Serious Trouble

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.serioustrouble.showThis week: James Comey has been charged with federal crimes again, sort of. This is one of several cases in which the Trump DOJ is even sloppier than it has been, in an apparent rush to get charges out before the midterm elections, for some reason. Also this week: we cover weird shenanigans in a false statements case against two former FBI investigators that have angered a magistrate judge, and a no-bill for proposed charges against former Trump staffer Cassidy Hutchinson, and we discuss another Comey — James’s daughter Maurene — who won her wrongful termination case against the Trump DOJ.That’s for all listeners. Paying subscribers also get our civil docket, which this week includes:* Hasan Piker’s actually-pretty-plausible defamation lawsuit against Scott Jennings* A partial victory for Candace Owens in Delaware, where the Macrons are suing her for defamation.* Long-suffering federal judge Judge Ana Reyes’ admission that maybe she is the Lorax* A tactical trap for Max Miller, who may come to regret throwing his staff under the bus in his legal fight with his ex-wife.* And a comeuppance for Matt Taibbi, who is likely to have to pay substantial legal fees to Eoin Higgins

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.serioustrouble.showThis week, we got our hands on the actual lawsuit Eric Deters has filed against Kimberly Guilfoyle and her attorneys, which is amateurish in certain ways, but Ken says the core defamation claims sound plausible enough to have legs. This week, we discuss that case, plus the investigation of Ilhan Omar and developments in the East Potomac Park case, where Judge Ana Reyes remains very displeased with the government’s conduct, and we also look at the indictment of Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas for running a marijuana dispensary.That’s for free subscribers. Paying subscribers also hear:* An interesting RICO trend: civil RICO suits against personal injury law firms for allegedly cooking up fraudulent cases. Civil RICO is very hard to plead, but in some places, courts are going for it.* Three stories about court officers who aren’t all there: A New Mexico prosecutor who may be disbarred for, among other things, accusing a defendant of witchcraft; a federal judge in Texas who appears to be having a mental health episode; and an alcoholic judge Ken helped nudge off the bench when he was a young law clerk.* And our take on “You Can See Everything” — the (fantastic) documentary on Elizabeth Holmes raises some interesting questions about what it’s like to be a prominent federal prisoner.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.serioustrouble.showRemember Katie Zacharia? She was White House press secretary for a few days last week and was fired while we were recording this episode. One of her big offenses was claiming to be a lawyer, despite never passing the bar. But what is a lawyer anyway? Is a lawyer different from an attorney?Also this week: the raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home, the White House’s effort to use antitrust as a new tool against the press, and updates about East Potomac Park and the Cornell Seven.Premium subscribers will hear about:* JPMorgan plaintiff Chirayu Rana has irreconcilable differences with another set of lawyers.* A teenager who was arrested for riding an unlicensed e-bike (and then released without charge) sues CBS News for implying he vandalized the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.* A Haverford College religion professor is charged with cyberstalking a Jewish colleague by harassing him with anti-Semitic sock puppet accounts.* D.J. Byrnes is guilty (and fined $200) in the Shrek’s penis case.* Kimberly Guilfoyle faces a bizarre defamation lawsuit.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.serioustrouble.showPresident Trump said he’d stop using taxpayer money to air what certainly look like campaign ads, but then he kept doing it, so now, the Democratic National Committee is suing. Also this week: a Minnesota teenager arranged to buy an assault rifle to carry out an ISIS-inspired attack on the Mall of America — of course, it turned out the seller of the rifle was an undercover FBI agent, and the teen was arrested. Also in Minnesota, the government is mad at Patrick Schlitz and other federal judges for their public remarks criticizing the government’s disregard for their orders.That’s for all listeners this week. Paying subscribers also hear about some particularly weird cases:* A manslaughter case in Arizona where the victim was allowed to give an impact statement despite being dead — his sister wrote a script for an AI-generated avatar to read in court.* An IRS whistleblower who says the IRS maliciously leaked the fact that he paid his taxes late once, and an FBI whistleblower who says the government opened an unconstitutional investigation into anti-ICE protestors because the president saw a TikTok he didn’t like.* The UK’s explanation of why it wants the Tate brothers extradited.* A fight over Dolly Parton’s estate, and* The “Shrek’s penis” trial.To hear the whole episode, upgrade your subscription at www.serioustrouble.show.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.serioustrouble.showA former Cornell University student has filed a Jane Doe lawsuit accusing seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity of sexual misconduct, including rape, in an incident that occurred in October 2024. We discuss this case, and the actions and conclusions of the local district attorney, who Governor Kathy Hochul has replaced with a special prosecutor (Letitia James, the attorney general).We also discuss the continued unraveling of President Trump’s pet “grand conspiracy” investigation in south Florida, Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s lawsuit over the review of her phone records, and a lawyer who came at Andrew Weissmann and missed.That’s for all listeners. For paying subscribers this week, we also cover:* The very unfair judge who is thwarting President Trump’s heroic efforts to prosecute that Olympic canoeist who wantonly destroyed the lining of his favorite reflecting pool. (Sad!)* Sheri Mecklenburg’s self-serving, but also partially convincing, resignation letter, saying she’s been made into the fall-woman for failures by US Attorney Andrew Boutros in Chicago in the botched “Broadview Six” prosecution related to anti-ICE protests.* A DC Circuit loss for Anthropic.* A new defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens.* A bribery mistrial for DC Councilman Trayon White, and* An update in the Kyrsten Sinema alienation-of-affection case.Upgrade your subscription at www.serioustrouble.show.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.serioustrouble.showDonald Trump tried to ban CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House and, as Trump himself predicted, he was almost immediately ordered by a federal court to let those outlets back in. The judge was unimpressed with the government’s claims that the outlets were ejected on national security grounds, partly because that contradicts the president’s own public statements. But it’s an argument he loves to make in court — he says his planned triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery serves a national security purpose, as does his ballroom and his efforts to block wind turbine projects. Courts traditionally give the president a wide berth on national security, but these increasingly implausible claims are leading courts to impose more scrutiny.Those conversations (plus a look at how aesthetic standing may matter again in litigation over that arch) are for all listeners. Paying subscribers also get our conversations about:* That ProPublica story about a federal investigation that looked at Susan Collins but did not lead to indictments of her or anyone in her direct orbit.* A prosecution for online threats against ICE in Tennessee.* Elizabeth Holmes’ impending move to a halfway house.* Clavicular’s indictment for rape in Massachusetts.* And an ignominious end to Matt Kalil’s lawsuit against his ex-wife, who wantonly told the whole world about his enormous penis.If you’re not a paying subscriber and you want to hear about all that, go to www.serioustrouble.show.

