Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / The Brad Edwards Affidavit In Support Of Epstein Related Transparency (Part 2)

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The Brad Edwards Affidavit In Support Of Epstein Related Transparency (Part 2) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

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  Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to pick up
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  Speaker 1: where we left off with the Brad Edwards affid David
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  Speaker 1: in regards to CVRA and documents not being produced by
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  Speaker 1: the government in light of the court's order. On October third,
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  Speaker 1: twenty eleven, the victims file a request for production with
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  Speaker 1: the government. The requests included twenty five specific requests, each
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  Speaker 1: of which linked very directly to the facts that the
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  Speaker 1: victims were attempting to prove in the case. On November seventh,
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  Speaker 1: twenty eleven, the day when the government's responses were due,
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  Speaker 1: rather than produce even a single page of discovery, the
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  Speaker 1: government filed emotion to dismiss the victim's petitions. On that
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  Speaker 1: same day, the government filed a motion to stay discovery.
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  Speaker 1: The victims filed a response arguing that the government's motion
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  Speaker 1: was a stall tactic. The victims also filed emotion to
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  Speaker 1: compel production of all their discovery requests. The government filed
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  Speaker 1: a reply arguing that it was not stalling. Indeed, the
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  Speaker 1: government told the court that the United States has agreed
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  Speaker 1: to provide some information to the victims even during the
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  Speaker 1: pendency of the stay of discovery and is undertaking a
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  Speaker 1: search for that information. Contrary to that representation. However, over
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  Speaker 1: the next seventeen months, the government did not produce any
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  Speaker 1: information to the victims, despite the victims reminding the government
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  Speaker 1: of that statement made to the court. Ultimately, after some
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  Speaker 1: additional motions and rulings, on June nineteenth, twenty thirteen, the
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  Speaker 1: Court denied the government's motion to dismiss and lifted any
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  Speaker 1: stay of discovery. That same day, the Court entered an
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  Speaker 1: order granting the victim's motion to compel and directing the
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  Speaker 1: government to produce all correspondence between it and Epstein, all
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  Speaker 1: the communications between the government and outside entities, and every
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  Speaker 1: other document requested by the victims with respect to the
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  Speaker 1: third item. The court allowed the government to assert privilege
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  Speaker 1: by producing the items in question for in camera inspection
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  Speaker 1: and filing a contemporaneous privileged log. The Court required that
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  Speaker 1: the privileged log must clearly identify each document by the author, address,
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  Speaker 1: recipient date, and general subject matter. On July nineteenth and
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  Speaker 1: July twenty seventh, twenty thirteen, the government made its production
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  Speaker 1: with regard to Item number one correspondence with Epstein. The
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  Speaker 1: government withheld the correspondence pending the ruling from the Eleventh
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  Speaker 1: Circuit on Epstein's motion to stay production of these materials.
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  Speaker 1: With regard to the other items, the government produced fourteen thousand,
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  Speaker 1: eight hundred and twenty five pages of documents to the
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  Speaker 1: court for in camera inspection, but turned over only one
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  Speaker 1: three hundred and fifty seven pages to the victims. Thus,
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  Speaker 1: the government asserted privilege to more than ninety percent of
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  Speaker 1: the documents in question. The documents that the government produced
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  Speaker 1: were almost worthless to the victims, as they included such
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  Speaker 1: things as the victim's own letters to the government, court
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  Speaker 1: pleadings filed by the victims themselves or others victims by
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  Speaker 1: Epstein or by news media organizations, public court rulings on
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  Speaker 1: Epstein related matters, public newspaper articles, and similar materials already
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  Speaker 1: available to the victims. It also included roughly four hundred
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  Speaker 1: pages of notices sent to the various other victims in
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  Speaker 1: the case, notices that were substantially indistinguishable from the notices
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  Speaker 1: the victims themselves in this case had already received. Almost
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  Speaker 1: without exception, the documents the government produced do not go
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  Speaker 1: to the disputed issues in the case. The government made
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  Speaker 1: one last production of material in the case on August six,
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  Speaker 1: twenty thirteen. This involved roughly fifteen hundred pages of documents
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  Speaker 1: that were largely meaningless in the context of the contested
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  Speaker 1: issues in the case. They included public documents in the case,
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  Speaker 1: such as the crime victim's own pleadings, copy of the
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  Speaker 1: victims redacted some rejudgment motion. Curiously, while the government has
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  Speaker 1: produced these documents that would likely fall into a relevant
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  Speaker 1: category of documents, they have simultaneously refused production of hundreds
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  Speaker 1: of other documents that are responsive to our requests on
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  Speaker 1: the basis of relevance. The victims have tried to obtain
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  Speaker 1: information on all relevant subjects through requests for admission. The government, however,
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  Speaker 1: has refused to admit many of the victim's central allegations
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  Speaker 1: in the case. A copy of the victim's requests for
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  Speaker 1: admissions and the government's response is attached to this affidavid,
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  Speaker 1: so the court can see that the victims have diligently
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  Speaker 1: tried to pursue this avenue for developing the facts in
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  Speaker 1: the case. The victims have also tried to obtain information
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  Speaker 1: on subjects related to their suit by voluntary requests for
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  Speaker 1: interview with persons who are no longer employed by the
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  Speaker 1: Justice Department. For example, I've sent letters to both Bruce
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  Speaker 1: Reinhardt and Alex Acosta, who both have information about the
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  Speaker 1: Epstein case, requesting an opportunity to discuss the case with them.
