kelly craft
see joe craft main coal crony cap'lism
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NYT
NO LNX
She Inspired Laws to Hold the Fossil Fuel Industry Accountable. Now She’s a Target.
A conservative group is suing for emails of a law professor who helped create legislation to force oil, gas and coal companies to pay for climate damage.
By Coral Davenport
March 27, 2025
Fresh out of law school in 2022, Rachel Rothschild wrote a memo laying out the legal justification for a new strategy to fight climate change: States could force oil and gas companies to pay for the damage caused by extreme floods and wildfires that are made worse by the use of their products.
Ms. Rothschild’s work was foundational. It provided the basis for the nation’s first “climate superfund” laws, which were passed in New York and Vermont last year and could be adopted by as many as six more states as soon as this year. If implemented, they could cost oil companies billions of dollars.
Her work made Ms. Rothschild a target. She is one of a number of lawyers, law professors and judges who have been the focus of a campaign to discredit them led by a conservative group with ties to the fossil fuel industry and the Trump administration.
Shortly after the passage of the Vermont law last June, the group sued the University of Michigan, where Ms. Rothschild now teaches, after the university refused its request for Ms. Rothschild’s emails related to “climate superfunds.” As a public institution, the university is subject to the state’s public records law. The group, called Government Accountability and Oversight, has also sought to have Ms. Rothschild undergo a deposition.
The university, which has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, maintains Ms. Rothschild’s communications are not subject to public records requests because they were written on her private email account. Still, the university told Ms. Rothschild that she must comply with the request for a deposition.
Experts said the actions against Ms. Rothschild seemed designed to discourage her or others from similar work.
“Legal actions and public records requests may be used in a manner that can intimidate or silence scholars, and when that happens, it threatens not only the targeted individuals but also the progress of knowledge and informed debate,” Kyle Logue, the interim dean of the University of Michigan Law School, said in a statement.
The actions regarding Ms. Rothschild appear to be part of a campaign by the fossil fuel industry to quash new legal tools for holding companies accountable for climate pollution. As President Trump moves to end federal efforts to fight climate change, the new state-level “polluter-pays” laws and lawsuits are seen as the next frontier in the battle over global warming.
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Protesters unfurl a banner sign outside an office building that shows the Statue of Liberty partially submerged in rising waters. The sign says, "Gov. Hochul: Sign or Sink! Make Polluters Pay!"
Climate activists held a rally outside New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office in Manhattan to deliver thousands of petitions asking her to sign the Climate Change Superfund Act last year.Credit...Erik McGregor/Sipa USA, via Reuters Connect
Executives from nearly two dozen oil and gas companies raised their concerns about the climate superfund laws at a meeting last week with President Trump at the White House. They want the Justice Department to file briefs in support of their litigation against the state laws, said two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the private meeting.
The campaign is being waged by a group that has largely been funded by the foundation created by Joseph Craft III, chief executive of the nation’s third largest coal company and an ally of and campaign donor to President Trump.
Ms. Rothschild’s initial memo — now making its way through statehouses — laid out the case for states to use the model of the 1980 Superfund law, which requires polluters to pay to clean abandoned toxic waste sites, and apply it to the climate damage caused by emissions from the burning of oil, gas and coal. Lawmakers in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Connecticut are now considering climate superfund legislation.
In addition, more than 30 lawsuits have been filed by states and municipalities aimed at forcing oil and gas companies to pay for repairs or adaptations linked to damage from climate change. Many of those cases, some of which could end up before the Supreme Court, argue that the companies knew for years about the dangers of climate change linked to their products but concealed that information.
The approach is similar to those of past lawsuits that led to landmark settlements with the tobacco industry and opioid manufacturers.
The fossil fuel industry counters that climate change is a global problem and that individual state laws are an unconstitutional attempt to assert control over the nation’s energy system.
“These extraordinary, unprecedented laws impose massive retroactive penalties going back decades for lawful, out-of-state conduct that was regulated by Congress,” said Daryl Joseffer, executive vice president and chief counsel for the litigation arm of the United States Chamber of Commerce, which has sued both New York and Vermont to overturn the climate superfund laws.
Twenty-two other states, led by their Republican attorneys general, are challenging the New York law in federal court.
