Allegation that FBI Refused to Record Interview and Manipulated Report in Criminal Case

- Grant_Smith066474*eMailContent htm Ina high profile case, my client was asked to submit to an FBI interview at their offices in North Miami Beach. Feigning naivety, I asked where the court reporter was. I was told there was no court reporter. I then asked where the tape recorder was. I will always be impressed that the agent was able to give us the response he did without laughing. He said the FBI could not tape the interview because they did not have ""enough money in their budget." _Itwas time to play the Trump Card. At that point, I removed a cassette recorder from my pocket and explained that my client had been able to scrape together the 59 cents for a cassette tape. Further we would pay for the lape to be transcribed and supply them with 4 free copy of everything. You could've heard a fart in a vacuum. They now made it clear that no way, no how would any FBI interview be recorded. So we went forward with the interview as the agent took notes. Months later the client was called to testify at trial. I warned him the ""302"" would be a work of fiction. It was. I was sitting in the back of the courtroom. - Called to the stand; he told the ""real"" truth and not the ""302"" version of the truth. The Assistant US. Attorney was frustrated and kept on confronting him with the ""302"" version. Fed up with the prosecutor and in the presence of the jury, the witness preceded to recount my debate over recording from the first interview. Pointing to me in the back of the courtroom, the witness announced that I had warned him that they would pull this crap with the ""302"" report. It didn't take the jury very long to acquit. With the advent of DNA and groups like the Innocence Project, we have now seen that so-called unrecorded confessions have put many innocent people in jail and even on Death Row. As a resuit, agencies such as the BSO, now require all interviews to be taped. But not the FBI. . Like anyone, including lawyers, the FBI wants to control the record of the interview. Taping hurts that effort. © I'm not saying that it is FBI policy to step over the line. But they have chalk on their shoes more often than you can imagine. file: iC Documents9%20and"420Settings/Trial/Desktop/E.. .uetion/eDocs/eMail/Grant_s Smith066474"eMailContent. htm (3 of 2 [11/6/2010 19: 16: 47 PM] . 14492 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_030929 |