High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group

The High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) is a U.S. three-agency intelligence-gathering entity that brings together intelligence professionals from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the United States Department of Defense (DoD).[3][2] The HIG was created by President Barack Obama in August 2009 with its charter written in April 2010.[4][5] It was established to question terrorism suspects soon after their arrests, to quickly obtain information about accomplices and terrorism threats.[5]

FBI Director James Comey addresses the fifth HIG conference on 2015-10-27.[2]

The group was to be responsible for interrogations overseas.[6] In January 2010, the Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said that the group would begin interrogating people in the U.S. as well.[6] The HIG claims to use authorized, lawful, non-coercive techniques and conducts research on the effectiveness of interrogation techniques and provides training for their interrogators, other U.S. Intelligence Community and law enforcement partners and allies abroad.[2]

The HIG is administered by the FBI.[3] The Director of the HIG is an FBI representative with two deputies, one from the DoD and the other from the CIA.[3] The HIG is subject to oversight by the National Security Council, the Department of Justice, and by Congress.[3][5]

The group's creation stopped a bureaucratic war between the CIA and the FBI over who had responsibility for interrogations.[4][7]

HIG questioned Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American citizen responsible for the 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt,[5] Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev,[8] and Benghazi terror suspect Ahmed Abu Khattala.