Ryan Meyers, senior vice president and general counsel at the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group that is also fighting to overturn the climate superfund laws in New York and Vermont, said they were part of “a coordinated campaign against an industry that is vital to everyday life and serves as the engine of America’s economy.”
A key player in the campaign to stop the effort to hold fossil fuel companies financially accountable for damages is Christopher Horner, a lawyer and conservative activist who served on the transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency during Mr. Trump’s first term.
For years, Mr. Horner has used public records laws to unearth emails of climate scientists and disseminate them in ways that aim to undermine their work.
“Chris Horner is the nation’s most prolific user of FOIA and its state equivalents to go after anyone fighting climate change who works for a public entity,” said Michael Gerrard, an expert in climate law at Columbia University.
In 2011, the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science complained that Mr. Horner was making “unreasonable, excessive Freedom of Information Act requests for personal information and voluminous data that are then used to harass and intimidate scientists.”
When President Barack Obama tried to pass a climate law, allies of Mr. Horner worked to spread the emails of climate scientists, gathered by Mr. Horner, to Republicans in Congress.
In a 2017 interview with The New York Times, Mr. Horner said that had helped kill the bill.
Now, Mr. Horner and his allies are focused on the architects behind the “polluter pays” laws.
Mr. Horner did not respond to several requests for comment.
From 2018 to 2021, Mr. Horner served as a board member for Government Accountability and Oversight, the group that filed suit against Ms. Rothschild. As recently as January, Mr. Horner wrote an article for The Washington Reporter, a conservative media website, in which he said he represented the Government Accountability and Oversight group in federal and state open records matters.
According to public records, a major donor to the group is a nonprofit foundation formed by Mr. Craft, the chief executive of Alliance Resource Partners, the country’s third largest coal company. The Joseph Craft III Foundation contributed $300,000 a year to the Government Accountability and Oversight group from 2020 to 2023, for a total of $1.2 million, according to its public tax filings. That appears to make it a major funder of the group’s activities: During those years, G.A.O.’s total annual revenue averaged $576,172.
Mr. Craft and his wife, Kelly, who served as ambassador to the United Nations in the first Trump administration, have given nearly $3 million to Mr. Trump’s presidential campaigns, the Republican Party and a Republican super PAC.
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Joseph Craft III, dressed in a dark sports jacket, white shirt, dark pants and sunglasses, walks on a brick sidewalk next to Kelly Craft, who is wearing a white blouse, a black and white polka-dot skirt and pointy shoes.
Joseph Craft III with his wife, Kelly, in Washington in 2018.Credit...Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The Craft foundation and Alliance Resource Partners did not respond to requests for comment.
Matthew Hardin, who serves on the board of Government Accountability and Oversight, wrote in a statement, “Like all nonprofits, G.A.O. relies on contributions from donors to fulfill its independent, charitable mission of seeking transparency in public institutions and educating the public.”
The group’s interest in Ms. Rothschild appears focused on her communications with Lee Wasserman, the director of the Rockefeller Family Fund, a philanthropy that has supported efforts to sue oil companies over what it calls climate deception.
It was Mr. Wasserman who first wondered if lawmakers could combine the old Superfund law with new penalties for climate polluters.
Mr. Wasserman brought the idea to the Institute for Policy Integrity, a nonprofit research organization that is housed in New York University’s law school, where Ms. Rothschild was then working as a fellow. She researched whether the idea could stand up legally. The Rockefeller Family Fund donated $50,000 to the Institute for Policy Integrity to fund her research, which led New York and Vermont lawmakers to propose legislation.
When it comes to climate and environmental matters, states often rely on academics for legal advice because many private law firms represent fossil fuel companies, which can create a conflict of interest.
After writing her memo, Ms. Rothschild joined the faculty at the University of Michigan, where she continued to work on climate superfund legislation in her free time, briefing lawmakers and testifying before legislative committees.
“I’m proud of the fact that I do a lot of pro bono work in areas where I have particular expertise, and I was glad I could help states like Vermont and New York draft these laws,” she said in a statement.
Ms. Rothschild’s pro bono work was “critical” to passage of the law in New York, said Justin Flagg, director of environmental policy for Liz Krueger, a Democratic New York state senator who sponsored the legislation. “This was something that had not yet been tested in court,” he added. “So we really hung our hat on her analysis.”
