Gossip Without Prejudice

On July 21st, Uber filed a massive federal racketeering lawsuit against two Los Angeles law firms and a Los Angeles doctor for allegedly working together to create a scheme that repeatedly defrauded the company. Uber is alleging that the defendant attorneys conspired with medical providers to send victims for unnecessary or unrelated medical treatment in a kickback scheme designed to generate fraudulent injury claims. Uber said that fraud like this inflates the cost of ridesharing for all users, while one of the defendant law firms, Downtown LA Law, said that Uber is more interested in ignoring a system where their drivers are left without adequate medical support after work injuries. This is Uber’s third RICO filing this year. 

Support our work, find our links, and join our community!

sources:

here

defined

 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act 

Organized Crime Control Act 

defines 

wide ranging group of perpetrators 

claims

racketeering suit

pushing

 taxi industry regulators 

granted

RICO suit

 accused 

Uber is claiming

discredit

GWP is a Hemmat Interactive, Inc. production.

The gaming industry, if you were not aware, is about big budgets, high stress, and working developers hard to meet consumer demands. When you get C-suite executives butting heads between collaborating companies, there’s sure to be some kind of fallout — and the fallout between video game developer Unknown Worlds and their game publisher Krafton is one of the strangest and most public in recent memory within the gaming world.

Skip to 14.25 to skip the cold open

Support our work, find our links, and join our community!

Sources:

Krafton 

Unknown Worlds Entertainment

acquired

 over 6 million copies

 according

lawsuit 

announces

Early Access 

a failure

teaser trailer 

 announces

Steve Papoustis

statement

announces 

broke the news

told trade publication Eurogamer 

 unprecedented move for a game publisher

own inaction on progressing

Reddit

Court of Chancery of Delaware

GWP is a Hemmat Interactive, Inc. production.

On July 10, Texas state senator Angela Paxton announced via her X account that she was seeking a divorce from her husband of 38 years, the Texas state attorney general Ken Paxton. Angela cited “biblical grounds” as the reason for their separation, which would appear to contradict the fundamentalist Christian beliefs that the Paxtons are known for. However, it’s not the first time they’ve brought the language of scripture into their public announcements, whether it’s during their electoral campaigns or Ken Paxton’s numerous political scandals which include securities fraud, bribery and abuse of power. The divorce could spell trouble for Ken, who is vying to unseat John Cornyn in the US Senate in 2026.  

 Support our work, find our links, and join our community!

Sources:

Collin County Court

announced

 cited

which include

 US Senate 

fifth chapter of Matthew 

wrote

said

Texas Newsroom

records were sealed

she credits

married in 1986 

Ken’s campaign events

decided to join

Senate Bill 860

allowing individuals

told CBS News Texas

Senate Bill 13

born 

JD 

running for the Republican nomination

ran for his district’s state senate seat

party endorsement

Houston named Sam Houston

the day off work

block rules

packed his own office

new interpretation

support for clerks

defend state sodomy laws

 he sued the NCAA

 NCAA has already acquiesced

huge proponent 

sue 

challenged Obama’s Clean Power Plan

siding with ExxonMobil 

successfully helped defend 

Abbott v. Perez

election related crimes

Texas v. Pennsylvania

spoke at the pro-Trump rally 

three felony counts of securities fraud

soliciting investors 

pretrial diversion

published an open letter 

citing illegal retaliation

sued

false claims 

asked the Appropriations subcommittee 

investigating

 stated 

debilitating intoxication

 more loyal to Republicans than Democrats

nanimously agreed

20 articles of impeachment

declined to recuse herself

acquitted of all charges 

stating

US Senate seat 

GWP is a Hemmat Interactive, Inc. production.

On June 17, 2025, former US senator Bob Menendez showed up to federal prison to begin his 11 year sentence for bribery. From 2018 to 2022, Menendez and his wife Nadine Menendez exercised extreme abuse of power, specifically in relation to Bob's position as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and throughout his tenure as a member of the Senate from 2006 to 2022. 

So, who is Bob? Let’s paint a picture of how this career politician devolved into selling his own clout for bribes, becoming the “Gold Bar Bob” that we know today.

Support our work, find our links, and join our community!

