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Court rules Vince McMahon’s lawyer wrongly withheld documents from grand jury

A former lawyer for pro-wrestling impresario Vince McMahon was wrong to withhold some documents from a federal grand jury as it investigated how the former WWE boss handled multimillion-dollar settlement agreements with two female employees who accused him of sexual abuse, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

Three judges on the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in New York upheld a lower court ruling that said the documents were not protected by attorney-client privilege because of an exception for “crime or fraud.”

The appeals court said the lower court judge found prosecutors had reasonable grounds to believe that McMahon and his lawyer illegally “circumvented” the WWE’s internal controls and created false records when they concealed the employees’ claims and settlement agreements from the company, and that they made false and misleading statements to the company’s auditors — even though McMahon paid the settlements with funds that did not come from the company.

The appellate panel said that while McMahon’s lawyer submitted many materials in response to a grand jury subpoena, they also submitted a log of 208 documents that were being withheld under assertions of attorney-client privilege.

Vince McMahon attends the WrestleMania 29 Press Conference at Radio City Music Hall on April 4, 2013 in New York City. (Eugene Gologursky/WireImage)

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Though the identities of the parties were not disclosed in the appeals court opinion, a person familiar with the matter confirmed the unnamed “former Chief Executive Officer of a “publicly traded company” was McMahon. The person insisted on anonymity to discuss details that have not been made public.

The status of the grand jury investigation was not immediately clear. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan has declined to comment when asked about the investigation, which it has not publicly disclosed.

Representatives for McMahon, who has denied wrongdoing, said they had no immediate comment on the court ruling. McMahon has previously suggested that he was no longer under investigation.

In January, McMahon said in a statement that “nearly three years of investigation by different governmental agencies” into his actions had ended. The statement came as the federal Securities and Exchange Commission announced it had settled charges against McMahon over his failure to disclose the settlement agreements with the two now-former employees to WWE officials.

“In the end, there was never anything more to this than minor accounting errors with regard to some personal payments that I made several years ago while I was CEO of WWE,” the statement said. “I’m thrilled that I can now put all this behind me.”

Apr 3, 2022; Arlington, TX, USA; Then-WWE owner Vince McMahon during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium. (Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)

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The appeals court, however, said in Monday’s ruling that the case “concerns proceedings currently before a grand jury. At present, no indictments have been issued.”

The opinion disclosed some new details of the grand jury probe.

Representatives for one of the former employees who got a settlement agreement from McMahon, Janel Grant, declined to comment Monday.

McMahon resigned from WWE’s parent company in January 2024 after Grant filed a federal lawsuit accusing him and another former executive of serious sexual misconduct. At the time, McMahon stepped down from his position as executive chair of the board of directors at WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings. He continued to deny wrongdoing following the filing of the lawsuit.

McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into allegations that match those in the lawsuit.

Grant has said she was pressured into leaving her job with the WWE and signing a $3 million nondisclosure agreement.

Apr 3, 2022; Arlington, TX, USA; WWE owner Vince McMahon enters the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium. (Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)

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The lawsuit, which alleges sexual battery and trafficking, also seeks to have the agreement declared invalid, saying McMahon breached the deal by giving her $1 million and failing to pay the rest.

The $3 million settlement is mentioned in Monday’s appellate court ruling, along with another $7.5 million settlement McMahon made with another former employee.

The Associated Press does not normally name people who make sexual assault allegations unless they come forward publicly, which Grant did.

Prosecutors served subpoenas on McMahon’s lawyer, who is unnamed in court documents, and the attorney’s firm in September 2023, seeking all communications between McMahon, his attorney and the law firm regarding the two former employees, according to the appellate court. The lawyer helped McMahon negotiate the settlements, the court said.

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When the lawyer withheld some of the documents claiming attorney-client privilege, prosecutors asked the lower court to compel production of the records — leading to the appeal decided Monday.

