Is the FBI paying witnesses?

[Urban hermit]

It appears so, how many prosecutions are at risk?
Informant testifies FBI paid him $23K in bomb plot probe

OKLAHOMA CITY — An FBI informant says he was paid more than $23,000 for cooperating in an investigation that led to charges against a man accused of trying to detonate what he thought was a 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) bomb outside an Oklahoma City bank.

TV station KWTV reports Brent Elisens testified Wednesday during the trial of Jerry Varnell, who has pleaded not guilty to attempted use of an explosive device and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

Elisens said he and Varnell met in 2015 through Craigslist. He said he agreed to work with the FBI because he feared innocent people would be hurt.

Prosecutors say Varnell planned to detonate a vehicle bomb Aug. 12, 2017, but an undercover FBI agent posing as someone who could help construct the device provided inert materials.

Defense attorneys say Varnell was entrapped.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/in...obe/ar-BBTBRwC

[The Exorcist]

Entrapping the occasional moron isn't the same thing as fighting Terrorism.
However, it does seem to be easier, and probably helps with the promotion ladder.

The world's most credible law-enforcement arm sure ain't what it used to be.

[T. A. Gardner]

Entrapping the occasional moron isn't the same thing as fighting Terrorism.
However, it does seem to be easier, and probably helps with the promotion ladder.

The world's most credible law-enforcement arm sure ain't what it used to be.

They're just channeling their J. Edgar Hoover...

[Arnold J Rimmer]

The world's most credible law-enforcement arm sure ain't what it used to be.

Neither is the FBI.

The term 'witness' is used incorrectly in the article. The FBI pays informants amazing salaries, somethiimes close to six figures, to deliver.

I am extremely dubious about the practice; I've run a lot of CIs as an officer and supervised the use of even more, and am not in favor of cash incentives. I've approved some pocket money here and there, but the overwhelming motivation has been the tried-and-true 'three for one' method: if you deliver three felony offenders to us, one of your felonies is dropped or pled down to probation.

There are variations, of course, the most common being a subject in an organization taking us a step up the ladder, but it all works out the same: first they tell us who is doing what, then they deliver the facts.There's no time for them to cruise around and set something up: they tell us about who they know, and then they go talk to them while we are listening. It keeps the target selection honest.

Having a spy on the payroll out hunting targets in return for a tax-free salary would seem to be rife with possibilities for problems.

[SRV Ron]

Is the FBI paying for witnesses?

They most certainly are and have done so for years.

Do NOT let the Geek Squad ever do any work on your computer. There are many other repair services that are not paid informants of the FBI.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/...phy/406822002/

[Half Pint John]

NO witness an informant. Do you really think this is something new? How much did Jude's get?

[Jose50]

For that kind of cash I wonder how many 'paid informants' would make stuff up....

[Urban hermit]

For that kind of cash I wonder how many 'paid informants' would make stuff up....

That is the 64K question.
Ask former MI6 Agent Steele who was paid a handsome fee to plant evidence

[Arnold J Rimmer]

For that kind of cash I wonder how many 'paid informants' would make stuff up....

I met a CI the Feds were running back in the mid 1990s. At that time the CI was drawing $55k a year. I don't think they actually ran him in our region.

I don't know what they pay now, but I'm pretty sure it's still tax-free, and based on performance.

Not how I would choose to operate. CIs are to be used, protected, and not paid, IMO. The barter system is the best way.

Of all the CIs I've run, I never trusted a single one. CIs are like chainsaws: very useful, even essential, but you need to watch them every second they are in operation lest something go badly wrong.

[Urban hermit]

It is like paying the devil to sell tickets to hell

[Mountain Man]

They're just channeling their J. Edgar Hoover...

But...are they 'dressing' the part?

[T. A. Gardner]

But...are they 'dressing' the part?

That's okay today. They can wear whatever they want to work now...

[Mountain Man]

That's okay today. They can wear whatever they want to work now...

Hoover was a cross-dresser.

[T. A. Gardner]

Hoover was a cross-dresser.

Yeap, and today with the LGBTPDQRSTUV movement you too can wear a tutu to work if you want... or leather... or spandex... or apparently just about anything you want.

[Mountain Man]

Yeap, and today with the LGBTPDQRSTUV movement you too can wear a tutu to work if you want... or leather... or spandex... or apparently just about anything you want.

You can, but no one has to take you seriously.