Serious Trouble

The Supreme Court's involvement in Trump’s executive orders is heating up. Detainees are entitled to due process, but must navigate habeas corpus petitions. The complexities of the Alien Enemies Act expose tensions between deportation rights and government enforcement. A case raises alarms about free speech, as the federal government tries to revoke green cards based on political expression. Additionally, the podcast dives into media access issues and high-stakes mediation dynamics, revealing the intricate dance between law, politics, and individual rights.

Dive into the cat-and-mouse game of legal venue and jurisdiction, where a misstep can cost you dearly. Discover how the Trump administration's policies complicate immigration cases and challenge law firms. Hear insights on political corruption in law, including a high-profile case dismissal that casts doubt on judicial integrity. Explore how shifting political landscapes affect legal strategies and the survival of firms. This thought-provoking discussion reveals the intricate web of law, power, and justice.

Paul Weiss is the third law firm to come under attack from the Trump administration and the first one to cut a deal, agreeing to certain terms about its practices in exchange for Trump withdrawing an executive order that effectively aimed to bankrupt the firm. The firm had different things to say about the agreement than Trump did — and we discuss what a capitulation like this might do for its business, staffing and more at Paul Weiss and throughout Big Law.Plus: Columbia University has similarly given in to demands from the administration, an appeals court panel has backed up Judge James Boasberg, declining to disturb his temporary restraining order that bars the administration from more renditions under the Alien Enemies Act, for now. And the Houthi war planning Signal chat is now the subject of a lawsuit — also before Judge Boasberg, lol — alleging that the administration is disobeying the Federal Records Act by setting those messages to auto-delete.Visit serioustrouble.show to sign up for our newsletter and find 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

The latest, most brutal entry in the rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake comes in the form of a motion to dismiss. Drake, you will remember, sued Lamar’s record label (which is also Drake’s record label) for defamation, alleging that Lamar’s hit single “Not Like Us” defames him by calling him a pedophile. But as UMG’s attorney Rollin Ransom points out, rap battles are well known to feature hyperbolic accusations and insults that are not necessarily factual, which means they are unlikely to be defamatory. Plus, Drake explicitly dared Lamar to call him a pedophile — or, more specifically, Drake released a track in which he used an AI-generated Tupac Shakur voice to urge Lamar to “talk about [Drake] likin’ young girls.” It’s all very embarrassing, but as Ken notes, while UMG has a strong argument that it did not assist in defaming its own client, their argument is one a judge might not agree to consider in its entirety at this stage in the case.Plus: Trump tries to give Paul Weiss the Perkins Coie treatment, several of Trump’s major executive actions are facing new roadblocks in the courts, Nancy Mace faces a defamation lawsuit where the speech or debate clause is likely to provide her an important shield, and Ed Martin continues to Ed Martin.Visit serioustrouble.show to find a transcript of this episode, relevant links and to 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.showFor all subscribers: we have a discussion of President Trump’s jihad against Perkins Coie, and Long-Suffering Federal Judge Beryl Howell’s lack of patience for it. And we talk about the arrest of green card-holder Mahmoud Khalil at Columbia University — and the efforts of the Trump Administration to expel him using little-used but very broad powers for the Secretary of State to expel aliens on the grounds that their presence would have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”For paying subscribers:* The Trump administration’s effort to revoke hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to Columbia, on the grounds that the university has violated Title VI.* Ed Martin’s vague-yet-menacing letter to Georgetown Law School, saying he is conducting an “inquiry” into the school’s alleged teaching of DEI. * Updates on multiple cases where government lawyers say something in court and Trump administration officials say something else online that undermines their case.* The advice Paul Clement gave Dale Ho about Eric Adams, how Sam Bankman-Fried got himself thrown into solitary confinement by giving a jailhouse interview to Tucker Carlson, and some tips on best practices for distributing a podcast from federal prison, whether or not you are George Santos.

Acting US Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin continues to make bizarre and political use of the DOJ for Trump’s political purposes — this time, he's trying to impanel a grand jury to hear evidence about heated political remarks Sen. Chuck Schumer made in 2020 about Supreme Court justices. It hasn't worked, and neither has his effort to get a magistrate judge to approve a warrant to freeze the bank account of an environmental organization. Plus: why lawyers working on EO litigation may be showing up unprepared, Tina Peters, George Norcross III, and where to sue if you have a Brazilian business dispute.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

The podcast dives into the legal showdown between the Associated Press and the Trump administration over press access. It explores Ed Martin’s politically charged letters targeting Democrats and the implications for due process. Discussions also touch on Sam Bankman-Fried’s self-victimization strategies from prison and the complexities of pardon applications linked to January 6th. Additionally, the episode scrutinizes a controversial Iowa poll and the ensuing lawsuit by Donald Trump, highlighting the intersection of polling accuracy and First Amendment rights.

Emil Bove's weaponization of the Justice Department is leading to resignations, including of a former protégé; Pam Bondi's bark is worse than her bite; Alex Spiro is a good lawyer. 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 week: more firings — dozens of DOJ line prosecutors who worked on January 6 cases. Trump’s flurry of executive actions has drawn a flurry of litigation, much of it related to the Administrative Procedure Act. States and grantees are suing to stop the OMB funding pause, and finding success so far. Unions representing government workers are suing Elon Musk’s access to their information. Several anonymous FBI agents are even suing to stop disclosure to Trump officials of which cases they worked on, and a lawsuit fighting Trump’s executive order defunding grants related to DEI. The actions of the DOGE team seem like they might be illegal on several dimensions, and we discuss threats from acting US Attorney Ed Martin to bring bogus investigations against people who commit offenses like disclosing the names of people who work for Elon Musk.Finally, we take a look at the assist the FCC is giving Trump as he seeks to shake down Paramount, and we recognize another recipient of the Senate Twink Memorial Award for Belatedly Good Judgment. Head over to serioustrouble.show to find an episode 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

Just a week and a half back into the presidency, Donald Trump has seen to it that various federal prosecutors who were involved in prosecuting him have been fired. Can he do that? Also: the DOJ continues to drop cases against defendants who enjoy Trump’s political favor, so other defendants and convicts are trying to curry Trump's favor, including former Sen. Bob Menendez, who was just sentenced for a bribery scheme that didn’t even involve a Mercedes E-Class. And Meta has paid a large settlement to Trump — mostly going to his presidential library foundation — in what looks like a strategic payment to get back in the president’s good graces, since Trump’s underlying lawsuit against the company was quite bogus. Finally, we look at Devin Nunes (remember him?) losing in court again, and at the question of whether there is even a federal payment freeze for the federal courts to stay anymore.Visit serioustrouble.show to sign up for premium episodes and more. 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