The appellate judges wrote, “Because the settlement agreements resolving the Victims’ claims were ‘structured and negotiated … to keep them hidden from (the Company),’ the district court found that ’all communications about the claims and settlement agreements were made in furtherance of the criminal scheme to keep (the Company) and its auditors unaware of the allegations.’”

February 11, 2025
House Republicans continue Fani Willis investigation, requesting documents from DA employees

Rep. Jim Jordan, GOP chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., sent employees from the Fulton County District Attorney’s office requests Thursday to hand over documents and interviews related to the Jan. 6 Committee as they continue investigating District Attorney Fani Willis.

“The committee previously wrote to District Attorney Willis requesting documents relating to her coordination with the January 6 Select Committee. Because District Attorney Willis has declined to cooperate, the committee must pursue other avenues to obtain this information,” a press release states.

Jordan and Loudermilk sent letters to Assistant Chief Investigator Michael Hill, Assistant Chief Investigator Trina Swanson-Lucas, Chief Senior District Attorney Donald Wakeford and Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten, requesting “all documents and communications” between the employees and “any member, staff member, agent, or representative of the January 6 Selection Committee.”

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The letters also request the employees hand over “all documents and communications referring or relating to records in your possession obtained” from the Jan. 6 Committee.

GOP House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan and Rep. Barry Loudermilk sent Fulton County District Attorney employees letters Thursday, requesting documents and interviews as part of their investigation into DA Fani Willis. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

All employees were asked to submit the requested documentation no later than Feb. 20.

The letters sent Thursday say the lawmakers had previously written to Willis “requesting documents relating to her coordination with the January 6 Select Committee.”

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The lawmakers say they received a letter from Willis in December in which she confirmed the requested documents existed “but declined to produce such materials on the grounds that the materials were ‘protected from disclosure by attorney-client privilege, work product privilege, and other common law protections.’”

Willis was investigating Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The DA’s office asserted the same claim in a court filing that same month when it declined to turn over any new communications between Willis and special counsel Jack Smith, who had also been investigating alleged efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The filing asserted that the documents either did not exist or were exempt from disclosure under Georgia law.

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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had previously ordered Willis to produce any records of communication with either Smith or the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 within five business days. In doing so, the judge sided with Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group that had filed suit against Willis, determining that Willis had violated the state’s open records act by failing to respond to the lawsuit.

The letters sent Thursday say the lawmakers had previously written to Willis “requesting documents relating to her coordination with the January 6 Select Committee.” (Alyssa Pointer/Pool/Getty Images)

The House Judiciary Committee launched its investigation into whether Willis coordinated with the House Jan. 6 Committee in December 2023. Jordan and Loudermilk took the lead on the probe after learning that Willis’ office “coordinated its investigative actions with the partisan Select Committee.”

The lawmakers said at the time that Willis asked the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 to share evidence with her office.

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Willis charged Trump with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Fox News Digital reached out to Hill, Swanson-Lucas, Wakeford, Wooten and the DA’s Office but did not immediately hear back.

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Haley Chi-Sing is a Writer for Fox News Digital. You can reach her at @haleychising on X.

February 7, 2025
Don’t file your taxes until you get all the documents

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., on Republican priorities as they seek to pass a single reconciliation bill, Congress certification of the 2024 election and the reauthorization of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

Tax filing season is underway and while many taxpayers may be eager to file sooner rather than later to get the process over with, they should be sure they have all the documents they need before doing so.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published a post encouraging taxpayers to wait to file until they’re sure they’ve received all of their tax forms to avoid having to file an amended return and face delays with receiving a refund.

“Amending your tax return after filing your taxes to report additional income missed on your original return… can take months to process,” the Taxpayer Advocate Service wrote. “It really is worth waiting to file until all final income documents are received to avoid having to file an amended return.”

Among the common documents taxpayers should be on the lookout for is the W-2 form, which is provided by employers and contains information about a worker’s total compensation, taxes paid, contributions to retirement accounts and other payroll deductions.

