Justice Department’s Boeing Settlement is a Travesty
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today reached an agreement in principle with Boeing that will allow the company to avoid criminal prosecution for misleading regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed and killed 346 people. If approved, under the terms of the agreement, DOJ will dismiss the criminal case, while the families of the victims have no right to intervene. Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, released the following statement:
“This proposed deal is unfathomable and unconscionable. Boeing already agreed to plead guilty in a sweetheart deal that let it off easy for wrongdoing that led to the needless deaths of hundreds of human beings. Now, the Trump administration is permitting Boeing to withdraw its guilty plea in a deal in which it essentially just agrees not to break the law in the future. This comes even as, under the deal, Boeing ‘will admit to conspiracy to obstruct and impede the lawful operation of the Federal Aviation Administration Aircraft Evaluation Group.’
“This deal is not a slap on the wrist; it’s barely a feather on the wrist.
“The deal marks one of the most shocking lapses of criminal enforcement against a major corporation in memory. The Trump administration touts how it is tough on crime, but when it comes to the world’s most powerful institutions, it is an all-time patsy.
“The Boeing gift does not occur in a vacuum. The Trump administration has already halted or dropped more than 130 civil and criminal cases against corporations since taking office; and it has promised a policy in which future corporate criminal prosecutions will be exceedingly rare.”