Excerpt:
Members of the House Oversight Committee have discussed issuing subpoenas to people who could testify about secret settlements between some of Jeffrey Epstein’s friends and his accusers.
Some of Epstein’s accusers have signed confidential prelitigation settlements with friends of the sex offender whom they have also accused of misconduct, according to three people with direct knowledge of such settlements, including Brad Edwards, an attorney who has represented more than 200 of Epstein’s accusers.
I’m not trying to be rhetorical here, but genuinely curious. How can NDAs apply when a crime has been committed? If they can apply, shouldn’t that loophole be closed?
An NDA is a civil contract, and technically cannot be used to cover up, facilitate, or prevent the reporting of a crime.
That’s how I understand it at least, but IANAL.
I assume in these cases the signers of the contract fear for their or their loved ones lives. I don’t think a legal basis is required.
My understanding is that civil cases don’t decide if you have committed a crime, just if you have sufficiently wronged another person. Often civil cases never even make it to court (because the defendant doesn’t want the publicity) and just result in a settlement with a big fat check and an agreement to never talk about it.