Target letter

{{Short description|Procedure in U.S. federal criminal law}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}

According to the law of the United States, a person receives a target letter when a U.S. attorney has "substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime".{{cite news | last =Oberheiden | first =Nick | title =I Received a Federal Target Letter, Now What?| newspaper =National Law Review | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =November 23, 2020 | url =https://www.natlawreview.com/article/i-received-federal-target-letter-now-what | accessdate =July 15, 2022 }} The same legal technique may be used by county prosecutors in some jurisdictions.

In 2005, the New York Times described target letters this way: "The U.S. attorney's manual bars prosecutors from taking witnesses before a grand jury if there is a possibility of future criminal charges unless the witnesses are notified in advance that their grand jury testimony can be used against them in a later indictment."{{cite news | last = | first = | title =Rove offers testimony on agent leak| newspaper =New York Times | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =October 6, 2005 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/world/americas/rove-offers-testimonyon-agent-leak.html | accessdate =July 15, 2022 }} Law professor Randal Lee, a former judge and prosecutor, has said "A target letter is simply a courtesy letter given by the federal government informing you that you're a suspect in a criminal investigation."{{cite news | last = | first = | newspaper = KHON | title = What is a target letter? Criminal experts break down federal investigative procedure| location =Honolulu| pages = | language = | publisher = | date = | url =https://www.khon2.com/news/what-is-a-target-letter-criminal-experts-break-down-federal-investigative-procedure/ | accessdate =July 15, 2022 }}

Former Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey Mitchell Epner has said that a target letter may be used by a prosecutor to induce a target of their investigation to flip, meaning to cooperate with the prosecution. Epner said, "Ordinarily, the reason that prosecutors send a target letter is to see if people want to come in to cooperate before they get charged."{{cite news | last1 =Klasfeld | first1 =Adam | last2 =Sarnoff | first2 = Marisa| title =Fulton County DA Reportedly Sent 'Target' Letters to Prominent Georgia Republicans in Donald Trump Probe. Here's What That Means. | newspaper =Law and Crime | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =July 15, 2022 | url =https://lawandcrime.com/georgia-election-probe/fulton-county-da-reportedly-sent-target-letters-to-prominent-georgia-republicans-in-donald-trump-probe-heres-what-that-means/

| accessdate =July 15, 2022 }}