Can I relinquish all liability, or have all liability relinquished prior to a possible offense?

Question

Can I have full immunity or liability relinquished prior to any possible legal acts/offenses of a certain nature? For example, say I'm hired to be the voice of a public image that one day may be associated with terrorism. Is it possible that I can be granted immunity in such a case so that I am not liable for terrorism because I only voice such a begin -- and do not actually control them/their actions?

I know this may not be specifically easy to form an idea around, but I feel that someone will get this.

For example, say I request immunity in the case that a certain group I wish to work for is in legal trouble. I want immunity because I do not want to be charged with a crime that the group commits, not me, even though I may be the representative or CEO/etc. of such a company, group, or etc.

Is this possible? How does this work & under what conditions can immunity be granted beforehand?

Answer 1

You cannot be prosecuted for having aided a person who later becomes a criminal or terrorist, nor for aiding an organization that turns criminal terrorist. You can however be prosecuted for aiding a person or organization that is criminal or terrorist. One of the laws against aiding terrorists is 18 USC 1339b, which says in part that to be punished, you

must have knowledge that the organization is a designated terrorist organization (as defined in subsection (g)(6)), that the organization has engaged or engages in terrorist activity (as defined in section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act), or that the organization has engaged or engages in terrorism (as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989).

The law does not allow prosecution for aiding an organization that becomes designated as terrorist.

Supposing that you have (currently) violated the law by acting as a spokesman for ISIS, then what you'd be looking for is immunity from prosecution. It's really not predictable whether you would be granted immunity, since it depends on what you offer in exchange. Probably if you could provide information that would wipe ISIS out, the DoJ would grant you immunity from prosecution for this specific offense, but there is no law that requires granting immunity from prosecution. Alternatively, you could be granted immunity if your testimony is deemed to be important enough that you should be compelled to testify.