Serious Trouble

This week, we discuss the mostly favorable verdict for Sean Combs, a.k.a. P. Diddy and his upcoming sentencing. In another bizarre sex-related case, two founders of OneTaste, a new-age-female-empowerment-business-slash-sex-cult, have been convicted of coercing their employees into sex acts.Also this week: an update on D.H.S. vs. D.V.D., a case where the Supreme Court’s orders have been fairly inscrutable and the litigants have now been deported to South Sudan; another shadow docket victory for the administration; the Trump administration’s lawless claim that it can waive the TikTok ban and how there’s probably no way for their action to be remedied in the courts; what can be done when a president extracts bribe-like payments from corporations; and we look at the trouble the administration created for itself by fanning the flames of Epstein conspiracies it now can’t document.Visit serioustrouble.show to sign up for updates and to access episode transcripts. 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.showFor all subscribers: a discussion of the Sean Combs jury deliberations and a look at the 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. CASA that says trial courts (generally) can no longer issue nationwide injunctions. As Ken and I discuss, the ruling is sure to greatly change how aggressive executive branch actions get litigated, but the exact nature of the change is not yet clear.Paying subscribers also get a look at Gavin Newsom’s new defamation suit against Fox News (sigh), Donald Trump’s gambit to get his lawsuit against Iowa pollster Ann Selzer back out of federal court, an update on the cooperating witness against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Trump’s weird lawsuit against all the federal judges in Maryland, and Susman Godfrey’s victory in court over Trump’s executive order seeking to punish the firm.Sign up at serioustrouble.show to get the full episode.

More shadow docket news on this week’s show: The Supreme Court’s conservative majority blocked an order from a federal judge in Boston that had imposed due process requirements when the Trump administration tries to deport migrants to countries other than their countries of origin. As is often the case with shadow docket orders, the judges in the majority did not explain their reasoning, leaving the lower courts without clear guidance on what to do next: was the order blocked because the class of affected detainees was too broad, or for some other reason?Plus: an update on California’s litigation over federalization of the National Guard, a look at the whistleblower allegations against now-federal-judicial-nominee Emil Bove, a look at the bail decision for Kilmar Abrego Garcia (who’s likely to end up in ICE custody regardless), and a discussion of the Trump administration’s decision (and Joe Biden’s decision) not to assert executive privilege as the House Oversight Committee looks into theories about autopen use in Biden’s administration.Go to serioustrouble.show to sign up for our newsletter and join the conversation. 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

It’s been a big week for some of the dumber litigation we follow around here. It’s not all dumb — we start with an update on California’s litigation over the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles, where the state has gotten relief at the trial court level but faces a tough road in the appeals courts. And we look at a case in Boston where a federal judge has blocked, for now, the cancellation of certain grants the National Institutes of Health have deemed excessively DEI-related.Then we have updates on Mike Lindell, who says the $2.3 million defamation judgment against him is actually a victory; Michael Avenatti, who appealed his sentence and got it reduced very slightly (rare win!); and various Proud Boys, who made the mistake of hiring a felon to be their lawyer; some weird drama at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where Judge Stephen Menashi is really annoyed his colleagues didn’t want to reopen the E. Jean Carroll litigation. And we look at juror drama at the P. Diddy trial. And — most excitingly — Josh makes Ken talk about the Real Housewives.Visit serioustrouble.show to sign up for our newsletter and find a transcript of this episode. 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