Remember Joseph DiGenova? He was a Trump defender from the first administration brought back to help with the investigation into the investigators that DOJ is running down in south Florida. Well, he’s gone again. He seems to have had some disputes with the Attorney General about the conduct of that investigation — “if you want indictments where there’s no evidence, you have an ethical problem,” he told the New York Post. Plus: Donald Trump continues to be stymied in his efforts to rename the Kennedy Center after himself — his latest threat is that he’ll tear down the building if he doesn’t get his way. Former immigration judge Chloe Dillon sues over her firing, Mahmoud Khalil sues,Columbia University, injunctions against ICE and legal victories for people who were fired for saying not-nice things about Charlie Kirk, a lawsuit against Lufthansa, whose employee outed a gay couple in Saudi Arabia — does that create a claim in the United States, where they were flying to? And finally: Kash Patel and bizarrely relaxed hiring metrics at the FBI and a right-wing media figure who resolved defamation litigation with an apology for lying about Patel’s girlfriend. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.serioustrouble.show/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.serioustrouble.showThis week: the Lindsay Clancy murder trial jury hung 11-1, ending in a mistrial. We discuss how judges press juries to agree, and why they maybe shouldn’t. And the Tate brothers — one of whom has possessed a fake Mexican passport in the name of “Vladimir Scorpius” — unsurprisingly failed to convince a judge to give them bail pending extradition. We also discuss UEFA, the European soccer body, seeking help from American courts with a criminal investigation of FIFA’s effort to sell an equity stake in world soccer to a group led by Jared Kushner’s brother, Josh Kushner.Free listeners get our discussion of those cases. Upgrade your subscription to hear about:* Indiana prosecutors have decided the woman who falsely accused Pete Buttigieg of being a risk to his children is too insane to face criminal charges.* Former ICE agent Christian Castro wasn’t extradited to face criminal charges in Minnesota, but somewhat surprisingly, he’s now under a federal indictment.* Trump won’t get to revive his birthright citizenship restrictions, but he can proceed with building his ballroom, as Ken and I discuss who has the least plausible theory of aesthetic standing.* Marco Rubio faces a blow to his efforts to deport non-citizen left-wing student activists.* The alienation of affection lawsuit against former senator Kyrsten Sinema will proceed in a North Carolina federal court, to the apparent annoyance of the judge who will have to preside over it, and* Lebohang Morake, the guy who wrote and performed the Zulu chant at the start of The Lion King, owes legal fees because of a dumb lawsuit he filed against a comedian who offered an incorrect story of what the lyrics mean. Don’t sue over jokes, people.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.serioustrouble.showMost federal prosecutors win almost all the time, in part because they are careful about the cases they bring and in part because they’re good at their jobs. Lately, Jeanine Pirro’s US Attorney’s office in Washington D.C. has only been winning about half the time. This week, we discuss what’s likely driving the substantial number of acquittals and mistrials. We also look at Ghislaine Maxwell’s unsuccessful pro se appeal, and about whether it matters that Michael Cohen recanted (sort of) his testimony that helped convict Donald Trump in the Manhattan DA’s falsification of business records case.That’s for all listeners this week. Paying subscribers also hear about:* A partial victory for Alex Jones on appeal of the defamation judgment against him in Texas* A win on appeal for James O’Keefe that causes us to revisit the Food Lion case.* A defamation loss for The New York Times.* A terse Supreme Court order on the White House ballroom, with more likely to come, and* Trump’s latest Kennedy Center litigation gambit: Threatening to tear down the building.Upgrade your subscription to hear the whole episode at serioustrouble.show.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.serioustrouble.showLike some of the big law firms, Disney hoped to buy peace with the Trump administration through a bogus settlement. It didn’t work. Disney is now suing the FCC, saying the commission’s move to review its broadcast licenses early is unconstitutional retaliation for its speech — namely, ABC broadcasts the president doesn’t like. Our discussion of the ABC litigation is for all listeners this week.For paying subscribers, Ken and Josh discuss Luigi Mangione’s choice to plead guilty in federal court with no plea deal; another rejected Trump administration gambit to install US attorneys without the Senate’s approval; a victory for Harvard in litigation with the Trump administration; expert witness AI shenanigans; and the mailbox-rifling congressman.To hear the full episode and every full episode of Serious Trouble, subscribe here.