Aaron McKnight v. Adam Torres

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

A federal grand jury issued an indictment charging fourteen individuals, including McKnight, with various offenses 4552 MCKNIGHT v. TORRES related to the importation of an illicit substance commonly known as Ecstasy from France into the United States. Shortly after the indictment, McKnight agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney in exchange for “direct use immunity” against use of any statements he made in a prosecution against him by the U.S. Attorney.

Prior to McKnight’s proffer session, he and the U.S. Attor- ney executed a written agreement in which he agreed to answer questions “truthfully and completely” in exchange for the government’s promise “not to offer in evidence in its case- in-chief or for the purpose of any sentencing hearing, any statements made by [McKnight] at the meeting” in either “the above-captioned case [or] in any other prosecution that may be brought against [McKnight] by this Office.” McKnight made incriminating statements during the proffer session regarding his recruitment of young American women to import Ecstasy into the United States.

The government made no use of McKnight’s proffer…