The supervising partner at an accounting firm has asked an administrative assistant to dispose of some documentary files form an audit conducted 24 months ago. The administrative assistant knows the firm normally, for income tax reasons, keeps such files for more than double that time period, but also is aware that, when the amount of paper becomes overwhelming, in some instances files have been destroyed more quickly than that. Although puzzled by the request, the administrative assistant does as requested. The audited company is currently being investigated for criminal activity, and the accounting firm partner who audited the company knows of the ongoing criminal investigation. Since it is a crime under U.S. law to dispose of documents, including files, that are the subject of or could be related to a criminal or civil investigation, consider whether the supervisor, partner, and/or administrative assistant might be criminally liable for disposing of the files. Might the answer change if the administrative assistant had seen an article relating to the criminal investigation of the audited company in the newspaper?