Sources:

 Robert Menendez

 local politics

state senate seat

Kosovo Resolution

U.S. military against the former

Yugoslavia

early adopter

 military force

 authorize the invasion

 UN Reform Act of 2005

Patriot Act

 op-ed

voting for

supporting

immigration reform

 helm of the Foreign Relations Committee

did not approve

loved sanctions

staunch supporter of Ukraine

operated

wrote

found

raided the office

questioning

Senate Ethics Committee.  

DOJ indicted

stepped down

trial began 

dropping

dropping

strongly shaped 

McDonnell v. United States

here

crime

Hobbs Act

Bob Menendez

Nadine Menendez

Wael/Will Hana

Fred Daibes

Jose Uribe

reported

October 9th

Merriam Webster

 three judge panel 

GWP is a Hemmat Interactive, Inc. production.

Kevin Cooper, the winner of celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s 2022 reality show “Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime,” is suing Fieri’s Chicken Guy! restaurant chain, alleging that the company breached the terms of their contract. As the winner of Fieri’s show, Cooper says he was promised a franchise of Chicken Guy! Including full restaurant build out, startup capital, and a full first year salary. Cooper did open his franchise of Chicken Guy! in February 2024, but it only survived about a year before closing. So what happened here? Were promises not kept? Can we still love and trust Guy Fieri? Let’s get into it. 

Support our work, find our links, and join our community!

Sources:

Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime

Chicken Guy! restaurant chain

only survived about a year

IMDB

Fieri promised him

See complaint here

https://www.jefffirstlaw.com/ 

picture of himself with his family

two videos to his Instagram

filed a federal suit in Minnesota

hit Page back

testified in court in the case of Max Wade

a restaurant Fieri opened in 1996

location closed in 2019

GWP is a Hemmat Interactive, Inc. production.

Today we're getting deep into the chaotic story of Ross Ulbricht and his massive invention – the OG darkweb marketplace called Silk Road. You may or may not be familiar with Silk Road, but its legal and social impacts and implications are far reaching. As we’ll learn, Ulbricht was sentenced to prison back in 2015, but he’s walking free and in the news once more, thanks to President Trump. One of the first things Trump did when he took office again this past January was give Ulbricht a full and unconditional pardon for his charges of narcotics and money laundering for which he was serving a life sentence in New York state. If you want to know more beyond what we’re about to share in this episode, please check out our extensive source list in the description of this episode!

Support our work, find our links, and join our community!

sources:

The Untold Story of Silk Road

Ross Ulbricht X Account

The ABA rejects efforts to undermine the courts and the legal profession

Trump pardons Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht for online drug scheme

Ross Ulbricht, aka Dread Pirate Roberts, sentenced to life in federal prison for creating, operating ‘Silk Road’ website

Ross Ulbricht

Ross Ulbricht verdict form United States v. Ulbright

‘Murdered’ Silk Road Employee Sentenced to Time Served

Superseding Indictment Ross William Ulbricht

Former Secret Service Agent Sentenced to 71 Months in Scheme Related to Silk Road Investigation

Former DEA Agent Sentenced for

Extortion, Money Laundering and Obstruction Related to Silk Road Investigation

GWP is a Hemmat Interactive, Inc. production.

The case of Lochner v. New York is widely considered a landmark in Supreme Court history, one which kicked off an era of aggressive adherence to business interest protections and wealth accumulation during the Gilded Age of the robberbaron. This case kicked off the so-called Lochner or Lochnerian Era, which lasted about 30 years until the political atmosphere of the Great Depression prompted the court to reverse its stance on labor protections in West Coast Hotel v. Parrish, a detour that SCOTUS has stuck with in all proceeding rulings to this day — but the truth of the modern labor law landscape is not as black and white.

Support our work, find our links, and join our community!

Sources:

Lochner v. New York

West Coast Hotel v. Parrish

The Jungle

Bakeshop Act of 1895

Tenement buildings

Britannica

with many working over 100 hours a week

Labor activists stumped

Opponents of laws like the Bakehouse Act

almost $1,900

Lochner’s team

argued

Due process was, historically

substantive due process

Substantive due process

made only three brief points

SCOTUS sided with Lochner

recognized this freedom

Holden v. Hardy

a rallying cry for the Progressive movement

professor of law at the University of Chicago

describes this period

 Adkins v. Children’s Hospital of D.C.

ruled in favor of the hospital

also argued

Muller v. Oregon

Columbia Undergraduate Law Review

West Coast Hotel Company v. Parrish

a plan to expand and pack the court

hotel maid in Washington

the court ruled

Oyez

economic due process, that business owners were protected by the Fourteenth Amendment

Equal Protection Rights under the Fourteenth Amendment

Hariharan in the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review

disregard the imbalance of bargaining power

laid out in the Economic Policy Institute

 as detailed here by the Illinois Law Review

Epic Systems v. Lewis

Wal-Mart Stores Inc v. Dukes

Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.

Vance v. Ball State University

Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31

GWP is a Hemmat Interactive, Inc. production.

Seattle’s Office of Inspector General has released a long-awaited trove of documents undergirding the investigation that led Mayor Bruce Harrell to fire then-Seattle police chief Adrian Diaz for dishonesty in December of 2024.

Today, let's dive into the history of SPD leadership in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests in 2020 to present times. Spoiler: heaps of lawsuits, corruption, and fakes jobs for your mistress – and a huge mess for city hall to clean up. We talk a little bit about the plight of SPD beat cops, and the measures city governments take to hold their employees accountable.

Support our work, find our links, and join our community!

Sources:

wrongful termination lawsuit against the City of Seattle and Mayor Bruce Harrell

OIG investigation

Tompkins' $3 million complaint

initial misconduct investigation

supporting documents

Diaz filed a complaint

 Diaz was terminated on December 17, 2024

Image Source: KUOW

September 2020

SPD was also juggling

Diaz met Tompkins as a news anchor in the Seattle area

Tompkins' hiring causing a huge commotion across the department

Over 20 SPD officers spoke to KUOW anonymously

Seattle's policy on supervisor-employee relationships states

mayor’s office did not initially believe the rumors were enough cause to investigate Diaz

Diaz continued to accuse his top commanders of leaking rumors

clearly abused his power beyond creating a hush culture

more lawsuits came out from several female SPD officers

On May 29, 2024

Diaz then went on 770 KTTH and boldly stated that he was a gay man

Diaz denied the love letter

handwriting analysis

Diaz filed a lawsuit on October 11

deputy mayor Tim Burgess

Tompkins eventually resigned

fired Diaz on December 17, 2024

November 20, 2024

Harrel cite Diaz's affair as reason for dismissal

Inspector general published their report

letter embedded in news article

scheduled to enter mediation talks

allegedly refused to prematurely fire

Jaahnavi Kandula

SPD officer Kevin Dave on January 23, 2023

Auderer describes Kandula’s life

routine footage review by an SPD employee

would not press criminal charges against Kevin Dave

one OPA spokesperson with CNN

fired Auderer and shared her reasoning

Auderer filed a $20 million complaint against the City of Seattle

The Causes of Action: Diaz outlines the following in his lawsuit

Seattle Accountability Ordinance

Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 3.29

RCW 49.60.210

Silenced No More Act

municipal code

Inspector General Lisa Judge

PRA

defamation per se

Wage Rebate Act

Seattle’s Wage Theft Ordinance

GWP is a Hemmat Interactive, Inc. production.

As local and federal powers become increasingly entangled,

the question of who truly governs our cities grows more urgent. We sat down

with Hannah Krieg to talk about reporting from the front lines of recent

protests, the blurred lines between local police and federal agencies like ICE,

and what real policy change might look like in Seattle’s near future.

Hannah hosts The Burner podcast and is an independent

journalist based in Seattle, covering city politics, protests, and public

accountability. Known for her sharp reporting and on-the-ground perspective,

she’s been documenting some of the most pressing issues facing Seattle today.

Support our work, join our community, find our socials.

Links:

The Burner Seattle

Hannah's TikTok

Hannah's Insta

A Letter in support of the crisis care center in capitol hill

GWP is a Hemmat Interactive production.

John and Sam catch up on what’s been going down in LA — from ICE raids and protests to the growing risks for journalists. They also get into how social media keeps us chasing distractions, and why some media outlets are happy to feed that cycle instead of digging deeper.

Support our work, find our links, and join our community!

GWP is a Hemmat Interactive, Inc. production.