Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / Epstein Survivors’ Lawsuit Against the FBI Moves Closer to Discovery

Transcript

Epstein Survivors’ Lawsuit Against the FBI Moves Closer to Discovery · The Epstein Chronicles

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. One of the stories that we've been following
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: is the lawsuit filed by over 30 Epstein survivors against
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: the FBI. Well, according to the magistrate judge that's overseeing it,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: he believes that there's enough there for the lawsuit to
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: move forward. Now the FBI, they've thrown everything that you
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: could possibly imagine at this lawsuit as they seek its dismissal.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: And one of the key factors when it comes to
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: their argument is that the jurisdiction is incorrect. And that
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: the claims have timed out. And the statute of limitations
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: has passed. Now imagine telling that to a bunch of girls,
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: a bunch of women, who were abused by Jeffrey Epstein.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: And not just abused by Epstein, but abused on your watch.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: They have no excuse whatsoever. For not investigating Epstein sooner.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: With all of the information that came out. With all
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: the people that told them what Epstein was. They knew
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: exactly what they were dealing with. And they chose not
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: to arrest him. They chose not to stop him. And
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: now the survivors. They want to know who was involved
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: in that decision making. Who made the call. Who decided
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: not to follow up. On this information that was given
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: to the authorities. About Jeffrey Epstein. So today we have
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: an article from Courthouse News and the headline, Epstein Victim
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: Sued Against FBI, Poised to Survive Dismissal for Now. This
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: article was authored by Sidney Hollenbeek. A lawsuit filed by
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Epstein victims against the FBI should be allowed to proceed.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: A magistrate judge recommended on Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ryan M.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: McCabe encouraged the Florida Federal Court in its 30-page report,
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: to allow claims against the FBI to continue, despite the
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: statute of limitations having expired before the suit was filed. Hey, look,
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: we're sorry about what happened to you, but the clock
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: has run out. And you can't hold us accountable now.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: I mean, that was years ago. What do you want
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: us to do about it now? I mean, that's basically
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: the approach they're taking, right? They're not trying to defend
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: the actions of the FBI or the DOJ, or what
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: the DOJ and the FBI were doing. They're simply saying,
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: We don't want this even to go to trial. We
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: don't want to deal with it. And the reason is X, Y,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: and Z technicality. A, B, and C loophole. Not that
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: the FBI was in the right and that there is
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: no case here to be made, but that the loopholes
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: and technicalities, well, they're going to save the FBI. Now
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: think about how disgusting that is. You guys are obviously
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: in the wrong, just like you were in the wrong
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: with Larry Nassar. And if you want anybody to ever
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: respect the institutions again, then those institutions, like the FBI
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: and the DOJ, are going to just have to take
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: their licks and admit they were wrong. Because until they
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: do that, how can anyone trust them? Core jurisdiction is
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: a key struggle in the case, as the plaintiffs have
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: claimed the FBI agents in New York, Florida, and other
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: unnamed states negligently failed to investigate Jeffrey Epstein despite receiving
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: numerous tips. Well, I'm pretty sure that's what the record shows, right?
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: We know that Maria let them know in 1995-96. We
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: know that there was another person who let them know
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: about Ghislaine Maxwell in the early 2000s. We now know
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: that Hugh Hefner also alerted the authorities. So how many
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: other people told the FBI or the DOJ or the
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: local police about Epstein's behavior. My guess is, a whole lot.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: The behavior of employees should be analyzed on a state-by-state basis,
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: McCabe said in his report. I agree with that. That's
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: why it's important that we know the names of the
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: people that were involved in all these decisions. And silly me,
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: I was under the impression that that's what the Epstein
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: Transparency Act was going to get us. You know, those
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: emails with an actual chain that tells us who decided
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: what Who recommended what? And then who gave the okay?
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: Because that's where the cover-up is. And that's why they
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: don't want to give you any of that information. Plaintiffs
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: allege that the FBI agents created a foreseeable zone of
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: risk to future Epstein victims, including themselves, by misleading victims
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: and failing to exercise due care in Florida's investigation. Construing
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: these allegations, in light most favorable to plaintiffs, the court
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: finds the allegations sufficient to survive dismissal, and state a
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: plausible common law duty of care under Florida's voluntary undertaking
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: and zone of risk doctrines, McCabe said. And I really
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: hope they bring up the NPA and how Epstein was
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: in violation of it. And I'm sure that the Epstein
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: survivors' lawyers that are representing them are well equipped to
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: deal with it. But if I could give them one suggestion,
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: I'd bring that up. Because that is an anchor that
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: is weighing the whole entire process down. and if there
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: was a way to get that NPA off the books,
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: that's what they should be pushing for. He also expressed
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: skepticism that all the victims will be able to prove causation,
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: which is required to win a negligence claim under New
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: York and Florida law, but is normally reserved for a
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: jury to decide. Even if FBI agents had taken all
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: of the investigative steps that plaintiffs believe they should have taken,
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: none of those steps would have guaranteed that prosecutors would
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: have brought criminal charges or that a judge would have
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: imposed a prison sentence upon Epstein before he committed further
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: crimes against plaintiffs, McCabe added. Well, that might be true,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: but we don't know. And it was up to the
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: FBI and the DOJ to do the right thing and
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: do their job. They didn't. So now they have to
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: be held accountable. The plaintiffs plausibly argued that they didn't
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: discover the extent of the government's actions until after the
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: statute of limitations expired, McCabe said, recommending the case revive
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: the government's current attempt to dismiss it. And I love
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: that ruling. It should survive. To throw it out at
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: this point would be absolutely ridiculous, right? Let's see what's
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: going on. Let's see what the lawsuit says. Let's see
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: how the FBI decides to try to defend themselves. McCabe
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: suggested that the court conduct a 90-day discovery process to
