NCJ Number
110029
Date Published
1988
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Political corruption investigations often focus on well-known and influential members of the community and, therefore, may generate intense media interest and scrutiny.
Abstract
In such cases, someone in the U.S. Attorney's Office should be designated to act as the single spokesperson for the Government in responding to media enquiries. This will enable attorneys in charge to concentrate on the investigation or prosecution and permits screening of queries, thus reducing surprises and permitting consistent and accurate responses. While an announcement of the existence of the investigation will be required at some point, its existence should neither be confirmed nor denied if such a disclosure will limit ongoing investigation or necessarily disclose the identity of the targets to their political detriment. The identity of targets should rarely, if ever, be confirmed by the spokesperson for the investigation even if the existence of the investigation is widely known. Nontargets, however, should be confirmed as such if the spokesperson has denied that a particular individual is not a target. The better practice is to neither confirm or deny the status of particular individuals. Care also must be taken not to violate grand jury secrecy provisions. To enhance coverage and improve media relations, spokespersons also should ensure that all media representatives receive the same information in a timely manner, preferably through written press releases or a press conference.