Epstein victims’ suit against FBI poised to survive dismissal, for now

Filed 1w ago · Via Courthouse News · The Buffoon Desk

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Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

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A magistrate judge in Florida recommended Tuesday that a negligence lawsuit filed by more than 30 Epstein survivors against the FBI be allowed to proceed, despite the statute of limitations having technically expired before the suit was filed.

Judge Ryon M. McCabe found the plaintiffs plausibly alleged the FBI created a foreseeable zone of risk by mishandling tips about Epstein dating back to 1996, and that victims could not have known the extent of the government's inaction until recent congressional hearings and file releases. McCabe also flagged doubts about whether the women can ultimately prove the FBI's inaction caused their abuse, calling that a jury question.

The Justice Department argued sovereign immunity and the statute of limitations should end the case outright; a DOJ representative declined to comment. McCabe instead recommended 90 days of discovery into FBI abuse-related policies before the government gets another shot at dismissal.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

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An agency that received tips for nearly a decade before opening a file is now arguing, in court, that it's too late for anyone to ask why. The magistrate's patience with that argument ran out roughly nine years after the FBI's did.

Source: Read the original at Courthouse News → Scored: Mourning Song · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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