Bloom, the California-based lawyer who has specialised in representing victims of sexual misconduct cases for 40 years, is acting for 11 of Epstein’s victims. In December, she launched new proceedings against the FBI on behalf of eight of her clients, which argue that the organisation failed to investigate credible reports of Epstein’s sexual misconduct involving minors going back as far as 1996. Had the FBI acted with due diligence, the complaint argues, hundreds more women could have been protected from abuse.