Dave Aronberg says Wilkins's suit can go forward and criticizes casting Israel "as the bad guy"
Dave AronbergLawyer, former Palm Beach County state attorney and television legal analyst
On The Megyn Kelly Show on September 5, 2025, Dave Aronberg said Wilkins's suit against Kyle Seraphin could go forward, explained that as a likely public figure she must show actual malice, and said that because she says they had met, "he knew that she was not a Mossad agent." He said he was "tired of them using Israel as the bad guy" and was "glad he's getting sued."
Responding to
Wilkins's complaint against Seraphin says she "is not now and never has been an agent for any intelligence agency" and "has never set foot in Israel."
“And she's saying they had met before. So he knew that she was not a Mossad agent.”
Original video
Where this statement fits
Is Alexis Wilkins a foreign 'honeypot' agent, as Kyle Seraphin and other commentators suggested?
Since early 2025, online commentators have suggested that Alexis Wilkins, the country singer engaged to FBI Director Kash Patel, is an Israeli or Mossad "honeypot" sent to compromise him. Podcaster Kyle Seraphin said on August 22, 2025 that Patel's girlfriend is "a former Mossad agent" (he did not name her; a court found the remarks referred to her), Sam Parker raised the idea through questions in a February 2025 X thread, and Elijah Schaffer posted her photo under a thread about female Mossad operatives. Wilkins says she has never been an intelligence agent and has never been to Israel, and she sued all three for defamation. A Florida court let the Schaffer suit proceed, the parties then reported a tentative agreement and jointly dismissed it with prejudice, and on September 9, 2026 Schaffer posted a retraction saying she "is not, and has never been, a foreign intelligence operative"; a Utah court dismissed the Parker suit for lack of jurisdiction; the Seraphin suit is pending after the court denied his motion to dismiss. As of October 5, 2026, we found no evidence offered by anyone that Wilkins has worked for any intelligence service, and no court has ruled at trial on the claim.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
The full episode includes Seraphin's remarks followed by Kelly's response and legal analysis from Aronberg and Spilbor.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Kelly said Wilkins has "absolutely no connection" to the Mossad and asked whether the suit was actionable.
After the quotation
Jonna Spilbor then discussed whether Wilkins is a public figure.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the proposition that Alexis Wilkins is, or was, a foreign intelligence agent, specifically an Israeli or Mossad "honeypot" in a relationship with Kash Patel to compromise him. Aronberg sets out the complaint's theory that Seraphin knew Wilkins was not an agent and attributes the remarks to animus toward Israel. That disputes the basis for the proposition, so we used Challenged the characterization. The closest competing label is Denied, and it is close. It loses because the line about her not being an agent restates what "she's saying" in her suit rather than his own statement of fact. Evidence level: our transcription of the episode on the show's YouTube channel.
- Recorded on
- Published here
Corrections to this statement
These notices document reporting corrections, classification changes, and topic-label updates.
Classification correction
Correction to: Statement by Dave Aronberg
- Previous classification
- Position Event #4745 classified the statement as "Condemned," which in this case records an assertion that Alexis Wilkins is a foreign intelligence "honeypot."
- Corrected classification
- The statement rejects the accusations against Wilkins without asserting the proposition, so the classification is "Challenged the characterization."
The label was applied as if Condemned meant criticizing Schaffer or the accusations. In this case Condemned records only an assertion of the honeypot proposition, which this speaker does not make. The quotation, summary and rationale were revised to match.
This corrects an editorial classification.
The full episode includes Seraphin's remarks followed by Kelly's response and legal analysis from Aronberg and Spilbor.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)More from this case
Read the full caseJake Shields responds to Schaffer's retraction: "I'm glad Elijah cleared that up"
“I'm glad Elijah cleared that up Alexis Wikins is not an Israeli honeypot and the FBI is not funding her lawsuit”Read statement
Schaffer retracts his post and says Wilkins "is not, and has never been" a foreign intelligence operative
“I apologize for that implication because it is false to suggest she is a honeypot. Alexis Wilkins is not, and has never been, a foreign intelligence operative, foreign asset, or honeypot of any kind. There is no factual basis to suggest otherwise. … I retract my September 2025 post in full. The original post has been deleted.”Read statement
Seraphin's answer calls his remarks "opinion, satire, or rhetorical hyperbole"
“Deny. Defendant explicitly defined the term “honeypot” differently than the Complaint alleges. … The statements were expressions of opinion, satire, or rhetorical hyperbole, not verifiable false assertions of fact. … Defendant accurately and off-handedly reported third party allegations.”Read statement
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- The Dispute Index
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- Dave Aronberg says Wilkins's suit can go forward and criticizes casting Israel "as the bad guy"
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/4745-on-the-megyn-kelly-show-on-september-5
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Dave Aronberg says Wilkins's suit can go forward and criticizes casting Israel "as the bad guy"". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4745-on-the-megyn-kelly-show-on-september-5