Well they asked first so "no smoke with out fire eh" putting it in writing gives the impression that they have something to hide.

Over zealous/incompetent HR is probably the correct answer.

Seriously if you where a cop questioning some one and they blurt out I want to do a deal at the start of the interview what woudl you think

Normally in NCIS when the person getting interviewed by Jethro asks for a deal - they are the perp.