Platner Allegation EXPOSES the Media, and the Tyler Robinson Defense REVEALED, with Bevan, Halperin, Aronberg, Holloway, Geragos, Eiglarsh, and Spilbor | Ep. 1354
Episode of The Megyn Kelly Show · July 7, 2026 · 2 h 28 min
Megyn Kelly discusses the Graham Platner rape allegation with Tom Bevan and Mark Halperin, then analyzes Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing with five legal commentators.
Summary
Megyn Kelly opened with the collapse of Graham Platner's Democratic campaign for U.S. Senate in Maine after Jenny Racicot accused him of rape. With Tom Bevan and Mark Halperin, she argued that The New York Times had effectively run a "catch and kill" story by foregrounding conservative accuser Lindsay Fifield and downplaying abuse claims; Halperin said the paper appeared to favor one party, and Bevan argued the framing let Democrats dismiss the allegations as a right-wing attack. During the segment Bernie Sanders called on Platner to step aside. The panel discussed the July 13 ballot-replacement deadline, allegations against possible replacement Troy Jackson, vetting failures, and reports that Mitch McConnell was hospitalized.
Kelly then summarized the first two days of Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing in Provo, Utah, over the assassination of Charlie Kirk, including testimony from campus officer Chris Bagley and investigator David Hull and surveillance video allegedly tracking Robinson around Utah Valley University. She read the text messages allegedly exchanged between Robinson and his partner Lance Twiggs.
Dave Aronberg and Phil Holloway argued the prosecution was presenting far more evidence than needed for probable cause, which Aronberg attributed to countering conspiracy theories and Holloway said gave the defense material to impeach witnesses at trial. Mark Geragos, Mark Eiglarsh and Jonna Spilbor debated defense strategy, the death penalty, the role of skeptical jurors, and cameras in the courtroom; Kelly linked distrust of official narratives to COVID-era misinformation and the Epstein case while insisting the evidence points only to Robinson. The episode closed with a court dispute over a pastor's affidavit tied to death-penalty aggravators and Kelly's appeal for prayers for the Kirk family.
Chapters
- 1:25
Platner campaign implodes
Kelly outlines the rape allegation against Graham Platner and his statement reflecting on his candidacy.
- 10:13
The New York Times and 'catch and kill'
Bevan, Halperin and Kelly criticize how the Times framed its earlier Platner story, including Lindsay Fifield's account.
- 29:41
Sanders calls for Platner to step aside
News breaks that Bernie Sanders has recommended Platner withdraw, and the panel weighs his options.
- 31:13
Replacement candidates and vetting failures
Allegations against Troy Jackson and clips of Platner's vetters raise questions about Democratic candidate selection.
- 35:40
Mitch McConnell's health
The panel discusses reports McConnell is hospitalized and possible implications for his Senate seat.
- 43:22
Robinson hearing recap
Kelly summarizes testimony from Officer Bagley and investigator Hull and plays surveillance footage of the alleged shooter.
- 1:08:51
Why the prosecution is showing so much
Aronberg and Holloway argue the lengthy hearing aims to counter conspiracy theories but aids the defense.
- 1:20:47
Utah grand juries and the alleged texts
Kelly explains why Utah uses preliminary hearings and reads the alleged Robinson–Twiggs text exchange.
- 1:33:27
Radicalization and political violence
The panel discusses how Robinson allegedly became an assassin, comparing him to Luigi Mangione.
- 1:39:53
Second legal panel and conspiracy theories
Geragos, Eiglarsh and Spilbor discuss evidence gaps, jury pool concerns, and why conspiracy theories persist.
- 2:06:43
Death penalty and defense strategy
The panel debates plea prospects, federal jurisdiction, and the difficulty of guilt-phase versus penalty-phase arguments.
- 2:17:40
Pastor affidavit ruling and closing
The judge blocks a pastor's affidavit tied to aggravators, and Kelly closes with thoughts on the Kirk family.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
Linked moment · 10:51Skip to 10:51 using a listen link in the info box.
Mark HalperinHalperin argued that losing Maine would make Democrats' path to a Senate majority very difficult.
“If they can't win Maine, the math becomes very difficult for them. This was one or two of their top pickup opportunities”
Listen from 10:51 · 2026 United States Senate election in Maine
- Mark Halperin
Halperin characterized the Times' original Platner story as an attempted catch-and-kill.
