Federal Judge CORNERS Trump in EXPLOSIVE SHOWDOWN

What this episode is about

The content discusses a legal showdown involving federal Judge Richard Leon, who is presiding over two significant cases related to Donald Trump and Senator Mark Kelly. The cases highlight Trump's controversial actions regarding the East Wing and military orders, with Judge Leon expressing skepticism about Trump's decisions, suggesting potential favorable outcomes for Kelly in his fight against censure and demotion by the Trump administration.

Key takeaways

• When Judge Leon raises an eyebrow, even Trump’s golden ballroom looks like a house of cards.
• Mark Kelly's lawsuit could redefine military obedience; just following orders isn’t a legal safety net anymore.
• Alyssa Slotkin and Mark Kelly: two senators proving courage is the antidote to a chaotic administration.
• In facing demotion, Kelly shows that senators can hold the executive accountable—retired or not.
• Remember: the Constitution isn't just a piece of paper; it's the battlefield for democracy's warriors.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Michael Popac (Host) · 11 min speaking
• Alyssa Slotkin (Guest) · 2 min speaking
• Mark Kelly (Guest) · 2 min speaking
• Pete Hegsth (Guest) · 1 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Senator Mark Kelly, Donald Trump, Judge Richard Leon, Pete Hegsth
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Senator Mark Kelly, Donald Trump, Pete Hegsth
3. 9:00 – 12:00: Alyssa Slotkin, Donald Trump, Nuremberg Trials
4. 12:00 – 15:00: Legal AF, Donald Trump, Midas Touch Network
5. 15:00 – 15:49: Legal AF, Michael Popach

Notable quotes from "Federal Judge CORNERS Trump in EXPLOSIVE SHOWDOWN"

• Wing and trying to raise up a golden ballroom over its wreckage have to do with Senator Mark Kelly and his lawsuit against Pete Hegsth in the Trump administration for them…

  about Senator Mark Kelly · at 0:03

• The ship and don't follow Donald Trump over the abyss of constitutional violations. I'm Michael Popac. I'm going to cover two matters that are related.

  about Michael Popach · at 1:04

• In light of the National Guard fiasco in various cities, the border patrol and ICE and the rest and the worry that the commanderin-chief Donald Trump who's our first criminal…

  about Donald Trump · at 2:22

• Of Defense, things like that. He didn't think it was proper and I agree with them that Pete Hegsth threatened him with demotion, right? Court marshal censure in response to the 92nd video.

  about Pete Hegsth · at 5:20

• Bring it. In fact, here's Alisa Slotkin effectively saying, I'm not going in for an interview. And bring it. Play it.

  about Alyssa Slotkin · at 11:22

• Janine Piro. So, we're going to continue to follow it all right here on Legal AF and the Midas Touch Network. Take a moment, hit the free subscribe button.

  about Legal AF · at 14:47

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Senator Mark Kelly — Person · Primary subject of legal dispute (plaintiff) / referenced senator · 5 mentions · first at 0:07
  Discussed as suing over alleged attempted censure/demotion tied to a video urging military members to refuse illegal orders; his injunction hearing before Judge Richard Leon is a central focus.
• Donald Trump — Person · Referenced political figure / alleged instigator · 7 mentions · first at 0:01
  Presented as the driving force behind both the East Wing/ballroom controversy and alleged retaliation against members of Congress who urged service members to refuse illegal orders.
• Judge Richard Leon — Person · Referenced judge / decision-maker in both matters · 2 mentions · first at 0:33
  Identified as the district judge handling both the “ballroom” dispute and Mark Kelly’s injunction hearing; his skepticism is used to predict outcomes favorable to Kelly.
  Following orders defense and they should know that. What do those two things have in common? A judge, Judge Richard Leon, district judge, district of DC, is handling both…
• Alyssa Slotkin — Person · Referenced senator / co-participant in the video; secondary subject · 4 mentions · first at 1:14
  Portrayed as helping create the 90-second video and then resisting a requested interview tied to an alleged investigation; framed as “fighting back” against the administration.
• Pete Hegsth — Person · Referenced administration official / alleged retaliator · 3 mentions · first at 0:10
  Described as the official who allegedly threatened censure/demotion and asserted jurisdiction over Kelly as a military retiree; positioned as the opposing side in Kelly’s dispute.
• Michael Popach — Person · Main speaker / commentator (host-like) · 2 mentions · first at 1:08
  Narrates and frames the legal/political analysis, introduces clips, and connects the two matters (ballroom case and Kelly injunction) as related through Judge Leon.
• Gabby Giffords — Person · Referenced public figure (spouse of Mark Kelly) · 1 mention
  Mentioned to contextualize Mark Kelly’s biography and public profile while discussing his standing and oversight role.