Donald Trump has activated the National Guard in California over the objections of Governor Gavin Newsom, and Newsom has sued, claiming the activation is illegal. Ken and Josh discuss Newsom's chances of prevailing against the president's broad authority to use the military for various purposes. Meanwhile, union leader David Huerta has been charged for his actions of civil disobedience. One of Huerta’s legal problems stems from his choice to yell at the federal agents, “What are you going to do, arrest all of us?”Also this week: Trump has gotten stays from appeals courts blocking the implementation of unfavorable rulings in cases about the IEEPA tariffs and the disfavoring of the Associated Press at White House events. Kilmar Abrego Garcia is back in the U.S. to face trial, the Young Thug RICO saga has finally breathed its last whimper, some Proud Boys are seeking their own settlement payout from the Trump administration, and the Trump DOJ is devoting a surprising amount of legal firepower to a civil rights action against a coffee shop owner / Hamas fanboy in Oakland (who, it seems, really did illegally discriminate against Jewish customers).Visit serioustrouble.show to sign up for our newsletter and find a transcript of this episode. 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

In the ongoing defamation trial of Mike Lindell, who accused Dominion Voting Systems employee Eric Coomer of personally conspiring to steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump, Lindell isn't bothering to argue that his claims were true. Instead he's saying he believed them at the time he said them. Is that a good defense?Plus: a federal appellate decision upholding an injunction against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's efforts to harass the pressure group Media Matters for America over its campaign against Elon Musk, an unsuccessful lawsuit against the University of Pennsylvania claiming the school fostered an anti-semitic environment, the Trump administration's odd dealings with the Harvard Law Review, and a look at a couple of articles about the ongoing fallout from the decisions by major law firms to settle with the Trump administration over its transparently illegal executive orders against them. We also have updates on ongoing litigation over Trump's tariffs, and a look at the seven-year sentence for 87-year-old disgraced lawyer Tom Girardi.Visit serioustrouble.show to find a transcript and sign up for our newsletter. 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’s show is heavy on economic policy. Yay! We discuss a ruling from the U.S. Court of International Trade that many of Trump’s beloved tariffs are illegal and then, a strange shadow-docket order in U.S. v. Wilcox, a case about the National Labor Relations Board that raises a key economic question: Does that mean the president can fire the entire Federal Reserve Board, too?For paying subscribers: an update on the administration’s dealings with Big Law, updates about the Mahmoud Khalil and Kseniia Petrova cases, the Francesca Gino saga, and about Trevor Kirk, the LA County Sheriff’s deputy convicted of using excessive force who the Trump administration is trying to keep out of prison.Upgrade your subscription at serioustrouble.show!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.serioustrouble.showThis week, we look at the indictment of Judge Hannah Dugan and the end of Ed Martin's reign at the US Attorney's office for the District of Columbia. For paying subscribers, we have an update on family business at the Sean Combs trial, where James Comey's daughter Maurene is facing off against Mark Geragos's daughter Teny. We have updates about new rulings about the Alien Enemies Act, about Marco Rubio's efforts to personally revoke the visas of students who annoy the administration, and about the frog embryos case. To get the full episode, go to http://www.serioustrouble.show and become a member. Thank you!

This week on the show: Jury selection for Sean Combs' eight-week RICO trial, which is moving along very quickly for for a complex federal criminal case.Plus: a ruling in the Alien Enemies Act cases, a ruling that gets at the heart of the policy question: whether there is an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” that triggers presidential powers under the law in the first place. It's a strange one.Another long-running case where ICE contends it doesn’t matter that it violated a court order about how to remove a person due for deportation, since he’d still be removable even if they did everything right.Long-Suffering Federal Judge Beryl Howell takes a shot at the many firms that chose to settle with the Trump administration instead of fighting. Meanwhile, the firms that settled have been insisting that they agreed to very little, and we may be about to get some information about how true that is.Visit serioustrouble.show to sign up for our newsletter and find a transcript of this episode. 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.showWe've got a lot for paid subscribers this week: Updates on several removal cases, a look at the arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan, our first look at the litigation over Trump's tariffs, a cautionary tale about what happens when you accidentally file your internal deliberations about the weakness of your case on the public court docket, some forecasts for George Santos's time in federal prison, a discussion of why Sarah Palin lost (again) in her case against The New York Times, and more. If you want to upgrade to hear all of that, go to https://www.serioustrouble.show.