Reports have emerged that Angelina Jolie is suing the FBI under the pseudonym of Jane Doe to obtain information on why the agency declined to press charges against Brad Pitt over a 2016 incident involving her eldest son, Maddow, on a private jet.
The lawsuit, filed anonymously, alleges that the FBI denied access to records related to an investigation into allegations that Jolie’s “then-husband … physically and verbally assaulted” her and their children while on a private plane “several years ago.”
Amidst the revelations of Pitt being investigated by the FBI and Los Angeles social services in 2016, it was disclosed that he was accused of being “verbally abusive and physical with his children” on a private jet traveling from France to the USA, shortly after Jolie filed for divorce.
Despite being cleared of the abuse allegations, it is now speculated that Jolie may be the anonymous plaintiff in the new lawsuit, especially considering that both she and Pitt had received the full FBI report during their divorce proceedings.
The suit claims that the plaintiff, known as Jane Doe, filed multiple requests to obtain access to the department’s investigative file in order to understand the FBI’s investigation and secure necessary information for her children to receive medical care and trauma counseling.
High-profile attorney Amanda Kramer, representing the plaintiff, has stated that the suit was filed anonymously to protect the family’s privacy. Representatives for Jolie did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to the filing, the woman’s children have suffered lasting physical and mental trauma after being “verbally and physically” assaulted by her then-husband while traveling on a private plane.
The plaintiff alleges that the FBI initiated an investigation into the incident and publicly announced the closure of the investigation without further action, without prior notice to her or her children.
She has accused the agency of not only failing to provide her with the requested documents but also of providing “legally insufficient” responses to her requests.
The plaintiff, who has not formally filed a lawsuit yet, requested permission to proceed with the case under a pseudonym and have it sealed, which was reportedly approved by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell this week.
There has been speculation that Jolie may be the anonymous plaintiff, given the similarities between the allegations in the filing and the accusations she previously made against Pitt.
However, a source connected to the former couple stated that both Pitt and Jolie had received a copy of the FBI’s report following the initial investigation into the plane incident, and that the information in the report was submitted during their divorce case.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt met on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2005 and got married in September 2014 after dating for a decade. They have six children together: Maddox, 20, Pax, 18, Zahara, 17, Shiloh, 15, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 13.
Jolie adopted Maddox in 2002, then Zahara in 2005, a year after meeting Pitt during the filming of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, despite Pitt being married to Jennifer Aniston at the time. They later adopted Pax in 2007, and had biological kids Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne. Pitt adopted all of the kids before their marriage in 2014.
After Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, a protracted legal battle ensued, during which Maddox testified against his father, offering a negative opinion about the actor. There were also reports that Maddox wanted to legally remove “Pitt” from his name, a decision his mother allegedly does not support.
