Informant
If asked about informants, the FBI answers with the following about their informant program:
What is the FBI’s policy on the use of informants?
The courts have recognized that the government’s use of informants is lawful and often essential to the effectiveness of properly authorized law enforcement investigations. However, use of informants to assist in the investigation of criminal activity may involve an element of deception, intrusion into the privacy of individuals, or cooperation with persons whose reliability and motivation may be open to question. Although it is legally permissible for the FBI to use informants in its investigations, special care is taken to carefully evaluate and closely supervise their use so the rights of individuals under investigation are not infringed. The FBI can only use informants consistent with specific guidelines issued by the attorney general that control the use of informants.
Are informants regular employees of the FBI?
No. Informants are individuals who supply information to the FBI on a confidential basis. They are not hired or trained employees of the FBI, although they may receive compensation in some instances for their information and expenses.
The FBI File for the “informant program” may be the largest single FBI File in existence, comprising of approximately three quarters of a million pages.
I requested multiple sections of the file under the FOIA, and they are available below:
The following documents were comprised from multiple FOIA requests. They were ordered by section, for clarity and ease of reading.
This post was published on July 11, 2015 4:00 pm
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