Environmental law professors at other public universities have been targets of similar campaigns. During the Biden administration, Mr. Horner used the state public records law to obtain the emails of Ann Carlson, who teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Ms. Carlson, who had consulted on climate damage lawsuits, was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to run a federal agency that writes rules aimed at reducing climate-warming tailpipe pollution — a position requiring Senate confirmation.
Government Accountability and Oversight gave Ms. Carlson’s emails to Fox News, which published stories about her on its website including one titled, “Biden nominee coordinated dark money climate nuisance lawsuits involving Leonardo DiCaprio.”
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Ann Carlson, who has shoulder-length wavy brown hair and large glasses, looks into the distance.
Professor Ann Carlson at the University of California, Los Angeles.Credit...Joyce Kim for The New York Times
Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, used the emails to fight Ms. Carlson’s confirmation, at one point calling her an “ethically challenged, environmental zealot.” He introduced an amendment on the Senate floor to strip the salary from her position.
While the amendment failed, she ultimately withdrew her nomination, although she did end up serving in the role in an acting capacity.
“It was ruthless, relentless and baseless,” Ms. Carlson said of the experience of having her emails used against her. “This is a tactic designed to dissuade people from working on important climate policies.”
The campaign has extended to at least one judge. In 2023, Mark Recktenwald, the chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, wrote a unanimous decision that the local government in Honolulu could move forward with a climate liability lawsuit against major oil companies.
Justice Recktenwald gave a remote presentation to the Environmental Law Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group that runs seminars on environmental litigation.
Conservative media outlets including as The Daily Caller and Fox News ran stories noting that a member of the institute’s board had worked at a law firm that defended the climate law in the Honolulu case. The stories did not mention that oil executives also serve on the institute’s board. Justice Recktenwald had also asked both parties in the Honolulu lawsuit for any concerns about his plans to speak at the seminar, and neither side had objected.
But in virtually every story, a group called Energy Policy Advocates, which has named Mr. Horner as its lawyer, charged that Justice Recktenwald’s participation showed improper bias.
Justice Recktenwald declined to comment. The effort to devalue the legal scholars involved in the climate cases reflects the potential impact of the new laws and litigation, experts said.
“These new state laws and this avalanche of lawsuits are threatening the survival of these fossil fuel companies,” said Patrick Parenteau, an emeritus professor at the Vermont Law and Graduate School.
Karen Zraick contributed reporting.
Coral Davenport covers energy and environment policy, with a focus on climate change, for The Times.
A version of this article appears in print on March 29, 2025, Section A, Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: Her Work Inspired Climate Superfund Laws. Now She’s a Target..
latest US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, has $63 million in fossil fuel investments, and is married to the CEO of a major coal company. So three senators (all Democrats) have asked her to step away from all activities related to the Trump administration’s pullout from the Paris climate accord, The Hill reports.
ref the hill
N EXCUSE TO RECUSE: A trio of Democratic senators is asking President Trump's ambassador to the United Nations to recuse herself from dealing with the Paris climate accord as the White House prepares to formally withdraw from the landmark agreement.
A letter to Kelly Craft questions if she has too many conflicts of interest to be involved given her financial and personal ties to the industry.
Craft has $63 million invested in coal, oil and natural gas, according to the letter, and she's the wife of Joe Craft, CEO of Alliance Resource Partners, one of the largest coal companies in the U.S.
"Given your extensive family ties to the coal industry, and given that decisions about climate inherently involve decisions about the future of coal, we urge you to agree to recuse yourself from any actions to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement," wrote Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
The State Department did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Trump has often bragged about withdrawing from the Paris accord, making an announcement in the Rose Garden in 2017 to say he intended to do so.
But the agreement doesn't allow him to begin the formal yearlong withdrawal process until Monday. The U.S. would officially be out of the deal the same date in 2020 -- just one day after the presidential elections.
All signs indicate the White House is gearing up for a formal withdrawal...
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no lnx
The word “acting” has been used a great deal in connection with President Donald Trump, who has made many temporary appointments because he has often had a hard time keeping people in key positions for long periods of time. But on Wednesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed one of Trump’s picks: Kelly Knight Craft, who will be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (UN). The 57-year-old Craft, who was confirmed 56-34, is a controversial pick: when she was previously serving as U.S. ambassador to Canada, critics say, she spent too much time away from her post in Ottawa and too much time at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by Democrats who serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Craft spent 58% of her time outside of Canada when she had her previous position in 2017 and 2018 — and that she had been a guest at the Trump International Hotel (where she was a gold member) 29 times during that period.
