In the United States, the
federal crime of witness tampering is defined by statute at , which is entitled "tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant." The statute is broad; the
Justice Manual notes that it "proscribes conduct intended to illegitimately affect the presentation of evidence in Federal proceedings or the communication of information to Federal law enforcement officers" and applies to tampering with witnesses in "proceedings before
Congress, executive departments, and administrative agencies, and to civil and criminal judicial proceedings, including
grand jury proceedings." VWPA established section 1512 to address the specific witness tampering issue, and simultaneously removed references to witnesses from section 1503. This led to uncertainly about whether witness tampering can now be exclusively prosecuted as a federal crime under section 1512, or whether it may also be prosecuted under section 1503 as an alternative or additional charge; the
courts of appeals are
split on this question. political operative
Roger Stone, real estate developer
Charles Kushner, and
Nine Trey Gangsters figure Laron Spicer. Witness tampering via
bribery is not covered by 18 U.S.C. § 1512, but is rather prohibited by a different statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1510. ==England and Wales==