Products & tech

• Legal AF — Product · Business focus · 4 mentions · first at 1:24
  Primary platform for the podcast's content and discussions, actively promoted throughout the episode
• Midas Touch Network — Product · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at 1:24
  Secondary platform associated with the podcast, mentioned alongside Legal AF
  Janine Piro. So, we're going to continue to follow it all right here on Legal AF and the Midas Touch Network. Take a moment, hit the free subscribe button.

Concepts & topics

• Nuremberg Trials — Concept · Key argument · 1 mention · first at 10:07
  Used as a historical precedent to argue against following illegal orders, central to the episode's discussion
  And they don't get a defense, as we know from the Nermberg trials from World War II and the Nazis, they don't get a defense of I was just following orders.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Here's a riddle for you. What does Donald Trump's destruction of the East Wing and trying to raise up a golden ballroom over its wreckage have to do with Senator Mark Kelly and his lawsuit against Pete Hegsth in the Trump administration for them trying to demote him because he told the truth in a video along with four other members of Congress that military troops must not and may not follow unconstitutional and illegal orders. They can't use the just following orders defense and they should know that. What do those two things have in common? A judge, Judge Richard Leon, district judge, district of DC, is handling both cases. And he was just as skeptical in the ballroom case as he has been in the new hearing involving Senator Mark Kelly. It looks to me like Judge Leyon is gonna side for Mark Kelly, stop his censure, stop his demotion at the hands of Pete Hegsth because he had the courage to tell

1:02 American service people, don't give up the ship and don't follow Donald Trump over the abyss of constitutional violations. I'm Michael Popac. I'm going to cover two matters that are related. Alyssa Slotkin, Michigan Senator, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, both fighting back against the Trump administration and they are winning. You're here on the Midas Touch Network and on Legal AF. Take a minute and hit the subscribe button for both. All right, let's start with Kelly since I wetted your appetite. Judge Leon, a Bush appointee, relatively conservative, has handled a number of cases against the Bush administration uh in the last term. He's presiding over the ballroom. He's the judge about two weeks ago who said, "I don't think the ballroom coming up out of the ground without congressional approval is appropriate." We're still waiting on the ruling related to that. And now the spin-of-the- wheel and random selection

2:02 of judges has landed on him to handle Mark Kelly's lawsuit. Now, let me remind everybody or have you see it for the first time. It was just it was a 90 second powerful video created by five members of Congress who were me who were members of the military or intelligence community reminding soldiers especially in light of the National Guard fiasco in various cities, the border patrol and ICE and the rest and the worry that the commanderin-chief Donald Trump who's our first criminal president is going to try to order people to do criminal things to remind them not to do it and to stand up for the oath that they took, an oath that they took like I did to support and defend the Constitution, not to support and defend who whoever is the current occupant in the White House. They have to make their own independent judgment, sure, within the chain of command about whether that that order is legal or not.

3:02 And they don't get a defense, as we know from the Nermberg trials from World War II and the Nazis, they don't get a defense of I was just following orders. Let's play the 90 second clip. Play it.

3:15 I'm Senator Alyssa Satkins. Senator Mark Kelly, Representative Chris Duzio, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander,

3:22 Representative Chrissy Hulahan, Congressman Jason Crowe. I was a captain in the United States Navy.

3:26 Former CIA officer. Former Navy former paratrooper and Army Ranger. Former intelligence officer,

3:32 former Air Force, we want to speak directly to members of the military and the intelligence community

3:37 who take risks each day to keep Americans safe. We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now.

3:43 Americans trust their military, but that trust is at risk. This administration is pitting our uniform military

3:49 and intelligence community professionals against American citizens. Like us, you all swore an oath

3:54 to protect and defend this Constitution. And right now, the threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad,

4:00 but from right here at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.

4:05 You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution.

4:14 We know this is hard and that it's a difficult time to be a public servant. But whether you're serving in the CIA,

4:19 the Army or Navy, the Air Force, your vigilance is critical. and know that we have your back

4:25 because now more than ever, the American people need you. We need you to stand up for our laws,

4:31 our Constitution, and who we are as Americans. Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give up.

