Beyond The Horizon

The USVI DOJ And Their Pursuit To Dismiss The Epstein Survivor Lawsuit (7/6/24)

A lawsuit has been filed by multiple survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse, against the U.S. government and the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), alleging that officials in both governments enabled and facilitated Epstein’s sex-trafficking activities.

The suit against the U.S. government, filed in New York, claims that the FBI failed to adequately investigate credible tips about Epstein’s activities from 1996 to 2006, allowing him to continue abusing young women and girls. The plaintiffs assert that the FBI's negligence permitted Epstein to operate his sex trafficking ring with impunity, failing to protect victims and prevent further exploitation.

Additionally, the lawsuit against the USVI government alleges a wide-ranging conspiracy involving high-ranking officials who are accused of actively aiding Epstein. The plaintiffs claim that from 2001 to 2019, USVI officials provided Epstein with a secure base to run his sex-trafficking operation by offering him special treatment through laws, infrastructure, and governmental support. Named in the suit are former First Lady Cecile de Jongh, former Governor John de Jongh, former Governor Kenneth Mapp, former Senator Celestino White, former Attorney General Vincent Frazer, and others. The complaint includes detailed allegations of financial and political favors exchanged between Epstein and these officials, which allegedly facilitated his criminal activities and obstructed justice.

The government of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) is attempting to dismiss the lawsuit filed by survivors of Jeffrey Epstein by shifting the blame to the survivors and emphasizing the significant settlement they already received from Epstein’s estate. The USVI's defense focuses on two main arguments:

Previous Settlement and Compensation: The USVI argues that the survivors have already been compensated through a settlement with Epstein’s estate, which totaled more than $100 million. They contend that this previous compensation should mitigate or eliminate further claims against the government.
Legal Defenses and Sovereign Immunity: The USVI also asserts that the lawsuit should be dismissed based on sovereign immunity and other legal defenses. They argue that the claims against them are barred by statutes of limitations and that the plaintiffs have not established a valid legal basis for holding the government liable for Epstein’s actions.

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to contact me:

bobbycapucci@protonmail.com

source:

Jane Does’ Epstein Complaint Has No Merit, Should Be Dismissed, V.I. DOJ Argues | St. Thomas Source (stthomassource.com)

