Trump Cancels Enforcement Against Corporate Criminal Defendants
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump administration has to date canceled enforcement actions inherited from the Biden administration against 205 corporations, according to a report Public Citizen released today.
The canceled actions include federal investigations, enforcement lawsuits, prior settlements, and other accountability measures for alleged lawbreaking. Sectors that have benefited most are banks and finance (51), tech (28), and cryptocurrency and fintech (26). The 212 canceled enforcement actions include:
- 80 closed investigations (including 10 criminal investigations);
- 67 dismissed enforcement lawsuits the federal agencies were actively litigating (including 10 criminal cases); and
- 54 canceled consequences in which the Trump administration terminated or reversed enforcement actions that were resolved before his second term, including 14 pardons of corporations and executives and five canceled corporate leniency deals.
“Trump’s retreat from law enforcement against corporate crime is a signal to Big Business that if you’re big enough, rich enough, and connected enough with Trump’s inner circle, there are no consequences for breaking the law,” said Rick Claypool, a research director for Public Citizen and author of the report. “The reckless experiments of AI corporations, the proliferation of scammy financial fraudsters, and the outbreaks of tainted food show that the message has clearly been received.”
Public Citizen’s Corporate Enforcement Tracker is an online resource for watchdogging the Trump administration’s cancellation of federal enforcement actions brought against corporations prior to President Trump’s second term. These enforcement actions include investigations, enforcement lawsuits, and other accountability measures for alleged lawbreaking by many of the largest and most powerful corporations.