# Cooperating Defendant or Witness **Entity class:** Law-enforcement cooperation category ## Definition Under the Attorney General's 2001 guidelines, a **cooperating defendant or witness** is a person who meets the confidential-informant definition, has agreed to testify, and has an applicable written agreement with or concurrence from a federal prosecuting office. The guidelines treat this category separately from ordinary confidential informants. ## Relationships - **broader category:** [[wiki/Nonemployee Operational Participant|Nonemployee Operational Participant]]. - **related source roles:** [[wiki/Confidential Informant|Confidential Informant]] and [[wiki/Confidential Human Source|Confidential Human Source]]. - **distinct from:** [[wiki/Undercover Employee|Undercover Employee]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [DOJ — Confidential Informant Guidelines, January 8, 2001](https://www.justice.gov/archives/ag/attorney-general-renos-confidential-informant-guidelines-january-8-2001)