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Federal prosecution of investigators



I write this with the following assumptions:

 

1.        The defendant investigator has never been convicted of any
integrity crime or crime of moral turpitude

2.       The investigator NEVER ghost wrote or deliberately submitted false
information.  False information may be submitted because of honest mistakes
as a result of poor record keeping or simple oversight

3.       The investigator can recollect some details regarding the subject
of the investigation, even in the absence of notes or historic records.

4.       The Government's allegations are false.

 

It seems fundamentally unfair to me that the Federal government is
prosecuting investigators based on allegations of falsifying records several
years after the maximum number of years that records of investigation are
required to be kept.  Assuming that Government has it wrong, how can a
defendant defend him or herself when they are required by law to submit ALL
notes.  And when the Government may destroy those notes 3 years after they
have received them?

 

In the case of Mr. Davila, he finds himself facing numerous charges and a
demand to plead guilty.  It is clear that he can rebut much of the
Government's allegations with travel and telephone records.  That defense
could be perfected if he were allowed to use his notes which he no longer
has access to.

 

As I consider how to defend these charges, I imagine standing in front of
the jury and explaining the dilemma of a clearly good person who is fighting
the power of the Government with his hands tied.  A jury will not like the
unfair rules.  A jury will believe a defendant with a history of honorable
service to the nation when he gets on the stand and tries to recollect his
moves, explains that he created notes that could assist him in recollecting
but can't because the government took them and destroyed them.  

 

What this means is that a defendant will almost always have to take the
stand to explain.  It also means and I firmly believe that a defendant who
lies to a jury does so at his or her own peril because jurors are pretty
good at detecting the truth.  

 

In such a trial I would want to use an experienced investigator as an expert
to discuss the restrictions imposed by OPM as compared to other agencies.
The expert would also talk to about how investigations are conducted and why
mistakes are sometimes made.

 

I look forward to your thoughts and ideas  

 

 

 

Haytham Faraj, Esq.

PUCKETT & FARAJ, PC

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WASHINGTON DC METRO

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Suite 210

Alexndria, VA 22314

 

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Dearborn, MI 48126 

 

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