Duration:: 17m
Broadcast on:: 06 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save too. With Medicare's Extra Help Program, my premium is zero, and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year, or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp, paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. What's up everyone, and welcome back to the Epstein Chronicles. In this episode, we're going to spin back down to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and check in on what's going on with the lawsuit. And this episode is going to piggyback off of the Stacey Plaskit episode that we recently did. And this whole situation down here in the U.S. Virgin Islands is embarrassing. And the fact that the USVI is fighting tooth and nail against the survivors tells you everything you need to know about what went on down here. And I really, really hope that this gets to discovery. I hope that the survivors go all the way here, and this goes to discovery, because if it does, I guarantee you that you're going to be shocked by what you see. Because the levels of corruption down here in the U.S.VI, when Epstein was involved, are through the roof. And it's just out of this world and saying that more people aren't talking about it. Remember all the people that were trying to tell you that the USVI was some kind of hero that Denise George and company were the saviors? And guess what? Who was telling you differently for all these years? That's right, you're a boy. And that's because the USVI has no tenable ground here. If JP Morgan was enabling Jeffrey Epstein, so is the USVI. Look at all the homey hookups, look at all the deals, look at everybody turning the other cheek. So I've always found it straight up disgusting, that anybody is getting a bag besides the survivors. You mean to tell me that the USVI as a whole deserves to get any money out of this? What the hell did they do to protect anybody? In fact, I'll take it a step further. They made it easier for Epstein to molest people and rape them. That's right, I said it, that's not speculation, that's a fact. And everybody down in the USVI from Cecile Dijang to Stacey Plaskit, well, they all know how to contact me if they want to set the record straight. For some reason, however, I doubt that's going to occur. Today's article is from the St. Thomas source and the headline. Jane Doe's Epstein complaint has no merit, should be dismissed, VI, Department of Justice argues, after they just got done arguing the complete opposite, saying that the girls were abused, that the bank was involved, everybody was involved, but now that the pendulum swings back and clips them, well, we had nothing to do with it. What are you talking about? We couldn't have stopped Epstein. Yes, you could have. Here's an idea. Why did you give them all of those tax breaks? Why did you give them all of those incentives? Why'd you still play ball after he was arrested the first time? This article was authored by C.N. Cobb. A lawsuit by six Jeffrey Epstein survivors against the USVI government is a scattershot mess of conclusionary allegations that should be thrown out because the territory's sovereign immunity bars the claims. And because the plaintiffs have failed to state a claim, among other reasons, the VI Attorney General's office said in its motion to dismiss the case filed on Wednesday. Well, the worm is certainly turned, huh? All of a sudden they have a scattershot case here? A bunch of conclusionary claims? Hmm, interesting. I thought that the survivors were to be believed. In fact, I thought that the USVI was some of the most staunch allies of the survivors. Oh, you are lied to again? I am shocked. The VI Justice Department was responding to the plaintiffs. Second amended complaint filed May 10th in the district court for the Southern District of New York by the deadline set by presiding judge Aaron Subramian. The lawsuit by Jane Doe's one through six alleges negligence and violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act, or RICO, claiming territory officials actively conspired with Epstein to perpetuate his sex trafficking scheme for their own gain. Look, all of that is true. Now, I can't point to direct information where I have documents to point to this one or that one, but we know what's going on here. It's no different than the grand jury transcripts. They can try and hide behind secrecy all they want. They can try and hide behind the veil of shadows, but eventually it's going to be pierced. And for the USVI, I think people are going to be disgusted after they see what went down here. The way that the survivors were treated by the Virgin Islands is straight trash. And then Stacey Plaskett having the audacity to get up there and try and judge other Americans. It is just almost too much to comprehend, but she's one of your faves, right? So we'll give her a pass. Stacey Plaskett gets a pass with Bill Clinton, right? Is that how this works? I'm starting to catch on now. In short, the allegations and lawsuit have no merit and should be dismissed. The government said in its response on Wednesday, a registered sex offender who pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in Florida in 2008. Epstein died by a parent suicide in August, 2019 at age 66, while in detention in New York on federal trafficking charges. His primary residence was Little St. James. His private island off St. Thomas were for years. He ran a complex web of shell companies registered in the USVI and afforded some 300 million in tax breaks through the territory's Economic Development Commission that enabled his crimes. Now look, you got these people out here talking about how the tax breaks helped out the island, but let's be real. They gave Epstein over 300 million in tax breaks and even with his lawsuit. They didn't even come back close to getting that 300 million. So here's an idea. Stop giving your friends tax breaks, make them pay their taxes, and then the people of the USVI won't be on the outs. But short of that, how anyone can look at what's going on down in the USVI or what's been going on down there previously and not see the corruption everywhere, I think you're fooling yourself. Because this place is rife with corruption and the people who were at the sticks when Epstein was around? Well, all those people were eating at the trough. So now they should come around and they should eat at both ends of the table. I mean, these folks helped perpetuate all of this bullshit. And then they got rich off of it on the back end. How can people not be more fired up about this? And you still have these bozos out here talking about this list or that list list that don't even exist. Also named in the complaint in both their professional and personal capacities are former First Ladies Cecil Dijang, former Senators Celestine O'White and Carlton Dow, who now heads VI Port Authority, former Attorney General Vincent Frazier, former Governors Kenneth Mapp, and Zhang Dijang Jr., and VI delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskit. The suit also names John Doe's 1-100, who it claims were employees of the USVI, but that with the exception of nine unnamed VIP D officers are described as working for air traffic control, customs, or the Coast Guard, which are federal roles. All the named defendants have denied wrongdoing. Plaskit and the Dijang's filed motions to dismiss the case by the court's July 3rd deadline. Both White and Dow have asked to join the government's case, citing difficulties finding counsel in New York. Oh, well, they didn't steal enough money from Epstein, huh? They can't afford counsel? Stop it. It's always hilarious when these thieves and crooks cry that they're broke. Well, maybe you should have been better with your money, or maybe you should have stole some more. Frazier and Mapp were represented by the Justice Department until the second amended complaint read to find their roles in the alleged scheme as acting in both an official and private capacity. On Tuesday, the government's attorneys, Motley Rice, LLC, filed a motion to withdraw their counsel because their alleged conduct extended beyond their time in office. That's bad news, folks. For them, that is bad news. Let me tell you right now, this is far from over. And I have a funny feeling that this is going to snowball into something that becomes pretty epic. Complaint fails to state claim for relief. A central issue in the case is whether New York and Manhattan Federal Court are the correct venue and jurisdiction for the complaint when the defendants are based in the USVI. Their alleged crimes took place in the