Back on September 22nd, there was some crazy back-and-forth reporting on Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and what exactly went down on their private plane. While the story keeps shifting, most sources are in agreement that there was a verbal altercation between Brad and Angelina, and that Maddox tried to get in between them because he was defending his mom. There was some kind aggressive contact, with Brad likely striking Maddox, although it’s up in the air as to Brad’s intent.
Originally, TMZ reported that Brad was being investigated by the LAPD for child abuse, but hours later the LAPD spokesperson was like “not really.” Then we heard that Pitt was actually being investigated by the FBI because it was an international, multi-state flight. Throughout it all, sources have maintained that Brad is also facing an investigation from the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services (DCFS) for what went down on the plane. We also heard that Angelina has no interest in seeing Brad prosecuted for anything. Which is good news, I guess, because it looks like the FBI weren’t really investigating jack sh-t.
Brad Pitt will not be prosecuted for the incident on his private jet … in fact, we’ve learned there was never an investigation in the first place because FBI sources say there’s no case. TMZ broke the story … after the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services started its investigation into allegations Brad struck his 15-year-old son on a private jet, the LAPD was notified and turned the matter over to the FBI, which has jurisdiction.
Well-placed law enforcement sources tell us the FBI never opened an investigation, and say the matter should never have even been referred to the agency. The Bureau’s official position is that they are still fact-gathering, though they are not calling it an investigation. Behind the scenes, we’re told the case will go nowhere.
As we reported, Maddox suffered no injuries and some witnesses on the jet say Brad’s contact with the boy was inadvertent. Sources connected with Angelina Jolie put it out there that she did not want Brad prosecuted, but the reality is … that was never going to happen anyway.
DCFS has interviewed family members but, as far as we know, the dept. has taken no action with respect to custody. As we reported, for now Angelina has full physical custody of the couple’s 6 kids.
I don’t understand the semantic argument being made here – the FBI is “fact-gathering” but they’re totally not “investigating.” As in, the FBI has already made the decision that they don’t want to investigate the incident but someone, somewhere is… making phone calls? Talking to Brad? Did FBI agents just call him and ask him what happened and decide “sure, let’s take his word for it”? Or did they decide to fact-gather by reading People Magazine? In any case, as I’ve said before, it’s pretty clear that whatever happened on the plane was the absolute deal-breaker for Angelina, but it doesn’t follow that she ever wanted to see Brad criminally prosecuted for anything. It’s still pretty clear that prosecution was never her endgame. Her endgame involved bolting with the kids and giving Brad a major wakeup call about his behavior.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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