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How cushy was the felony plea deal struck by the rapper T.I. with Department of Justice prosecutors?
Remarkably so, considering how the confidential government informant who ensnared the hip-hop star was treated, The Smoking Gun has learned.
The informant, bodyguard Corey Williams, is currently imprisoned serving a one-year and one-day sentence for his role in securing machine guns and silencers for T.I. (real name: Clifford Harris). Last month, Harris received the same sentence as Williams, despite the fact that the chart-topping star had a previous felony conviction, was found in possession of a large weapons cache, and faced far stiffer charges than the snitch, who is pictured at right.
By comparison, Williams had a clean record prior to his October 2007 arrest, and he immediately agreed to cooperate with federal agents after being caught in a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) sting operation. At the direction of federal agents, Williams, 34, subsequently had monitored conversations with Harris and wore a wire on the rapper during a face-to-face meeting. Williams also agreed to testify at trial against Harris, whose fans and rap world peers do not look kindly on violators of the "Stop Snitching" code.
Williams's identity has been cloaked by federal investigators who only referred to him as "Confidential Witness," or "CW," in court filings. Additionally, a protective order barred Harris and his defense team from publicly disclosing the informant's name, so as to "guard against any improper contact."
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