“If you couple that with what I can only see as a catch-and-kill attempt by writing the original story, coupled with Lindsay's”
- Megyn Kelly
Kelly asserted that the Times reporters likely knew Racicot's full account before publishing.
“And I guarantee you the Times knew Rassakot's story. There's no way Rassakot did not tell the two women who interviewed her the full story”
- Tom Bevan
Bevan argued that featuring a conservative accuser let Democrats dismiss the allegations, whereas reporting a liberal accuser's claims would have made that harder.
“if they had reported the fact that there were also credible allegations from from another woman who who was from the other side of the aisle”
- Tom Bevan
Bevan predicted Democrats would pay a political price for backing Platner beyond Maine.
“They are going to pay a price for it, not just in Maine, but for all the other races”
- Mark Halperin
Halperin said that based on his focus group, Platner would still be competitive with Collins despite the allegations.
“if you did a poll in Maine right now, in the wake of the allegations, I think he'd be within five points of Collins”
Listen from 31:02 · 2026 United States Senate election in Maine
- Mark Halperin
Halperin said he would not be surprised if McConnell never returned to the Senate.
“i wouldn't be surprised if senator mcconnell didn't come back to the senate”
- Dave Aronberg
Aronberg argued the prosecution is presenting overwhelming evidence at the preliminary hearing to debunk conspiracy theories.
“the reason why the prosecution is just using overwhelming force here, I mean, shock and awe, is to debunk the conspiracy theories out there”
Listen from 1:10:25 · Conspiracy theories in the United States
- Phil Holloway
Holloway argued the prosecution is revealing more of its case than necessary, giving the defense material to exploit.
“the prosecutor is is showing way more of their cards than they in my view than they need to or they should”
Listen from 1:11:30 · Preliminary hearings and grand juries in Utah
- Phil Holloway
Holloway warned that sworn preliminary testimony could be used to impeach witnesses at trial.
“if their testimony varies one iota at trial, the defense is going to whip out the printed transcript of this particular testimony”
Listen from 1:19:00 · Preliminary hearings and grand juries in Utah
- Dave Aronberg
Aronberg predicted the Robinson case will proceed as a capital case likely ending in a death sentence.
“I think that this is going to be a capital case and that it's very likely that this defendant gets the ultimate punishment”
- Phil Holloway
Holloway attributed Robinson's alleged transformation to the normalization of political violence, particularly on the left.
“was the normalization of of political violence and the violent rhetoric that we hear from so many, particularly on the left”
Listen from 1:34:42 · Political violence in the United States
- Jonna Spilbor
Spilbor argued defense attorney Nester knows the case will be bound over and is laying groundwork for trial.
“Catherine Nestor cannot have a realistic expectation that this case is not going to be bound over for trial”
- Mark Eiglarsh
Eiglarsh said prosecutors must either introduce cell phone data or explain its absence.
“The absence of cell phone data either is because they haven't yet put it in or they better as hell have an explanation”
- Mark Geragos
Geragos said he now strongly supports cameras in courtrooms for trials, especially high-profile ones.
“I now fervently believe that you should have cameras in the courtroom for trials”
- Megyn Kelly
Kelly argued that government falsehoods during COVID fueled widespread distrust of official narratives.
“COVID in particular was an experience in which Conspiracy theories wound up all being true and the real nutcases were the ones in government power lying to us”
- Megyn Kelly
Kelly said that despite understanding skeptics, there is no evidence implicating anyone besides Robinson.
“what we see is no evidence, no evidence that will lead us to believe anyone other right now than Tyler Robinson was responsible”
- Jonna Spilbor
Spilbor said the alleged Robinson texts are the element conspiracy theorists will seize on because they seem too detailed.
“Because they're too detailed for somebody who wants to commit a heinous crime and get away with it”
Listen from 2:03:12 · Conspiracy theories in the United States
- Mark Eiglarsh
Eiglarsh argued the defense's real goal is to pressure prosecutors into waiving the death penalty.
“beg the prosecution to consider waiving the death penalty. And that to me would be a victory for the defense”
- Mark Geragos
Geragos said a source told him federal prosecutors stayed out because Utah genuinely enforces capital punishment.
“We didn't come in to Utah because they mean it when they say they've got a death penalty”
- Jonna Spilbor
Spilbor argued that avoiding a unanimous death verdict would count as a win for Robinson's defense.
