Dear listeners,
The lurid JP Morgan sex case has gotten more interesting: according to reports, the bank offered a $1 million settlement to Chirayu Rana, the banker who wanted an eight-figure settlement related to the lurid sex-harassment allegations he has made against a senior colleague. That’s more than you’d expect a firm to offer to settle a mere nuisance suit. Something is weird here, but as Ken notes, two things can be true at once: A plaintiff can be exaggerating and sort of nuts, and there can be some kind of underlying misconduct that motivates a defendant to settle.
The Justice Department wants to stand in as the defendant in the case where E. Jean Carroll won a large judgment for comments Donald Trump made about her during his first presidential term, which would defeat her claim, since the government cannot be liable for defamation. Trump and the government didn’t propose this in a timely manner, however, so we probably won’t get to develop more case law on whether “she’s not my type” can be work-related speech from the president. The DOJ is also suing the DC Bar, trying to stop professional discipline for Jeffrey ‘Oil Spill’ Clark. And Ken says, no, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro does not need to recuse herself from Cole Allen’s case merely because she was present at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, despite what some ex-AUSAs might say on television.
That’s for all listeners this week. Upgrade to paid to hear about much more:
Another Trump tariff effort gets struck down because the Court of International Trade decided to actually form a view on what constitutes a balance-of-payments crisis.
ABC fighting back against the Federal Communications Commission, urged on by the commission’s lone Democratic member (and Ken explains why they’re even bothering to fight at the agency level before going to court.)
The fight over the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, or “more aesthetic standing bullshit,” as Ken’s notes describe it.
Richard Murdaugh’s remarkable win in court (for now).
A misdo charge for Clav, who says he was merely following the guidance of a licensed airboat captain when he shot a (possibly already dead) alligator.
We hope you enjoy the episode,
Josh
