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45 _The central issue now tendered by defendants in this case is whether the circumstances of the Abscam _ investigation and the government's conduct toward the particu- . lar defendants reached "a demonstrable level of outrageous- - ness" sufficient to require dismissal of the indictments. x Before addressing the circumstances of Abscam and the particu- lar problems of these cases, however, it may be useful : to list many of the factors that have been the focal point of discussion in the cases cited by counsel. Among those factors are the following: a 1. Did the government agents initiate or instigate the criminal activity? 2. Was the government's participation essential to the crime? > 3, Had the defendant engaged in similar criminal . activity before the government agent came on. the scene? 4,- Was the activity of the government agent, when viewed alone, criminal? ~ _5. How easy or difficult is the job of Law enforce- ment officers in combatting the kind of criminal activity involved? '