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Taxpayers should ensure they have their income statements and other tax documents before filing their returns. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Another common tax document is the 1099 which comes in several forms, including the 1099-INT which reports interest income of $10 or more from banks and other financial institutions; 1099-DIV which reports income from dividends and other distributions; and the 1099-R for distributions of $10 or more from an annuity, pension, retirement account, or insurance plan.

The 1099-K form reports income received from selling items through financial platforms like Cash App, eBay, Etsy, Paypal, Venmo and others – and taxpayers whose transactions topped $5,000 in 2024 should be on the lookout for such forms. People receiving unemployment compensation will receive form 1099-G.

Additionally, the 1099-MISC form reports miscellaneous income like royalties, rents, prizes and awards; while independent contractors who earn over $600 in a calendar year will receive a 1099-NEC.

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The IRS’ deadline for individuals to file their returns or request an extension is April 15, 2025. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Retirees and taxpayers receiving Social Security benefits will receive form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S to report the benefits they’ve received.

The 1098 form is another common document, which reports mortgage interest paid, insurance premiums and other details. The 1098-E variant goes to taxpayers with federal student loans and reports interest paid equal or greater to $600; while 1098-T goes to taxpayers who were paid for tuition and expenses, scholarships or grants.

The Schedule K-1 form is provided to business owners, co-owners and partners, shareholders and investors, and people who receive income or assets from a trust or estate. The form reports the amount of income and losses that are passed through to each party with an interest in a business or trust.

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Reitrees and recipients of Social Security also need to be on the lookout for tax forms. (Photo illustration by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/ iStock / Getty Images)

Most tax documents should arrive from January through February, though there are some exceptions. Employers and financial institutions have to send W-2 and 1098-T forms, among others, by Jan. 31, while 1099 forms generally have a deadline of Feb. 18. The Schedule K-1 forms tend to arrive later than other tax forms.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service says that if taxpayers don’t receive their income forms by mid-February, they should contact their employer, bank, financial institution or other entity to request the needed form. The IRS also has resources to help taxpayers secure missing forms.

“Savvy taxpayers should make a list of the forms they expect to receive to ensure they’re all accounted for before filing their tax returns,” the Illinois CPA Society recommended. The group also published a guide to the various tax forms.

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Taxpayers have until April 15, 2025, to file their individual tax returns or request a six-month extension to file. Those who request an extension still have to pay any anticipated tax payments by the deadline.

January 31, 2025
Justice Department moves to prosecution of Trump co-defendants, ending classified documents case

The Justice Department filed a motion Wednesday to drop all criminal proceedings against two former Trump co-defendants charged in the special counsel’s classified documents case, putting a final end to the probe more than two years after it began.

The request for the charges to be dropped was filed Wednesday by the acting U.S. attorney in Miami, Hayden O’Byrne, without explanation.

The co-defendants, Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago property manager, and Walt Nauta, a valet at the property, were charged alongside President Donald Trump in the classified documents case led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith.

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Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to offer remarks on an indictment including four felony counts against former President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Smith was tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to investigate both the alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as his keeping of allegedly classified documents at his Florida residence after leaving the White House.

Both investigations were halted shortly after Trump won election for the second time in 2024, in keeping with long-standing Justice Department policy against investigating a sitting president.

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Photos from Mar-a-Lago that were included in the special counsel indictment of former President Donald Trump. (U.S. Department of Justice)

But the charges against Nauta and De Oliveira still stood.

Attorneys for two of Trump’s former co-defendants in the classified documents case filed an emergency motion to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to block the report’s publication earlier this year, alleging that their civilian clients would “irreparably suffer harm” as a result of its release.

A U.S. Coast Guard boat patrols outside the Mar-a-Lago Club on Nov. 8, 2024, across from West Palm Beach, Florida. ( Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

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Both had been charged with conspiring with Trump to obstruct an investigation, and making false statements to the FBI.

Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the 2024 election and other national news.

January 29, 2025