Hank Brennan, Whitey Bulger's Defense Attorney, Makes Bold Claim

Whitey Bulger's Lawyer Makes Bold Claim

Joe Berlinger tackles the question of whether or not Whitey Bulger, the legendary Boston murderer and crime ring organizer, was a federal informant in his new documentary 'Whitey." Bulger's defense attorney, Hank Brennan, is adamant that the 83-year-old was no such thing.

"The issue about whether or not he was an informant was one of the central issues [of the trial], and the reason why it was important is because it was untrue," he told HuffPost Live's Ricky Camilleri in a HuffPost Live interview with Berlinger on Tuesday. "We had the opportunity to actually study the documents [informant file], speak to the source, and dispel the fact that these documents had any legitimacy. In fact, at trial, there was not one witness who wasn't paid by the government that could come in and say that he was an informant."

The infamous 700-page informant file was provided by John Connolly, a former FBI agent currently serving jail time for murder. A federal report confirmed that much of that report was invalid, which Brennan tied to a larger legal issue.

"This [informant file] was just part of one of the many untruths by the federal government," he said. "And really, the genesis of the defense was to get the truth to the public -- the corruption, the systemic corruption by the federal government."

Watch the rest of Hank Brennan and Joe Berlinger's conversation with HuffPost Live below:

Before You Go

James "Whitey" Bulger

Who's Who In The Whitey Bulger Case

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot