship that later deteriorated as the pandemic unfolded. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Fauci’s relationship with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows deteriorated throughout the pandemic. Fauci wrote that Meadows threatened to keep him off television, repeatedly pushed him to soften his public messaging and, in one entry, recounted Meadows «screaming» over his public comments.
Fauci, however, repeatedly described then-White House communications director Alyssa Farah as an ally during internal battles over media appearances. In one May 2020 entry, he wrote that Farah admitted White House staff had been «holding me back,» said the situation had «gotten out of hand» and promised to begin clearing his television requests again.
Not everyone in the administration’s communications operation earned Fauci’s praise. In a July 2, 2020 entry, Fauci called then-HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Michael Caputo «a con man who is completely full of sh–,» writing that Caputo publicly claimed to support his television appearances while privately blocking them.
Television journalists also became recurring figures in Fauci’s diary. CNN anchor Jake Tapper appears repeatedly, with Fauci documenting phone calls, text exchanges and dinners at the Tappers’ Washington home.
LEGACY MEDIA IGNORES MASSIVE ANTHONY FAUCI DOCUMENT RELEASE ALLEGING HE MISLED CONGRESS ON COVID ORIGINS
CNN anchor Jake Tapper appears repeatedly in Dr. Anthony Fauci’s newly released COVID-19 diary, which documents phone calls, text exchanges and dinners at Tapper’s Washington home. (Bryan Bedder/Variety/Getty Images)
Fauci wrote that Tapper privately checked to make sure a CNN interview hadn’t caused problems with the White House. When The Atlantic’s Peter Nicholas suggested Fauci had been «humiliated» over a canceled Tapper interview, Fauci fired back in his diary: «F— you, Peter.»
After Fauci’s heated exchange with Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Fauci wrote that CNN’s Dana Bash texted him, telling him he was «a better man» and relaying that fellow CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer had joked no one would have blamed Fauci if he had told Jordan to «go f— yourself.»
The following day, Fauci wrote that Bash texted him again, this time pointing him to a Vanity Fair headline mocking Jordan’s performance at the hearing.
The diary also features colorful asides about billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, whom Fauci described as «a bit of a loose cannon» while discussing White House efforts to use Oracle technology during the pandemic.
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Fauci served as chief medical adviser to President Donald Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic before later continuing in the role under President Joe Biden. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Beyond politicians and White House aides, Fauci’s diary reads at times like a Hollywood guest list. Actress Julia Roberts hosted Fauci on Instagram Live, sent him flowers and later presented him with an award, while Vogue editor Anna Wintour, comedian Trevor Noah, NBA star Steph Curry, actors Sean Penn and Matt Damon, and rapper Lil Wayne also make appearances as Fauci documented his growing celebrity during the pandemic.
The diary closes with another unexpected cameo. At the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors, Fauci wrote that he hugged Hunter Biden, who joked the internet «would explode» if someone photographed them together because they were both «being attacked by the far right GOP.»
anthony fauci, white house, donald trump, politics, fox news media, coronavirus
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