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: determine the content of FBI policies concerning sexual abuse and
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: child sex abuse material. After that, the government can then
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: resubmit a request to dismiss the case, McCabe advised. McCabe's
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: report will go to U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz, a
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Joe Biden appointee, currently presiding over the case. Leibowitz may
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: choose to follow McCabe's recommendation and conduct additional discovery in
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: the case. to determine that it is before the correct court.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Discovery in the case has thus far been halted. So
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: they're fighting a jurisdictional battle. And what they're trying to
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: figure out is where this complaint should be filed. And
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: I think that South Florida is a fantastic spot, but
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: there are several other locations, venues, where they could choose
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: to file the same kind of claim, right? New York,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: New Mexico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, for God's sakes. But
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: there's no doubt that Florida is the epicenter for all
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: of the problems. And hopefully, the court down in Florida
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: accepts the case and things get moving. Because the FBI
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: has gotten away with a lot of BS when it
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: comes to Epstein for a very long time. And there's
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: never been any ramifications for anybody involved, ever. The plaintiffs,
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: 32 of which, use the pseudonym Jane Doe to protect
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: their identities, and two who identify themselves, first sued as
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: a group of eight in Washington, D.C. in 2024. The
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: failure to act on tips constitutes negligence, the women argue,
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: as the FBI and Department of Justice were obligated to
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: conduct a thorough investigation and exhaust all leads. Yeah, you know,
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: a regular investigation. God forbid they get off their ass
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: and do the right thing. I know that they're busy
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: seizing people's homes over marijuana and kicking in doors on
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: Staten Island over illegal gambling, but you might want to
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: check in on your boy Jeffrey Epstein every now and then, huh?
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: In 1996, FBI agents began receiving credible tips that Epstein
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: was trafficking young women and underage girls, but failed to
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: interview victims, respond to tips, or arrest them, the women said. Well,
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: that's all factual. What about that's not right? What about
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: that is incorrect or wrong? That's exactly what happened. Never
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: mind the fact they never really investigated anything. So yeah,
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: I think it's about time that the FBI answer some questions.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: And not in a venue where they can just plead
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: the fifth, but in open court where there is serious,
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: you know, ramifications on the line. And hopefully that's what
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: this becomes. That year, Maria Farmer and her sister Annie
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: reported to the New York Police Department and the FBI
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: that they, along with other minors and vulnerable young women,
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: had been sexually abused by Epstein and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: The FBI continued to receive reports of sexual abuse, trafficking,
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: and human rights violations from 1996 to 2005, but didn't
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: open an investigation until July of 2006 when Florida's Palm
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: Beach Police Department alerted the FBI of likely child prostitution
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: At Epstein's mansion. And the crazy part is. If it
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: wasn't for Chief Ryder. And Detective Ricari. That would have
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: never happened. This would have stayed local. And internal. And
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: they would have really covered it up. Because Chief Ryder.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: He wasn't having it. And he went directly over their head.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: To the FBI. But what he didn't know. Was that
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: the FBI was compromised as well. And that's because the DOJ.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: Who was calling the shots at the time. Well they
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: were buddy buddy. With all of Jeffrey Epstein's lawyers. And
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: how do I know that? Well, the contemporaneous evidence proves it.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: All the backroom dealing, all the meetings, and then Mark
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: Philippe signing off on the Epstein deal. You don't have
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: to be a great investigator to put those pieces together.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: You don't have to be Candace Owens and have dreams
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: and feelings and intuitions and astral projections to understand what's
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: going on here. The FBI didn't investigate tips of suspicious
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: banking activity from financial institutions. including payments to underage girls,
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: ignored reports of child sex trafficking, and tips that Epstein
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: had sexual assault material in his possession, the women claim.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: The plaintiffs argue that if the FBI agents had intervened
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: based on the information they were given, Epstein would not
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: have been able to continue committing crimes. And I agree
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: with all of that. And at some point, hopefully now,
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: the FBI explains what they did and why they did it.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: Their claim isn't time-barred, the plaintiffs argued, because the government
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: has been so persistent in its willful suppression that culpability
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: has only recently been revealed to the victims through the
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Files Transparency Act and through congressional hearings. The case
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: should be dismissed, the government argued, because the Federal Tort
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: Claim Act doesn't waive sovereign immunity for the plaintiffs' negligence claims.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: Loopholes and technicalities. Not that we were in the right,
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: not that we did the right thing when it comes
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: to Epstein, But instead, we have a little bit of
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: wiggle room and we're going to use it. Where's the
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: trap door? And that's her whole entire strategy. Not to
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: defend their behavior, not to defend the results, but to
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: try and escape the lawsuit itself. It claims the court
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: doesn't have jurisdiction because the Tort Act excludes discretionary decisions
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: on behalf of a federal agency and liability can't be
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: triggered unless the employee's behavior would be independently tortious against
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: a private person. The victims have also exceeded the statute
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: of limitations, it said. A representative for the Justice Department
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: declined to comment. Well, that's a shock. You mean to
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: tell me the Justice Department has nothing to say? Who
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: would have ever thought? So we're going to be keeping
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: an eye on this one, and we're going to keep
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: an eye on it closely, because this is significant. And
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: I think it's going to be a very pivotal battle
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: when it comes to transparency and accountability. And I think
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: that the court has a opportunity here to start setting
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: right some of the wrongs that we have seen throughout
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: the decades. So, like usual, we'll keep an eye on it.
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: And when we have some more information, one way or
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: the other, we'll get it added to the catalog. All
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: the information that goes with this episode can be found
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: in the description box.