In February, the Washington Post obtained a list of “VIP arrivals” at the Trump International Hotel and found that Craft and her husband (coal magnate Joseph Craft) were “repeat, high-paying customers.”
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey was among the Democrats who opposed Kelly Knight Craft’s confirmation. Menendez, who is the most high-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was critical of Craft’s “rampant absenteeism” and “conflicts of interest” during her time as U.S. ambassador to Canada.
Menendez asserted, “I encourage my colleagues to oppose Ambassador Craft’s nomination because she doesn’t have the necessary experience to stand up for American values and promote our national security, and because during her limited diplomatic tenure, her unacceptable absences in Canada were nothing less than a dereliction of duty.”
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https://www.vox.com/2019/5/2/18514139/kelly-craft-un-ambassador-trump-haley
Trump has formally nominated Kelly Craft to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations, finally moving to fill a top diplomatic position that has been open for months.
Craft has served as the US ambassador to Canada since September 2017. Trump announced his plans to name her to the post in Februaryafter a snafu with his original nominee, Heather Nauert. But his administration only submittedCraft’s name to the Senate this week.
If confirmed, Craft will replace Nikki Haley, who left the post at the end of 2018 after nearly two years on the job. Jonathan Cohen, a career diplomat who became Haley’s deputy in June 2018, has served as acting UN ambassador since January 2019. The Trump administration also just submitted his nomination to the Senate to serve as US ambassador to Egypt, meaning he’ll likely be gone soon too.
Trump had originallyplanned to select Nauert, the former State Department spokesperson, to replace Haley. The choice was met with some skepticism, given her lack of diplomatic and foreign policy experience. Ultimately, Nauert withdrew herself from consideration following reports that she had previously employed a nanny who lacked US work authorization.
Haley, during her tenure, managed to strike a balance between Trump’s “America First” worldview and a more traditional Republican foreign policy. The former South Carolina governor had also demanded that the US ambassador to the UN role remain a Cabinet-level position while she held the role. But there’s no guarantee it will remain that way if Craft takes over — which could potentially diminish her influence within the administration.
Craft is a major Republican donor who became US ambassador to Canada
Craft was unanimously confirmed by voice vote to be the US ambassador to Canada in August 2017, but her nomination to UN ambassador will probably be a bit more contentious.
Here’s what she has going for her: In addition to that prior Senate endorsement, Craft, who hails from Kentucky and whose husband is a major coal magnate, has a key ally in her corner. She was reportedly recommended by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, which would seem to bode well for her nomination’s chances of approval.
But she also likely got her posting as US ambassador because she’s a major donor to GOP causes as well as the president’s campaign. In 2016, Craft donated more than $260,000 to Trump’s campaign; her husband, Joe Craft, donated about $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee. Both she and her husband were Kentucky state finance chairs for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012.
Presidents — Democratsor Republicans — often appoint donors and other supporters to cushy ambassadorship gigs. But the high-profile UN ambassador role tends to be a job for experienced statespeople or those with deep foreign policy or diplomatic credentials.
Craft did serve as part of the US delegation to the UN under President George W. Bush in 2007. And she has gained experience during her tenure as ambassador to Canada, where she played a role in helping to renegotiate NAFTA, now known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.
She got herself into a bit of trouble early in her tenure as ambassador to Canada over comments she made about climate change, in which she said there were 
” of the climate debate during an interview with a Canadian news outlet in 2017. That stance is sure to worry Democrats and will likely be a topic at her confirmation hearing — especially since combating climate change is among the UN’s major goals.
If confirmed, Craft will step into the role and immediately face a slew of international challenges, including refugee crises in places such as Myanmar, Syria, and several parts of Africa because of instability in counties such as the Central African Republic and South Sudan; political turmoil in Libya and Sudan; and the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen.
Craft will also have to deal with the reality that the US is increasingly isolated on issues from the environment to migration to even health and gender initiatives. And she’ll be advocating for an administration that views multilateral institutions — the UN included — with a strong degree of suspicion, if not outright disdain.