6. Interview protocols followed by OIG
We established interview protocols for the investigation that precluded any agents employed by or previously associated with a particular DOJ component from interviewing witnesses from those components. Thus, when interviewing a witness employed by the FBI, no current or former FBI personnel participated in the OIG interview of that witness. [ / Component personnel were involved in the initial canvassing process and some preliminary interviews that were intended to gather information for the Senate hearing on July 21. Each individual identified as having attended a Roundup was subsequently interviewed in person and at length by OIG agents and special investigative counsel assigned to OIG for the purposes of this investigation. ] This rule applied to our interviews of each DOJ component's personnel. [ / There were two exceptions to this policy. First, there were three individuals who, during the time of the investigation, were employed by OIG and who were interviewed regarding the Roundup. Two agents were interviewed because of information suggesting that they may have been invited to a Roundup and one supervisor regarding his attendance at two early Roundups prior to his employment with the Department of Justice. Each of the agents was interviewed by someone with whom he does not work and also interviewed by agents of Treasury OIG. The supervisor was interviewed in the presence of an agent from Treasury OIG and by two special investigative counsel who do not report to him. In addition, this supervisor had no role in the conduct of this investigation. The second exception involved the interviews of Assistant United States Attorneys who attended various Roundups. These individuals were interviewed by an OIG agent and a special investigative counsel who had been detailed to OIG from a U.S. Attorney's Office. These counsel did not work in the same U.S. Attorneys' Offices as the interviewees and had had no prior contact with these individuals. ] Although the Offices of Professional Responsibility for the FBI and DEA requested permission to attend interviews of their agency's personnel, the OIG denied these requests to encourage as much candor as possible from the witnesses.