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Judge Rakoff Asks The USVI Why JP Morgan Can't Challenge Their Lawsuit · The Vault: The Epstein Files

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  Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome back to the Epstein Chronicles.
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  Speaker 1: The battle between the U.S. Virgin Islands and J.P. Morgan
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  Speaker 1: is in full swing, folks. And now Judge Rakoff is
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  Speaker 1: asking the U.S. Virgin Islands for specific reasons why Epstein's bank, J.P.
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  Speaker 1: Morgan Chase, can't challenge their lawsuit. And I told you
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  Speaker 1: from the very beginning that the U.S. Virgin Islands might
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  Speaker 1: have bitten off more than they can chew here. They
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  Speaker 1: should have been very happy and content with the $ 105
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  Speaker 1: million they got from the estate. But they had to
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  Speaker 1: have a little more. They had to be greedy. And
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  Speaker 1: now they're going to face some serious challenges in court.
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  Speaker 1: And not only that, they're being exposed as far as
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  Speaker 1: people in their government for their alleged role in helping
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  Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein set up this whole entire criminal enterprise on
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  Speaker 1: the island. So all of this stuff that was just
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  Speaker 1: rumor and innuendo before... that only people like us knew about, really, well,
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  Speaker 1: now the whole wide world knows that the U.S. Virgin
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  Speaker 1: Islands and the politicians on the islands during Jeffrey Epstein's
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  Speaker 1: criminal run were all in his pocket. And Judge Rakoff, well,
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  Speaker 1: he's going to want some answers about all of this stuff.
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  Speaker 1: And if the U.S. Virgin Islands can't answer these questions satisfactorily,
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  Speaker 1: then there's going to be a big problem for them
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  Speaker 1: come October when this trial starts. And that problem leads
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  Speaker 1: directly back to all of the politicians who were elected
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  Speaker 1: at the time who were breaking bread with Jeffrey Epstein.
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  Speaker 1: Now look, J.P. Morgan certainly shoulders their share of the responsibility.
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  Speaker 1: We've talked about that a lot. But J.P. Morgan, they
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  Speaker 1: didn't have subpoena power. They didn't have the power to
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  Speaker 1: kick in somebody's door and arrest them the same way
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  Speaker 1: the U.S. Virgin Islands did. So if JP Morgan is
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  Speaker 1: liable for what happened down here, then obviously the U.S.
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  Speaker 1: Virgin Islands as an entity and as a government, they're
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  Speaker 1: responsible as well, right? That's how this has to work. Well,
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  Speaker 1: according to the U.S. Virgin Islands, forget it. They have
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  Speaker 1: set themselves up as an absolute martyr in this case
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  Speaker 1: when the reality is they're in action directly led to
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  Speaker 1: girls getting molested on that island. And that's a dark,
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  Speaker 1: disgusting fact. That the USVI is going to have a
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  Speaker 1: very hard time contending with. Because what it really comes
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  Speaker 1: down to is evidence, right? And the evidence is there
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  Speaker 1: that the US Virgin Islands and the politicians who were
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  Speaker 1: elected at the time knew what Epstein was and they
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  Speaker 1: didn't act. So how is it that they could sit
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  Speaker 1: there and point their finger at JP Morgan like JP
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  Speaker 1: Morgan could have just stepped in at any point and
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  Speaker 1: just raid Jeffrey Epstein's island? The U.S. Virgin Islands could
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  Speaker 1: do that, not J.P. Morgan. I mean, they were too
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  Speaker 1: busy visiting the island and taking dips in the jacuzzi,
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  Speaker 1: you know, Jess Daly and all. But the U.S. Virgin Islands,
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  Speaker 1: they could have raided that place at any time. They
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  Speaker 1: could have brought a grand jury indictment, a sealed indictment
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  Speaker 1: at any time, and they never did it. So all
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  Speaker 1: of the nonsense that they talk about how this is
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  Speaker 1: about justice, how it's about making sure that the girls
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  Speaker 1: end up being whole, That's all BS in my opinion.