“a win for the defense here is simply not getting a unanimous death verdict. That is a win for the defense”
- Megyn Kelly
Kelly concluded the prosecution could have established probable cause in two hours and called the extra presentation an unacceptable attempt to shape public opinion.
“They could have gotten it done in two hours. Everything beyond that is probably an attempt to manipulate the public narrative, which I think is unacceptable”
Listen from 2:24:09 · Preliminary hearings and grand juries in Utah
People
In the conversation
- Megyn KellyConservative broadcaster and podcaster
- Mark HalperinAmerican political journalist and host of the podcast Next Up
- Tom BevanCo-founder and president of RealClearPolitics
- Dave AronbergFormer Florida state attorney and co-host of The MK True Crime Show
- Phil HollowayAttorney, former police officer, and co-host of The MK True Crime Show
- Mark GeragosAmerican criminal defense attorney who represented Michael Jackson; co-host of In the Well
- Mark EiglarshFlorida criminal defense attorney and co-host of Positively Legal
- Jonna SpilborCriminal defense attorney and co-host of Positively Legal
Discussed
- Graham PlatnerPresumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine
- Susan CollinsRepublican senator who noted Congress holds the power of the purse
- Bernie SandersU.S. Senator from Vermont who discussed mail-in ballots before the 2020 election
- Lindsay FifieldFormer Platner girlfriend featured in The New York Times story
- Troy JacksonFormer Maine Senate president floated as a Platner replacement
- Mitch McConnellRepublican U.S. senator from Kentucky
- Thomas MassieKentucky congressman facing a Trump-backed primary challenge
- Tyler RobinsonSuspect in the Charlie Kirk assassination
- Charlie KirkAmerican conservative activist and podcast host assassinated in September 2025
- Erika KirkAmerican figure Trump reportedly told to sue over a comedy sketch
- Lance TwiggsRobinson's partner and alleged recipient of his text messages
- Chris BagleyUtah Valley University police officer who testified
- Luigi MangioneAccused killer of a health insurance executive, cited as an example of an affluent perpetrator
- Bryan KohbergerMan convicted in the University of Idaho killings
- Donald TrumpPresident of the United States whose conduct of the Iran war is the episode's main subject
Topics
- 2026 United States Senate election in Maine
- The New York Times
- Assassination of Charlie Kirk
- Surveillance video evidence
- Capital punishment
- Conspiracy theories in the United States
- Political violence in the United States
- Preliminary hearings and grand juries in Utah
- 2026 United States midterm elections
- Mitch McConnell hospitalization
- COVID-19 pandemic response
- Circumstantial evidence
- Ineffective assistance of counsel
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From the publisher
Megyn Kelly is joined by Tom Bevan, co-founder of RealClearPolitics, and Mark Halperin, host of "Next Up with Mark Halperin," to discuss the explosive new abuse allegation against Graham Platner, why Democrats are now calling on him to drop out of the Maine Senate race, the political fallout ahead for the midterms, how the media buried the allegations against Graham Platner until they could no longer ignore them, questions surrounding the framing of the New York Times story earlier this month, and more. Then Dave Aronberg and Phil Holloway, hosts of "The MK True Crime Show," Mark Geragos, host of "In The Well," and Mark Eiglarsh and Jonna Spilbor, hosts of "Positively Legal," join to discuss the newly-released videos during the hearing allegedly showing Tyler Robinson before and after the Charlie Kirk assassination, why prosecutors chose to present the extensive surveillance footage, the chilling texts alleged to be between Robinson and his "trans" lover, the key issue of whether Robinson went back to the campus to recover his gun, the latest developments from Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing, the defense strategy being revealed throughout the hearing, the way the defense is attacking the lack of security the day of the Charlie Kirk assassination, the real reason Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing is going on so long, why prosecutors are presenting an unusually extensive amount of evidence before trial, how the surveillance footage and witness testimony are a play to the public and potential jury, why conspiracy theories surrounding the Charlie Kirk assassination are missing the facts, the evidence tying Tyler Robinson to the crime, the strange portions of the case, and more. Subscribe to MK True Crime to find ALL the shows: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mk-true-crime/id1829831499 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4o80I2RSC2NvY51TIaKkJW YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MKTrueCrime?sub_confirmation=1 Subscribe to Mark's show Next Up: Apple…
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.