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Hunting terrorists using confidential informant reward programs - Legal Digest
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,The, April, 2002 by Douglas A. Kash
The criminal acts of September 11, 2001, resulted in changes to existing U.S. law, including rewards available to confidential informants who provide information on terrorists or terrorist activities. Specifically, on October 26, 2001, the U.S. Congress enacted the Uniting and Strengthening America By Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (PATRIOT Act). (1) Prior to September 11, there were several different venues under which an informant could be eligible for a reward, depending upon which agency received the information. Although the events of September 11 did not increase the types of rewards, they modified the incentives to informants, including those who are noncitizens.
The notion of rewards for information is neither new nor limited to terrorism. Indeed, the U.S. Code provides for several types of rewards for different kinds of information. (2) This article identifies the different reward mechanisms for terrorist-related information and explains the process of each program. While several U.S. intelligence agencies (civilian and military) have internally managed reward programs for confidential informants, these programs and their appropriations are classified for national security purposes and will not be addressed.
Establishment of the Confidential Informant Reward Program for Terrorist Information
Rewards for information involving terrorism were established by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism (1984 ACIT) (3) which provides the following:
With respect to acts of terrorism primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, the attorney general may reward any individual who furnishes information--
1) leading to the arrest or conviction, in any country, of any individual or individuals for the commission of an act of terrorism against a U.S. person or U.S. property;
2) leading to the arrest or conviction, in any country, of any individual or individuals for conspiring or attempting to commit an act of terrorism against a U.S. person or property; or
3) leading to the prevention, frustration, or favorable resolution of an act of terrorism against a U.S. person or property. (4)
Excluding government employees acting within the scope of their official duties, an individual is entitled to a reward up to $500,000. Rewards up to $100,000 can be paid with the approval of the attorney general, while a reward of $100,000 or more requires the approval of the president or attorney general. The rewards are deemed conclusive, and no court has the power or jurisdiction to review it. (5) Additionally, although the identity of an informant is kept strictly classified, informants and their immediate families are eligible to participate in the attorney general's Witness Protection Program. (6)
When he sent the bill to Congress in April 1984, President Reagan noted the limitations of existing laws, specifically the lack of authority to pay rewards for information concerning acts of terrorism abroad. (7) President Reagan also stated that the payment for rewards in connection with domestic acts of terrorism was appropriately designated to the attorney general, while acts of terrorism outside of the territorial United States raised political and foreign relations issues within the jurisdiction of the secretary of state. (8) Upon signing the bill into law, President Reagan proclaimed that this law would "provide the resources and authorities essential in countering the insidious threat terrorism poses to those who cherish freedom and democracy.... This nation bears global responsibilities that demand that we maintain a worldwide presence and not succumb to these cowardly attempts at intimidation." (9)
The 1984 ACIT law adopted the definition of "terrorism" from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, (10) defining terrorism as violent or dangerous acts that would be crimes if committed in the United States and that appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or to influence the policy or conduct of a government or political subdivision of a government by intimidation or coercion. The 1984 ACIT was first used in 1985 in connection with the slayings of four U.S. Marines and two U.S. civilians in El Salvador.
Current law, specifically, Rewards for Information Concerning Terrorist Acts and Espionage, (11) employs the same definition for terrorism as the 1984 ACIT. Rewards still are deemed conclusive and no court has the power or jurisdiction to review the reward. Again, informants' identities can be kept strictly classified, and their immediate families are eligible to participate in the attorney general's Witness Protection Program. (12)
The recently enacted PATRIOT Act amended the reward program's authority by increasing the amount of money offered or paid to an informant. Now, a reward totaling $250,000 or more requires the personal approval of the president or attorney general. (13) The PATRIOT Act also mandates that if an award is approved under this section, the attorney general must tender written notice to the chairmen and ranking minority members of the Committees on Appropriations and the Judiciary in the Senate and House of Representatives, not later than 30 days after the approval. (14) The funding for the reward program can come from any executive agency or military department. The attorney general's refusal to make a reward is not subject to judicial review. (15)