4:37 Don't give up the ship. Now, immediately, Donald Trump went mad. Went crazy. Went cuckoo. It's hard to tell with him, but he did. They started issuing all sorts of postings like they should be hanged. George Washington would have hanged them. there. They committed sedicious conspiracy. I mean, it takes a sedicious conspirator to no one because somebody like Mark Kelly, former shuttle commander, captain of the Navy, flew dozens and dozens of dangerous missions during the during the Iraq war, uh, married to Gabby Gfords, a United States senator, sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, providing oversight over the Department of Defense, things like that. He didn't think it was proper and I agree with them that Pete Hegsth threatened him with demotion, right? Court marshal censure in response to the 92nd video.

5:35 And Pete Hegsth came in and said, "Well, you know, he's under our jurisdiction. He's a retiree, but he's still subject to the Code of Military Justice, and uh like any retiree, he has limited First Amendment rights." Senator fought back and said, "What are you talking about? I've got the first amendment rights as a senator, like every American, to make that comment. I have speech and debate privilege because I'm a senator. And all you're trying to do is retaliate against me because I provide oversight over your department. And that there's never been a case in history in which the executive branch and the Department of Defense has ever tried to censure and take away the speech of a sitting senator. Here's Mark Kelly on the floor of the Senate talking about this case. Play it.

6:23 He doesn't like what I said and so he is trying to censure and demote me. Pete Hexath is now coming after what I earned through my 25 years of military service in violation of my rights as an American and as a retired veteran and as a United States senator whose job it is to hold this and any administration accountable. Now, that brings us to the court case with Judge Leyon. They just held a hearing on an injunction hearing, temporary restraining order hearing brought by Mark Kelly to stop the censure. And the judge said to the Department of Justice lawyers who were leaning into this argument that Mark Kelly is just a regular retiree, just a retiree who has limited First Amendment rights. The judge said, "Stop. He's a senator. He's a sitting senator in the United States Senate. He has first amendment rights. He has speech and debate rights. Cite for me one case in the Supreme Court or District of

7:31 Colombia Court of Appeals or the Circuit Court of Appeals that allows me to do what you're asking me to do that you're going to win and they couldn't cite any. So I based on this back and forth with this hearing, I doubt that Judge Leon is going to go so far as to allow the executive branch to censure the legislative branch through Mark Kelly. Here's Mark Kelly slightly giddy after he left the hearing. Let's play the clip. There's nothing more fundamental to our democracy than the freedom of speech and the freedom to speak out about our government. And that's what I'm fighting for here. I uh appreciate the judge's quick and careful consideration in this case given what is at stake here. A lot is at stake.

8:24 Hey, I wore the uniform to defend this country and to defend the Constitution. Secretary Hegsth censured me and is now trying to demote me for things that I said and for doing my job as a United States senator. And in this case, we have the Constitution on our side. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Which brings me to Alisa Slacken who I think put this video together and and she should be proud that she did. A Michigan senator badge of honor to be attacked by this administration. She has been called in for questioning, voluntary questioning apparently by the FBI. You know, sort of like the Clintons being called in to give testimony about the Epstein connection to the uh House. This is their big concern, by the way, not protecting the victims. Uh, victims who have never met the president of the United States. I represent one of them, uh, Lisa Phillips. Victims who have never met real the Republican leaders,

9:33 uh, yet Clintons are now very, very popular to be brought in for some theater performative art piece. And they did they tried the same thing with Alisa Slotkin. They sent a letter from Janine Piro. Remember her on Fox News now? Donald Trump slacky running the US attorney's office in DC to come in for the criminal investigation. What's the criminal investigation? It was a 90-second video brought by former members of the military ex who are now elected officials expressing their first amendment right. And it's true under the code of military justice under the Nuremberg principles. It is true. a soldier cannot follow illegal orders and use that as a defense. And that's all they were being reminded of to kind of give them the courage that they needed.

10:24 Uh if they're ordered to, you know, pull out their service weapon and fire indiscriminately on protesters, don't do it. I mean, that's that's the genesis of it. you took to remind them they took their own independent oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, not the guy sitting in the Oval Office. So when they called Elise Alisa Slotkin in, she uh what's the nice way to put it? She gave him the middle finger effectively and said, "We're not coming in. I'm not doing a voluntary anything. You want to do a subpoena, you want to challenge this in a courtroom, go ahead." We already saw versions of this when senators and congress people and the vice president were called in to testify, you know, with uh in the insurrection moment of Donald Trump.