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  Speaker 1: And I've said that from the very minute Denise George
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  Speaker 1: started her BS. Now look, I'm a big fan of
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  Speaker 1: people being exposed, right? But the U.S. Virgin Islands, they're
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  Speaker 1: not doing it because they want to expose the truth.
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  Speaker 1: They're doing it because they want to secure another bag.
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  Speaker 1: And it's rather obvious for anybody who's paying attention. But
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  Speaker 1: sometimes being greedy will come back to bite you. And
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  Speaker 1: that might be the case here. with the U.S. V.I.
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  Speaker 1: biting off way more than they can chew. All right, folks,
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  Speaker 1: today we have an article from the St. Thomas source
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  Speaker 1: of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the headline, Federal Judge
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  Speaker 1: Asks for Specific Reasons Why Epstein's Bank Can't Challenge V.I.
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  Speaker 1: 's Lawsuit. This article was authored by Judy Schimmel, lawyers
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  Speaker 1: for the V.I. Justice Department. have until Friday to tell
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  Speaker 1: New York judge why JPMorgan Chase Bank, North America, must
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  Speaker 1: explain whether or not they helped convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey
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  Speaker 1: Epstein hide years' worth of illegal acts in the territory.
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  Speaker 1: The filing of detailed letter briefs was contained in an
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  Speaker 1: order from District Court Judge Jed B. Rakoff earlier this week.
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  Speaker 1: Rakoff's order spoke specifically to a motion filed in May
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  Speaker 1: by Attorney General Ariel Smith. Smith is asking the court
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  Speaker 1: to deny a set of affirmative defenses filed by lawyers
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  Speaker 1: representing Chase Bank. In that filing, the bank's lawyers say
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  Speaker 1: VI justice cannot invoke the Trafficking Victims Protection Act against them.
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  Speaker 1: And just a quick refresher for those that might not remember,
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  Speaker 1: the Trafficking Victim Protection Act, or the TVPA, sets out
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  Speaker 1: to do several things in order to help people who
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  Speaker 1: have been trafficked and to punish those who engage in
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  Speaker 1: human trafficking. So one of those aims is prevention. The
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  Speaker 1: TVPA aims to prevent human trafficking by addressing the root
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  Speaker 1: causes and the contributing factors. It promotes public awareness campaigns,
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  Speaker 1: education campaigns, and international cooperation to raise awareness about trafficking
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  Speaker 1: and deter its occurrence. Two, prosecution. The TVPA strengthens the
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  Speaker 1: legal framework for prosecuting traffickers by expanding the definition of
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  Speaker 1: trafficking providing tools for law enforcement, and imposing severe penalties
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  Speaker 1: for traffickers. It enables authorities to investigate, arrest, and prosecute
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  Speaker 1: individuals involved in all forms of trafficking, including sex trafficking
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  Speaker 1: and labor trafficking. 3. Protection The TVPA prioritizes the protection
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  Speaker 1: of trafficking victims by ensuring their access to necessary services
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  Speaker 1: and support. It establishes guidelines for the identification, protection, and
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  Speaker 1: assistance of victims, including shelter, medical care, counseling, legal aid,
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  Speaker 1: and immigration relief. It also promotes the non-punishment and safe
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  Speaker 1: repatriation of victims who are foreign nationals. 4. Partnerships The
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  Speaker 1: TVPA encourages collaborations and cooperation among various stakeholders, including federal, state,
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  Speaker 1: and local government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and international partners. It
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  Speaker 1: emphasizes the need for comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to combat trafficking effectively.
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  Speaker 1: Number five, reporting. The TVPA requires the U.S. Department of
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  Speaker 1: State to publish an annual trafficking in persons report which
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  Speaker 1: assesses the efforts of countries worldwide in combating trafficking. The
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  Speaker 1: report categorizes countries as based on their level of compliance
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  Speaker 1: with minimum standards outlined in the TVPA, and serves as
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  Speaker 1: a tool to incentivize governments to take action against trafficking.
