Legal trouble, a journo said (7)
I believe the answer is:
alleged
'said' is the definition.
('allege' can be a synonym of 'say')
'legal trouble a journo' is the wordplay.
'trouble' indicates anagramming the letters.
'a journo' becomes 'ed' (I've seen this in other clues).
'legal' with letters rearranged gives 'alleg'.
'alleg'+'ed'='ALLEGED'
(Other definitions for alleged that I've seen before include "Dubious" , "Stated without proof" , "Asserted - unproven" , "Asserted in court" , "Accused, though without proof" .)