FBI Tells Angelina Jolie She's 'Not Entitled' To See Sealed Records From Investigation Into Brad Pitt's 2016 Plane Incident
Oct. 12 2022, Published 4:22 p.m. ET
The FBI has fired back at Angelina Jolie’s demand they turn over additional records pertaining to its investigation into claims Brad Pitt assaulted her and their son on an airplane, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, the FBI and the Department of Justice are asking a federal judge to shut down the actress in court.
Back in April, Jolie filed a lawsuit using the pseudonym Jane Doe against the FBI. She accused the agency of refusing to turn over records related to its investigation into her ex-husband over their infamous 2016 private plane incident.
Pitt and Jolie’s marriage ended shortly after the flight. The actor had been accused of getting into it with one of their children. The actor was investigated by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and the FBI but no criminal charges were ever brought.
Jolie doesn’t have faith in the investigation and has been trying to get her hands on the records. In her lawsuit, she said the FBI had violated the Freedom of Information Act by “failing to respond” to her request to disclose the requested documents and “unlawfully withholding the requested information.”
She said she had been seeking the information for years in an effort “to ensure that her children receive qualified [redacted] care and [redacted] counseling to address the harm suffered [redacted].
“Information withheld by DOJ and the FBI contains evidence of harm,” her lawsuit read.
"The persistent denial of that information to Jolie [redacted] a victim of the assault herself — has hampered, and continues to hamper, her efforts to obtain for her children necessary ongoing care and medical attention and has further harmed the children in the family law system.”
Jolie said she had “endeavored to obtain the withheld records without exposing to the public the details of the abusive incident and the ongoing effects on her children’s health and wellbeing.”
“Her position is that a crime victim or protective parent of a victimized child should be able to obtain unredacted agency records and corroborating evidence for purposes of [redacted] care, other medical care, and legal protection,” the suit read.
Puck obtained additional documents that revealed Jolie accused Pitt of getting physical with her and one of their kids on the flight. She told investigators that he had grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her violently. Pitt reportedly got physical with their son Maddox who tried to defend his mother.
In her lawsuit against the FBI, Jolie said investigators never followed up with her after the initial conversation. She then learned they closed the case without further action when they publicly announced it.
“Ms. DOE was not informed of the FBI’s closure of the investigation prior to the public statement, nor was she informed of the FBI’s reasons for closing the investigation or making the unusual decision to publicly announce the closure of the investigation, despite the statutory obligation to provide victims earliest possible notice of the status of an investigation,” the suit read.
Jolie said she demanded the FBI turn over the records related to the in-air incident. The lawsuit said they turned over records that were redacted extensively. Further, she said, “the FBI withheld 55 pages of the file in their entirety on various grounds, including purported law enforcement sensitivity.
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In 2021, she said six months after her request was submitted, the FBI responded by “withholding 45 pages in full and extensively redacting the 91 pages that it did release.”
The suit added, “More than [redacted] years after the [redacted] and the FBI’s investigation of the same, Ms. Doe and her children still do not have a clear picture of how the FBI handled the matter, nor any better understanding as to why it was abruptly closed without any advance notice to [redacted], who continue to be affected by the FBI’s unusual public statement closing the investigation and announcing that charges would not be filed against Mr. Doe.”
Jolie said the FBI’s statement has served as a basis for the “widely-reported claim that the FBI exonerated and 'cleared' Mr. Doe.”
The actress said, the “FBI did not, in fact, clear Mr. DOE of wrongdoing. The FBI’s 2021 FOIA Response demonstrates, among other things, that the FBI Special Agent in charge of investigating whether Mr. DOE committed a federal crime prepared a statement of probable cause (which has been withheld in full by the FBI) and presented it to the Assistant United States Attorney and the Chief of the Criminal Division at the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.”
She claimed the misstatement has continued to the “ongoing harm [redacted] by delegitimizing their experience, making it difficult to demonstrate in ongoing family law proceedings.”
In their response, the FBI denied any allegations of wrongdoing. It admitted it turned over 53 pages out of 108 pages in May 2017. It admitted that Jolie came back with additional requests in 2020 and that another 91 pages were released of out 136 pages in 2021.
The FBI argued that Jolie’s claims are barred in whole or in part for “failure to administratively exhaust all remedies” aka try to obtain the documents through other avenues.
They argue the court lacks “subject matter jurisdiction over [Jolie’s] requests for relief to the extent that they exceed the relief authorized under FOIA.”
The FBI said Jolie is “not entitled to compel the release of information protected from disclosure by one of more of the exemptions to the” Freedom of Information Act request. It said she is not entitled to the redacted or withheld information.
Lastly, it said it has “exercised due diligence in processing [Jolie’s] FOIA request, and exceptional circumstances exist that necessitate additional time to complete processing.”
The judge has yet to rule. The case is ongoing.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Pitt has denied allegations that he was physical on the flight and accuses Jolie of filing the lawsuit as part of a vindictive plot to ruin his name.