Serious Trouble
Serious Trouble
Matt Gaetz Pulls Out
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Matt Gaetz Pulls Out

Pete Hegseth discloses he paid a settlement to his accuser; another John Doe celebrity sues to get ahead of a sexual abuse allegation; Ken wins some anti-SLAPP litigation.

Dear listeners,

Wouldn’t you know we recorded this show Thursday at 11am Eastern, just in time for Matt Gaetz to withdraw his candidacy for Attorney General a bit after noon?

Don’t worry — we went back and recorded a new beginning of the episode, tossing out the now moot (probably?) conversation we had about the ethics report everyone in Washington wants to see. Ken and I still took the opportunity to talk about how a DOJ under someone (probably?) more competent will look different than one that Gaetz would have run. And we look at another cabinet nominee — Pete Hegseth, slated to run the Department of Defense — who also stands accused of sexual misconduct that also never resulted in criminal charges.

That’s what’s on tap this week for free subscribers. Paying subscribers (thank you for your support!) get a bunch more, including:

  • Drama over The Onion’s attempt to buy Infowars at a bankruptcy auction: While The Onion was announced as the winning bidder, Jones’s supporters are essentially arguing that the auction was rigged, and bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez is going to look into the matter. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is also somehow trying to involve himself (?).

  • Donald Trump’s new anti-SLAPP motion: He’s seeking dismissal of the defamation case the Central Park Five brought against him, arguing that they’re trying to stop him from expressing opinions on a matter of public concern.

  • An update from Ken on a defamation case he successfully defended on anti-SLAPP grounds.

  • The raid on Diddy’s prison cell, prosecutors’ allegation that they found material showing Diddy is trying to tamper with witnesses, and Diddy’s lawyers’ outraged claim that the government seized attorney-client privileged material.

  • Another lawsuit from a celebrity John Doe! This time, the famous anonymous plaintiff is represented by Quinn Emanuel, and he’s suing Tony Buzbee, the Houston plaintiffs’ lawyer who’s bringing a lot of Diddy-related civil litigation. Doe says Buzbee’s threats to advance claims against him are extortion, but Ken says that’s a stretch — Michael Flatley (the Lord of the Dance) really was extorted, but most other celebrities who have gone to court to argue that Flatley v. Mauro governs their situation have not had much luck.

  • Plus, more Rudy Giuliani nonsense.

If you want to hear all that, and you’re not already a paying subscriber, why don’t you upgrade? It’s almost the holidays, and you deserve a present to yourself.

By the way, next week, we’ll be devoting much of the show to answering listener questions. Do you have questions for Ken? I sure hope they’re about venue. If you have something to ask, you know where to send the inquiry.

We hope you enjoy the episode,

Josh

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Serious Trouble
Serious Trouble
An irreverent podcast about the law from Josh Barro and Ken White.
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Josh Barro
Ken White