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  Speaker 1: Both of them have ignored my letters. The need for
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  Speaker 1: materials requested by the victims. The documents that the victims
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  Speaker 1: requested that the government produced to them on October third,
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  Speaker 1: twenty eleven, are all highly relevant to their CVRA enforcement action.
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  Speaker 1: We would not have requested them otherwise. The victims also
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  Speaker 1: have no other means of obtaining the requested material. This
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  Speaker 1: section of the affid David explains why the materials are
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  Speaker 1: needed by the victims for the convenience of the court.
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  Speaker 1: The affid David will proceed on a section by section
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  Speaker 1: basis concerning the need for material also for the convenience
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  Speaker 1: of the court. A copy of the October third, twenty
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  Speaker 1: eleven request for production is attached to the affid David
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  Speaker 1: also attaches the victim's supplemental discovery request of June twenty fourth,
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  Speaker 1: twenty thirteen. As the Court will note from reviewing the
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  Speaker 1: requests for production, most of the requests specifically recount the
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  Speaker 1: allegations that the requested documents would support in an effort
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  Speaker 1: to eliminate any dispute from the government that the documents
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  Speaker 1: were not relevant to the case. Many of the requests
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  Speaker 1: for production linked directly to specific paragraphs in the victim's
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  Speaker 1: previously filed summary judgment motion. Accordingly, the victims have a
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  Speaker 1: very specific need for these documents to support the allegations
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  Speaker 1: in the summary judgment motion found that De forty eight
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  Speaker 1: at three twenty three. The Court has previously concluded that
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  Speaker 1: the victim's proof of their claims is at this point
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  Speaker 1: in the case inadequate. Instead, the Court is ruled whether
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  Speaker 1: the evidentiary proofs will entitle the victims to that relief
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  Speaker 1: of setting aside the non prosecution agreement is a question
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  Speaker 1: properly reserved for the determination upon a fully developed evidentiary record.
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  Speaker 1: The Court is further indicated that it'll be considering estoppel
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  Speaker 1: argument raised by the government as a defense in the case.
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  Speaker 1: The Court is noted that this argument implicates the fact
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  Speaker 1: sensitive equitable defense, which must be considered in the historical
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  Speaker 1: factual context of the entire interface between Epstein, the relevant
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  Speaker 1: prosecutorial authorities and the federal offense victims, including an assessment
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  Speaker 1: of the allegation of a deliberate conspiracy between Epstein and
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  Speaker 1: federal prosecutors to keep the victims in the dark on
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  Speaker 1: the pendency of negotiations between Epstein and the federal authorities
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  Speaker 1: until well after the fact and presentation of the non
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  Speaker 1: prosecution agreement to them. The victims have a compelling need
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  Speaker 1: for information about the government's action, to show what the
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  Speaker 1: entire interface was and to respond to the government's estoppel
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  Speaker 1: arguments as well as other defenses that it appears to
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  Speaker 1: be preparing to raise requests for production. Number one requests
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  Speaker 1: information recording the Epstein investigation. These documents are needed to
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  Speaker 1: support the victim's allegation that the government had a viable
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  Speaker 1: criminal case for many federal sex offenses that it could
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  Speaker 1: have pursued against Epstein. RFP Number two requests information regarding
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  Speaker 1: crime victim notification In the case, these documents are needed
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  Speaker 1: to support victims allegations that their rights under CVRA their
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  Speaker 1: right to notice and to confer with the government, were
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  Speaker 1: violated in the case. In particular, these documents are needed
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  Speaker 1: to demonstrate that the victims were not properly notified about
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  Speaker 1: the non prosecution agreement entered into by the government and
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  Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein, and that the government did not confer with
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  Speaker 1: the victims about the agreement. RFP Number three requests information
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  Speaker 1: about the NPA, including in particular it's confidentiality provision. These
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  Speaker 1: documents are needed to demonstrate that the confidentiality provision precluded
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  Speaker 1: disclosing the agreement to Jane No. Number One and Jane No.