11:16 Some were forced to, some were not forced to. There were speech and debate issues. There's first amendment issues. Bring it. In fact, here's Alisa Slotkin effectively saying, "I'm not going in for an interview." And bring it. Play it.

11:29 I'm Senator Alyssa Slackin from Michigan. Last week, US Attorney from the District of Columbia, former Fox host Janine Piro, reached out asking to interview me because of a 90-second video that I filmed in November. This is on top of an FBI inquiry that came in from the counterterrorism division late last year. to review the bidding. In November, six of us with service and veteran background filmed a video restating the Uniform Code of Military Justice, saying that those in the military have a responsibility to reject illegal orders. In response, the president called for us to be investigated, arrested, and ultimately hanged. He ended up tweeting over a dozen times about that and yesterday in Michigan falsely said that I stole my 2024 election. In response to the president's tweets, the threats went through the roof. We had over a thousand threats come in. Over a hundred were credible and are being investigated. I

12:30 went on 24/7 security from Capitol police. Um I had a bomb threat at my house. My parents were swatted in the middle of the night and my siblings had cop cars placed in their driveways. And now he's using his political appointees at the FBI and the Department of Justice to follow through with his threats. To be clear, this is the president's playbook. Truth doesn't matter. Facts don't matter. And anyone who disagrees with him becomes an enemy. And he then weaponizes the federal government against them. It's legal intimidation and physical intimidation meant to get you to shut up. He's used it with our universities, our corporations, our legal community, and with politicians who falsely believe that doing his bidding and staying quiet will keep them safe. No, I'm not going to do that because this president does not represent the views of a majority of Americans. Even if you voted for him, I

13:31 do not believe that his vision of America is shared by a majority of Americans because this country is worth fighting for. Our freedom of speech is worth fighting for. Our values, our core values are worth fighting for.

13:45 So what's going to happen next? Lisa, they're going to continue after her and her lawyers have written to the Department of Justice and said, "Back off and drop your criminal investigation." Just like Janine Piro and others and Janine Piro again should back off and drop her criminal investigation of the Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell about cost overruns about 200year-old buildings in DC. So it's always Janine Piro whenever whenever used to be Lindseay Halligan but now Lindsay Hallanigan's out of the Department of Justice. Used to be Ed Martin but Ed Martin's been fired. He used to be the head of the weaponization committee. They're running out of people who are puppets who are going to do Donald Trump's bidding. Janine Piro seems to be a reliable puppet for Donald Trump. Go after Jay Pal, Federal Reserve, wreck our global economy, as we can see today. Janine Piro, go after sitting United States senators, Janine

14:39 Piro. Janine Piro, by the way, who has a law license and also could be impeached and removed. Janine Piro. So, we're going to continue to follow it all right here on Legal AF and the Midas Touch Network. Take a moment, hit the free subscribe button. I'm running a 35% off sale on Legal AF Substack paid membership to give us the resources we need to continue to grow. We're now number two and rising in US politics on Substack of all Substacks and that's all because of you. So, until my next report, I'm Michael Popac. Can't get your fill of legal AF? Me neither.

15:14 That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the Substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do called, wait for it, Morning AF. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well. We got some new reporting, we got interviews, we got ad free versions of the podcast and hot takes where Legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Federal Judge CORNERS Trump in EXPLOSIVE SHOWDOWN"?

Michael Popac (Host), Alyssa Slotkin (Guest), Mark Kelly (Guest), Pete Hegsth (Guest).

What is "Federal Judge CORNERS Trump in EXPLOSIVE SHOWDOWN" about?

The content discusses a legal showdown involving federal Judge Richard Leon, who is presiding over two significant cases related to Donald Trump and Senator Mark Kelly. The cases highlight Trump's controversial actions regarding the East Wing and military orders, with Judge Leon expressing skepticism about Trump's decisions, suggesting potential favorable outcomes for Kelly in his fight against…

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

10 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Senator Mark Kelly, Legal AF, Donald Trump, Judge Richard Leon, Alyssa Slotkin, Pete Hegsth. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Federal Judge CORNERS Trump in EXPLOSIVE SHOWDOWN"?

The episode runs 16 min; the transcript is about 2,563 words in 32 timestamped sections.

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