EXCLUSIVE: Joe Exotic’s Desperate Bid to Get of Jail Laid Bare in New Appeal — Caged ‘Tiger King’ Claims Star Witness Lied to Keep Himself Out of Prison and FBI Hid Texts That Could’ve Cleared His Name
Joe Exotic has claimed the federal government is hiding the truth about his innocence.
Aug. 7 2025, Published 3:44 p.m. ET
Joe Exotic is clawing for freedom and has claimed the federal government is hiding the truth about his innocence.
RadarOnline.com has obtained a bombshell August 1 court filing in which the Tiger King star, real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, begs the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals for a full rehearing after losing his latest appeal.
In the newly filed motion, Joe claims the star witness in his murder-for-hire trial committed perjury and that the FBI withheld key text messages and recordings that could have cleared his name.
Doubts About Would Be Hitman
Joe Exotic has claimed Allen Glover lied.
The convicted zookeeper says the government’s supposed “hitman,” Allen Glover, who was heavily featured in Netflix's Tiger King, admitted under oath that he lied during the trial, accepted money as a loan, not payment for murder, and received undisclosed immunity in exchange for his testimony.
Even more shocking, Joe has claimed the FBI buried exculpatory texts and audio that would have exposed the case as a setup, with his former employees baiting him into incriminating statements on tape.
According to the motion, another key witness, James Garretson, admitted he too was given protection in exchange for his cooperation.
“The newly discovered evidence cries out for a new trial,” Joe’s lawyer wrote in the filing. “These revelations are an injury to the very integrity of the proceedings as a whole.”
Joe became a household name after being arrested in a murder-for-hire plot targeting his nemesis Carole Baskin.
Despite that, the trial court refused to hold a new evidentiary hearing, and the appeals panel backed that decision, prompting Joe’s August 1st desperate push for a rehearing en banc, demanding all circuit judges review the case.
Joe became a household name after being arrested in a murder-for-hire plot targeting his nemesis Carole Baskin in 2018, a charge he vigorously denies, blaming former friends and federal agents for entrapping him.
Desperate Bids For Pardons
Joe has spent years angling for a pardon.
Behind bars, Joe spent years angling for a pardon, first begging Joe Biden to set him free after the Hunter Biden deal.
He later appealed to President Donald Trump in a bizarre plea involving Matt Gaetz and wildlife favors.
Most recently, Lauren Boebert even joined the fight to get the Tiger King a second chance.
Eventful Incarceration
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The reality TV icon has allegedly battled lung and prostate cancer.
Joe’s stint in prison has been worthy of a Tiger King spinoff on Netflix all its own.
The reality TV icon has allegedly battled lung and prostate cancer, once shared a cellblock with the Unabomber, and claims he survived an attempted assault at the hands of prison guards.
Now, with this latest legal move, the Tiger King is hoping his long-shot appeal for justice gets one more chance before the cage door slams shut for good.