territory and its sites only the most tenuous ties to Epstein's business in New York, where he had a mansion and other properties. Moreover, the US Virgin Islands is a sovereign entity and thus immune to the TVPA, Rico, and negligence claims. The government said, notice they didn't deny any of their bullshit? They're relying on, guess what, loopholes and technicalities, and what does that tell us? When we have people that rely on an entity that's relying on that and not relying on beating the case, tells me everything I need to know. The USVI? They're terrified, and they do not want to get to discovery. Even if the plaintiffs could surmount these jurisdictional hurdles, the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, and the complaint fails to state a claim for relief, the motion states. While the Justice Department is not representing the other defendants, it makes many of the same criticisms raised by them. The complaint is vague, overly long at 83 pages, and draws unsubstantiated conclusions, which makes defending against it difficult if not impossible. To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, except that it is true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face, the motion states citing the case law. Threadbear recitals of the elements of a cause of action supported by mere conclusion statements do not suffice. Moreover, the complaint leaves in place assertions that are demonstrably untrue, despite the opportunity to amend the original filing. The government said, that includes referring to the USVI as a country, and describing its jurisdiction over federal operations, loopholes, technicalities. Ditter did not, the politicians accept money from Epstein. Oh, they did? Okay, let's start there. For example, it alleges the government officials participated in Epstein's sex-trafficking venture by securing visas and travel documents for his victims or overlooking expired documents, but those are federal, not territorial, functions, the motion states. An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero, and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year, or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. Paid for by the US Department of Health and Human Services. What a cop-out. So the federal government's in charge, not anybody in the USVI? Makes a lot of sense. It also does not plausibly allege that the plaintiffs, even required visas or other travel documents to travel to a US territory, because they were US citizens arriving from New York. Not so much. What about the girls from Eastern Europe? What about the girls from around the world? Nice try, but that's going to fell on its face, and the judge is going to recognize that. Even if customs and other officials were employees of the VI government, the complaint fails to allege what laws they were supposed to but did not follow, the government said. Epstein traveled openly through USVI airports and customs officials, never examined either the passports or luggage of anyone arriving on Epstein's private jet, or mandated him to enter through customs, the complaint states. But as adult US citizens, he and the plaintiffs were not subject to such checks, when entering the territory of the motion states. Problem is, not all of them were adults. That's the problem here. The complaint then contradicts itself, stating that Epstein "can plain about a customs official who caused him difficulty, and that despite alleging officials never examined the passports of anyone arriving on his private jet, defendant secured visas so that Epstein could transport his victims into USVI." The motion states, "Yeah, victims from other countries." To the extent that complaint alleges that Epstein should have been searched, or investigated at USVI airports because he was a sex offender, it fails to cite any law authorizing such searches or investigations that were not followed according to the motion. He was registered as a sex offender per the VI code, which required that his address be verified, and there are no allegations that the government failed to do that. It states, "They let him travel without checking in." We're not going to talk about that though, right? No big deal. The complaint also does not allege that the government received any reports of sex crimes involving Epstein, and even if it had, whether to investigate is largely at the government's discretion, the motion states, the same government that benefited from the money, right? So let me get this straight. The government benefits from getting all of the rewards here, but there's no risk. Is that what the USVI is trying to tell us? Further, as Attorney General Frazier was within the law to gather input on pending sex offender legislation, including from Epstein, and to reduce the 21-day notice requirement for his travel out of the country, the motion states. Well, why would he do it? Why would he do that? Even if he can do it, why would he? Just because? He's doing it 'cause he's a good guy? Oh, you know, I'm going to hook up this sex offender, or was Epstein giving him something? Likewise, the claim that Cecil de Jong helped Epstein obtain travel documents and visas for minor women from other countries does not allege it was for any of the plaintiffs who would not require that assistance as adult US citizens from New York, it says. Moreover, the complaint also fails to allege that assistance with travel documents for adults is knowledge of a sex trafficking venture. So wait a minute, adults can't be trafficked? Is that what we're talking about here? Because they most certainly can. And let me tell you, any human being that's being kept in bondage, whether it's servitude or sexual slavery, we should all be pissed off about that. Modern day slavery is not something we should even be talking about. But here we are, the year 2024, still banging on about it. Even the most salacious claim against de Jong, which he has to be stricken from the complaint, that she was aware of two sexual assaults by Epstein at his Red Hook office in the early 2000s, when she was a manager of his company, is not Conclusionary, and without merit because knowledge of sexual assault is not knowledge of sex trafficking, and the TVPA does not impose liability for sexual assault. The motion states, you notice they're not denying it, right? They're relying on loopholes and technicalities just to point that out once again. There also is no evidence that the defendants formed the nexus in furtherance of Epstein's scheme, in fact some or political rivals, and did not know each other personally, according to the motion, which also seeks dismissal because the complaint was brought too late under VI tort law. The plaintiffs have until August 14th to file an omnibus opposition to the motions to dismiss, an initial pretrial conference is scheduled for September 9th. Oh, they're gonna file, and I think that their motion's gonna be put forth. I don't think there's a judge in this land, especially in the SDNY, that's gonna favor the USVI here. The USVI opened this can of worms when they went after the money. Now that they've made this bed, they have to lie in it, and I don't want to hear shit from them. You should have never been greedy, and you shouldn't have went after these funds. Then people would have just sat back and been like, eh, they're screwed up down there, but at least they're not trying to get food at both ends of the trough here. Well, now that you've done that, you've opened yourself up to not only criticism, but as you see, lawsuits, and I doubt that these six women are gonna be the end of it. I think that we're gonna hear more women add on here. We're gonna have motions to join, we're gonna have interveners, and I think it's gonna get rolling, and when it does, I don't think it's gonna stop until it lands directly on the heads of all of these people involved, whether that settlements or going through with the whole entire kit and kaboodle and having a hearing. But one way or the other, the USVI is gonna be on the hook when all is said and done, or at the very least, they should be, because if anybody was enabling what was going on down there with Epstein, the USVI is right at the top of the list. All right, folks, that's gonna do it for this one. All of the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box. An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save, too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero, and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year, or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp, paid for by the US Department of Health and Human Services.