Josh Duggar withdraws from lawsuit over release of molestation documents

In what almost seems like a Friday news dump move, Josh Duggar’s attorney quietly filed a motion earlier today asking to withdraw his previous motion to join the federal lawsuit filed by his sisters (and victims) against those responsible for releasing and publishing the documents revealing Josh molested young girls when he was 14 years old. That’s quite a sentence, I know, and it actually contains more words than the motion itself!

“Comes now, the intervening party, Josh Duggar, and upon further consideration hereby withdraws his motion to intervene,” the one-sentence motion reads.

In case you missed it, Jill Dillard, Jessa Seewald, Jinger Vuolo and Joy-Anna Duggar filed a lawsuit in May seeking damages caused by the release and publication of the Josh Duggar molestation documents. In Touch obtained the documents via a Freedom of Information Act request, which was honored by the City of Springdale — albeit with names and the sex of juveniles redacted.

The sisters were seeking an unspecified amount in damages from a list of defendants that includes the City of Springdale; numerous corporate entities tied to In Touch; Kathy O’Kelly, who was the chief of the Springdale Police Department at the time; Ernest Cate, Springdale city attorney; Rick Hoyt, enforcement major at Washington County Sheriff’s Office; and Steve Zega, Washington County attorney.

The City of Springdale later issued a statement which read, in part: “The claims and allegations in this lawsuit are without merit and are false, and we are confident that the Federal Court will take the time to carefully hear the facts and arguments in this matter.” It concluded with: “It is unfortunate that now, at this late date, the Plaintiffs have chosen to file a misguided lawsuit against dedicated public servants and seeking damages from public tax dollars.”

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Josh Duggar had filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit and add himself as a plaintiff alongside the sisters who were the victims of his molestation. The original motion states that because of the allegedly illegal release of the documents, Josh, too, was “victimized and forced to relieve the painful and difficult circumstances of a traumatic experience as a juvenile.”

My guess is that the attorney(s) for Josh and/or his sisters realized that if this case ever does go to a jury trial, they prosecution is going to have a very hard time winning as long as Josh is one of those looking to be compensated. His motion to be added to the lawsuit had already drawn a great deal of ire online — even from those who weren’t necessarily opposed to the sisters filing a lawsuit. That is purely speculation though, based mostly on hundreds of hours watching Law & Order.

Source: www.nwaonline.com