Legal guide

Hi Barrett,

I didn't find anything that made a good starting place so I started from scratch and wrote some stuff. I need to add something about resources; is there a website I can point to, to get help after an FBI raid? I've setup http://anonymous.stickypatch.org but it won't be up until DNS propagates (probably sometime tomorrow). I'm going to make it a login wiki so I can allow people to help me write and edit documents. Here's what I have so far:

How to manage an FBI visit.

There is one golden rule regarding the FBI. Do not talk to them. If they knock on your door, you do not have to answer. Always use your peephole or CCTV system. If you don't recognize your visitors, don't open the door. If they say something like "FBI, open up," you do not have to open the door, and you do not have to respond to them. If they say "We see you in there," you do not have to respond. No matter what they say or do, you do not have to respond. If they are going to come in, let them break the door. Do not resist or try to stop them, but don't cooperate either. Ignore any qualms about pissing them off. They are out to get you, and you will gain nothing from attempting to placate them. They will be placated when you are in prison, so it is in your best interest to not see them placated. If they threaten you, that's a good sign, because it means they have no warrant (in general, anyone who makes threats is doing it because they have no power over
you and they are hoping you won't realize that). If they have a warrant and they think you're in there they may break the door.

The advice against saying anything includes insults. You have nothing to gain by being rude. Don't say anything, and don't make rude gestures.

If you open the door and FBI agents are standing there, you still don't have to talk to them. Close the door. If they push it open, then they may have a warrant. Ask to see the warrant and their FBI identification, and ask for a business card. Be polite but firm. If they don't have a warrant, you do not have to let them in, and it is illegal for them to stop you from closing the door. Always be polite; even if you are closing the door in their faces, do it as politely as possible. Don't slam the door, just gently close it. If they stop you, politely say "Without a warrant, it is illegal for you to push my door open. Will you please stop?" Even if they have a warrant, you do not have to say anything. Do not say anything besides "I think I should talk to a lawyer before I say anything." If they try to start an argument with you by saying things like "Why do you need a lawyer?" or "What do you have to hide?" do not be tricked into talking to them. Just
close the door. If they accost you outside your home, repeat "I think I should talk to a lawyer before I say anything" in response to every single question. If you feel silly repeating it over and over, then switch the words around "Before I say anything, I think I should talk to a lawyer." Do not answer any question with anything besides this statement.

Once you have a lawyer, do not talk to the FBI for any reason. Your lawyer can talk to them; that's his job. If your lawyer advises you to talk to the FBI, fire him and find another lawyer.

The statements above require some explanation. Why shouldn't you talk to the FBI? Isn't it better to give them your side of the story, with your lawyer present?

The reason you should not ever talk to the FBI, or any federal agent, is that the FBI has (and uses) an extraordinarily sweeping power granted by federal law, specifically 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Read this link. Do not skip over it. You must read this if you want to understand the amazing power you will give to the FBI if you say anything to them besides "I need to talk to a lawyer before I say anything," and then later "My lawyer advises me to remain silent."

http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/18/I/47/1001

BTW, this Findlaw site is awesome. Read the relevant federal laws and know them.

18 U.S.C. § 1001 grants incredibly awesome powers to federal agents. It criminalizes any and all lying to the government, and lists various different types of lying to make sure nothing is left out. The best part is that the government not only gets to decide whether you lied, they also get to decide what you said. This is how they got Martha Stewart. She was not convicted of insider trading offenses, she was convicted of lying to the FBI under 18 U.S.C. § 1001. She may have lied, but we don't know, and we can never know, because FBI interviews are not recorded. The FBI agents never come alone, there will be two (or maybe more). One will talk to you, and one will take notes and then fill out an FD-302:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FBI_forms#FD-302

The FD-302 is the agent's version of the conversation. The agent can write down whatever he wants. They will not allow you to record the interview. If you later testify in court, you will be pressured to say whatever the FD-302 says, even if it is not what you said. If the government decides that anything in the FD-302 is a lie, then you are guilty of a federal crime. If you say anything that disagrees with the FD-302, then you are guilty of a federal crime.

I'm not 100% positive that clandestinely recording a conversation with the FBI is illegal, but why bother? There's no need to talk to them. Talking to federal agents will never help you, and it can only hurt.

18 U.S.C. § 1001 is an extremely broad statute, and it applies to statements not made to the FBI. Theoretically it could be applied to a newspaper article or a blog post, if the government decided that it said something untrue about something under an extremely wide and constantly expanding federal jurisdiction, but that has not happened yet. The FBI used the 302-1001 attack against Martha Stewart and others, and it is a common tactic of theirs. They can only use the 302-1001 attack against you if you talk to them.

Here are some reasons why you might want to talk to the FBI:

1. You don't want your parents to find out.

Your parents are going to find out. Do you want them to find out that you refused to talk to the FBI, or that you are in prison?

2. Your door is very expensive and you don't want it broken. Your parents will be mad if the door is broken. Etc.

Going to prison is much more expensive than your door. Going to prison is worse than anything your parents will do about the door. Etc.

3. Your lawyer advised you to talk to the FBI.

Fire your lawyer. There is no good reason for anyone, innocent or guilty, to ever step into the 302-1001 trap.

4. You've committed a crime, and you're afraid that pissing them off will make things worse.

The idea that the FBI will give you a break because you cooperated is a lie. They will only give you a break if you rat out your friends, and even then you'll probably wind up in prison. If you talk to them you give them power over you because they can use the 302-1001 threat to blackmail you. Don't ever say anything to the FBI. Here's an excellent article on the subject by a white-collar defense lawyer

http://library.findlaw.com/2004/May/11/147945.html