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  Speaker 1: Number six, assistance to foreign countries. The TVPA provides resources
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  Speaker 1: and assistance to other countries to enhance their capacity to
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  Speaker 1: prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute offenders. This includes funding
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  Speaker 1: for programs aimed at combating trafficking, supporting victim services, and
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  Speaker 1: promoting sustainable economic alternatives for at-risk populations. And number seven,
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  Speaker 1: research and data collection. The TVPA emphasizes the importance of
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  Speaker 1: research and data collection to better understand the scope and
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  Speaker 1: nature of trafficking. It supports the efforts to gather and
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  Speaker 1: analyze data on trafficking trends, victim demographics, and the effectiveness
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  Speaker 1: of anti-trafficking initiatives. Alright, so that's the TVPA in a nutshell,
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  Speaker 1: and that's what the law was put on the books for.
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  Speaker 1: And JP Morgan, they're saying that they can't be hit
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  Speaker 1: with those TVPA statutes, and that the Trafficking Victims Protection
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  Speaker 1: Act has nothing to do with them. And in fact,
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  Speaker 1: if anybody should be worried about the TVPA, it should
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  Speaker 1: be the U.S. Virgin Islands themselves. That's what JPMorgan is asserting.
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  Speaker 1: Epstein was a client of JPMorgan Chase for several years
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  Speaker 1: until the bank terminated its business relationship with him in 2013.
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  Speaker 1: Epstein died in a Manhattan detention center in 2019 following
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  Speaker 1: his arrest in New Jersey on sex trafficking charges. In
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  Speaker 1: a filing dated May 8th, Smith said, since the government
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  Speaker 1: here is acting in its sovereign capacity to enforce public
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  Speaker 1: rights under the TVPA, JPMorgan's equitable defenses are not recognizable
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  Speaker 1: as a matter of law. As he issued his latest
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  Speaker 1: order on July 7th, Rakoff said the court wanted specificity.
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  Speaker 1: While the court expresses no view as to whether further
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  Speaker 1: information on this point will ultimately factor in its decision
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  Speaker 1: on the USVI's motion, the court believes that further detail
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  Speaker 1: as to precisely what interests USVI is seeking to vindicate
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  Speaker 1: and what damages USVI claims may be helpful to its
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  Speaker 1: consideration of the nuanced legal issues raised in the party's briefing,
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  Speaker 1: the judge said. In a civil lawsuit against the bank
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  Speaker 1: in December, Justice claims JPMorgan Chase provided Epstein, a convicted
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  Speaker 1: sex offender, the means to pay recruiters and victims of
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  Speaker 1: his sex trafficking operation and failed to notify law enforcement
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  Speaker 1: as required by the TVPA. JPMorgan says, had real-time information
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  Speaker 1: on Epstein's activity that the government did not and had
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  Speaker 1: specific legal duties to report this information to law enforcement.
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  Speaker 1: enforcement authorities, which it intentionally decided not to do, Smith
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  Speaker 1: said in a May 8th filing. Rakoff gave the bank's
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  Speaker 1: attorneys until July 19th to file a detailed response to
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  Speaker 1: arguments submitted by V.I. Justice. So this whole entire thing
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  Speaker 1: is continuing to make its way through the courts. And
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  Speaker 1: the USVI finds themselves in some deep water here. And
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  Speaker 1: when all is said and done, I don't know if
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  Speaker 1: they're going to see one single cent. And then you
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  Speaker 1: add all the money that was spent on litigation. And
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  Speaker 1: this could turn out to be something that they end
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  Speaker 1: up losing money on. So this is certainly a gambit
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  Speaker 1: that the USVI is on here. And I don't know
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  Speaker 1: if it's going to pay off at the end. All right, folks,
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  Speaker 1: that's going to do it for this one. All of
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  Speaker 1: the information that goes with the episode can be found
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  Speaker 1: in the description box.