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  Speaker 1: Number Two, as well as to other victims. These documents
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  Speaker 1: are further needed to demonstrate that Jeffrey Epstein specifically orchestrated
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  Speaker 1: the secrecy of the agreement, thereby deliberately causing the governments
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  Speaker 1: see violation in the case. RFP number four request documents
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  Speaker 1: relating to negotiation between the government and Jeffrey Epstein concerning
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  Speaker 1: the court and or location in which Jeffrey Epstein would
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  Speaker 1: enter any guilty plea, including in particular any negotiation concerning
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  Speaker 1: concluding the plea in Miami or other location outside of
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  Speaker 1: West Palm Beach. These documents are relevant to the victim's
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  Speaker 1: allegations that the government was interested in finding a place
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  Speaker 1: to conclude any plea agreement that would effectively keep Epstein's victims,
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  Speaker 1: most of whom resided in or about Palm Beach, from
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  Speaker 1: learning what was happening through the press. RFP Number five
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  Speaker 1: requests documents pertaining to negotiation between the government and Jeffrey
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  Speaker 1: Epstein regarding any legal representation of the victims in civil
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  Speaker 1: cases by Epstein. These documents are needed to prove the
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  Speaker 1: victim's allegation that part of the plea negotiation with Epstein
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  Speaker 1: involved Epstein's efforts to make sure that victims would be
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  Speaker 1: represented in cases against Epstein by someone who was not
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  Speaker 1: experienced personal injury lawyer or by someone familiar to Epstein
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  Speaker 1: and his legal team. Number six request documents concerning the
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  Speaker 1: government and or Epstein's awareness of discussions of possible public
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  Speaker 1: criticism and the victim objections to the non prosecution agreement
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  Speaker 1: that they negotiated. The documents are needed to prove the
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  Speaker 1: victim's allegation that the government wanted the non prosecution agreement
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  Speaker 1: with Epstein concealed from public view because of the intense
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  Speaker 1: public criticism that would have resulted had the agreement been disclosed,
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  Speaker 1: and or the possibility that victims would have objected in
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  Speaker 1: court and convinced the judge not to accept the agreement.
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  Speaker 1: They are also relevant to bias and motive by the
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  Speaker 1: authors or subjects of other documents in the case. RFP
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  Speaker 1: Number seven request documents regarding the government's awareness of its
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  Speaker 1: potential CVRA obligation in the case and regarding any discussion
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  Speaker 1: between government and Epstein can discerning these CVR obligations in
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  Speaker 1: the case. The documents are needed to approve the victim's
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  Speaker 1: allegation that the government was aware that have potentially had
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  Speaker 1: obligations under the CVRA to notify the victims about the
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  Speaker 1: non prosecution agreement and any related state court plea agreement.
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  Speaker 1: RFP Number eight requests documents regarding Epstein's lobbying efforts to
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  Speaker 1: persuade the government to give him a more favorable plea
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  Speaker 1: arrangement and or non prosecution agreement, including efforts on his
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  Speaker 1: behalf by former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Harvard
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  Speaker 1: law professor Alan Dershowitz. These materials are needed to prove
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  Speaker 1: the victim's allegation that after Epstein signed the non prosecution agreement,
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  Speaker 1: his performance was delayed while he used his significant social
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  Speaker 1: and political connections to lobby the Justice Department to obtain
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  Speaker 1: a more favorable plea deal. These materials are also needed
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  Speaker 1: to establish the course of proceedings in the case, which
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  Speaker 1: is necessary in light of the government's letters to the
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  Speaker 1: victims concerning the status of the case. All Right, folks,
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  Speaker 1: we're gonna wrap up right here, and in the next
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  Speaker 1: episode dealing with the topic, we're gonna pick up where
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  Speaker 1: we left off. All of the information that goes with
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  Speaker 1: this episode can be found in the description box.