Is the FBI required to keep records of payments made to informants?
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Yes, the FBI is required to keep records of payments made to informants. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires federal agencies to keep records of their activities, including payments made to informants. The FBI is also subject to the Attorney General's Guidelines on FBI Use of Confidential Human Sources, which require the FBI to keep records of all payments made to informants.
The records that the FBI must keep include the following:
The date of the payment
The amount of the payment
The purpose of the payment
The method of payment
The informant's signature
The records must be kept in a confidential file that is separate from the informant's case file. The records are subject to audit by the FBI's Office of Inspector General.
The purpose of keeping records of informant payments is to ensure that the payments are made in accordance with FBI policy and that the FBI is accountable for its use of taxpayer money. The records also help to protect the identities of informants and to ensure that the information they provide is not compromised.
In addition to the records required by the FOIA and the Attorney General's Guidelines, the FBI may also keep other records related to informant payments, such as:
The informant's background information
The informant's relationship with the FBI
The informant's cooperation with the FBI
The results of the FBI's investigation
These additional records may be kept in the informant's case file or in a separate file. The decision of whether to keep these additional records is made on a case-by-case basis.
The FBI's policy on recordkeeping for informant payments is designed to ensure that the FBI is transparent about its use of taxpayer money and that the privacy of informants is protected.