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FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Congressional Hearing on Federal Use of Confidential Informants

Original title: USE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANTS AT ATF AND DEA

January 1, 2017

law enforcement confidential informants oversight DEA ATF Department of Justice

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The Frame

What this does

The hearing addresses the oversight of federal law enforcement practices involving over 6,000 active informants and $260 million in spending over a five-year period.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Drug Enforcement Administration

The agency is subject to congressional oversight regarding its management and funding of confidential informants.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

The agency is subject to congressional oversight regarding its management and funding of confidential informants.

Department of Justice Inspector General

The office is responsible for auditing and reporting on the informant programs of the DEA and ATF.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2017.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

This hearing transcript documents a 2017 House Oversight Committee review of how the DEA and ATF manage and oversee s. The committee examined the risks associated with using informants in criminal investigations and discussed findings from a Department of Justice report.

Key Facts

The DEA and ATF maintain a combined total of over 6,000 active confidential informants at any given time.
The DEA and ATF spent approximately $260 million on confidential informant activities over a five-year period.
The Department of Justice Inspector General conducted an audit of informant management at the DEA and ATF.
The committee cited a 2012 incident where an ATF informant committed sexual abuse in a hotel room paid for by the agency.
The hearing was held on April 4, 2017, by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Why It Matters

The hearing addresses the oversight of federal law enforcement practices involving over 6,000 active informants and $260 million in spending over a five-year period.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many informants do the DEA and ATF use?

The agencies have more than 6,000 active informants at any given time.

How much money is spent on these informants?

The DEA and ATF spent roughly $260 million on informant-related activities over a five-year period.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift80% confidence

Increased Oversight of Informant Programs

The hearing highlights a shift toward greater congressional scrutiny of the financial and operational management of confidential informants within federal law enforcement.

Drug Enforcement Administration Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

Connected Entities

personRonald B. Turk“Associate Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacc”Map →

personMichael E. Horowitz“Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice”Map →

personJason Chaffetz“Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform”Map →

organizationDrug Enforcement Administration“Federal law enforcement agency under review”Map →

organizationBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives“Federal law enforcement agency under review”Map →

personRobert Patterson“Acting Principal Deputy Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance75
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy60
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment40
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

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