Finding someone to ask them a question is not harassment.
They were probably testing to see if the attorney would invoke the right to remain silent.
edit: Really her attorney did a terrible job. If the attorney knew the client didn't want to talk to FBI, she should have handled it way differently.
edit2: Man even if the attorney didn't know the client wanted to stay silent, if you hear "we uh… need her to clear up her involvement or… uh… potential involvement in a matter" you assert the 5th and wait for the subpoena--and then fight it.
So if I call your partner and tell them that I'm going to find you and beat you up, I'm not harassing you, because I haven't contacted you specifically?
I think he meant a legal precedent defining whether the following constitutes harassment:
> Refusing to talk to a person's lawyer, then saying "we will be attempting to talk to this person without a lawyer present"
IANAL, but it seems like it's OK for an FBI agent to say they'd prefer to talk to someone in person without a lawyer. It's not OK for them to coerce someone into talking without a lawyer, but it doesn't seem like that has happened here. I understand the author's fears, but the real issue seems to be the largely unchecked potential of the FBI to inflict harm upon specific citizens for any reason, not their actual behavior in this case.
It's de jure unethical for another lawyer to directly contact someone who has a lawyer. I would say it is de facto unethical for law enforcement agent to try and end-run around someone's lawyer. That undermines the specific roles law enforcement agents and lawyers have within the justice system.
I was talking about speaking to a person of interest instead of directly with their counsel (counsel without a case isn't legal counsel, in many US contexts depending on local legislation and interpretation).
They were probably testing to see if the attorney would invoke the right to remain silent.
edit: Really her attorney did a terrible job. If the attorney knew the client didn't want to talk to FBI, she should have handled it way differently.
edit2: Man even if the attorney didn't know the client wanted to stay silent, if you hear "we uh… need her to clear up her involvement or… uh… potential involvement in a matter" you assert the 5th and wait for the subpoena--and then fight it.