A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that a former attorney of Vince McMahon, the noted figure in professional wrestling, improperly withheld certain documents from a grand jury investigation. This inquiry was focused on McMahon’s handling of sizable settlement payments linked to two women who alleged sexual misconduct against him. The decision was delivered by three judges from the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals located in New York, affirming a previous ruling by a lower court that the documents were not safeguarded by attorney-client privilege due to the “crime or fraud” exception.
The appellate court confirmed that the lower court found there were valid reasons for prosecutors to suspect that McMahon and his legal advisor had unlawfully “evaded” the WWE’s internal regulations, while also fabricating records to hide the women’s complaints and the settlements associated with those grievances. Additionally, they maintained that misleading statements were made to the company’s auditors, despite the settlements being paid from funds not associated with WWE.
In this case, McMahon’s attorney had submitted extensive documentation in response to a grand jury subpoena but also provided a log of 208 documents that were withheld under claims of attorney-client privilege. Although the identities within the court’s opinion were not specified, a knowledgeable source indicated the unidentified “former Chief Executive Officer of a publicly traded company” was indeed McMahon. This source requested anonymity in discussing sensitive matters not yet released to the public.
Currently, the specifics surrounding the ongoing grand jury investigation remain unclear. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan has opted not to disclose any information regarding the investigation when prompted for comments.
McMahon, who has asserted his innocence, did not provide immediate feedback on the recent ruling by the court. Previously, he indicated that he believed he was no longer under investigation. In January, he stated that “nearly three years of investigation by different governmental agencies” had concluded. This announcement coincided with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to settle charges against him for not revealing the aforementioned agreements to WWE officials.
In his earlier comments, McMahon described the situation as a matter of “minor accounting errors” relating to personal payments made during his tenure as WWE’s CEO, expressing satisfaction about moving on from the ordeal.
Nonetheless, the court’s ruling emphasized that the case still pertains to active grand jury proceedings, with no indictments currently issued. New details regarding the grand jury investigation have come to light through this opinion.
A representative for one of the former employees, Janel Grant, who received a settlement from McMahon, declined to comment on the recent developments. In January 2024, McMahon resigned from the TKO Group Holdings, WWE’s parent company, following a federal lawsuit filed by Grant that accused him and another ex-executive of serious sexual misconduct. After the lawsuit was initiated, McMahon denied any wrongdoing.
His resignation as WWE’s CEO occurred in 2022 amid a company probe into allegations that mirrored those outlined in Grant’s lawsuit. Grant has asserted that she faced coercion to leave her position and accept a $3 million nondisclosure agreement, which her legal action seeks to invalidate. Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that McMahon breached this agreement by providing her with a $1 million payment while defaulting on the remaining amount.
The appellate court’s ruling mentioned the previously disclosed $3 million settlement alongside another settlement of $7.5 million that McMahon had reached with another former employee. Notably, Grant has publicly identified herself, which is why her name is included despite the general practice of withholding names in such allegations.
Subpoenas were issued to McMahon’s attorney and his law firm in September 2023, requesting all communications related to the two former employees. The attorney assisted in negotiating the settlements, according to the court’s commentary.
When the attorney claimed certain documents were protected under attorney-client privilege, prosecutors sought the court’s intervention to enforce the release of these records, culminating in the appeal resolved on Monday. The appellate judges noted that because the settlements were structured to keep them concealed from WWE, all related communications were part of a criminal scheme to keep both the company and its auditors in the dark regarding the allegations.
