Latest news with #corporateaccountability
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Justice Department drops criminal case against Boeing, sparking outrage from crash victims' families
The Department of Justice has decided to drop its criminal case against Boeing despite the company agreeing to plead guilty last year to its role in two fatal 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people. The decision to drop the case against Boeing is another sign the Trump administration has been going easier on prosecuting corporate misdeeds than the Biden administration. The decision sparked harsh criticism from some of the families of victims of the two fatal crashes. 'The Department of Justice is trying to sweep the errors and mistakes of Boeing and the FAA under the rug,' said a statement from Chris Moore, who lost his daughter Danielle in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash. 'It is said that Justice is supposed to be blind for it to be fair, but the prosecutors are blind to the facts of this case. Boeing has already admitted their criminality - it's a no-brainer in terms of prosecuting Boeing in a court of law.' The Justice Department did not respond to CNN's request for comment but said in its filing that the decision to drop the criminal case against Boeing and instead reach a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) was the right decision given what could be proved in the case. 'After careful consideration of the families' views, the facts and the law … it is the government's judgment that the agreement is a fair and just resolution that serves the public interest,' the Justice Department said in the filing. 'The agreement guarantees further accountability and substantial benefits from Boeing immediately, while avoiding the uncertainty and litigation risk presented by proceeding to trial.' The NPA includes Boeing agreeing to pay an additional $444.5 million in victim compensation, on top of the $500 million it had already paid. But it freed Boeing from having to plead guilty to defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration during the process of seeking certification for the 737 Max to begin carrying passengers. A design flaw in the 737 Max that was not revealed during that process has been tied to the two crashes. It also frees Boeing from being under the oversight of a federally appointed monitor who would have ensured the company was making promised improvements in the quality and safety of its aircraft. That federal monitor would have been part of the guilty plea Boeing agreed to in July. Instead, Boeing itself will hire an outside contractor to oversee its operations, rather than having one chosen for it. Boeing said Thursday it is committed to improving in its safety record and company culture. 'We are deeply sorry for their losses, and remain committed to honoring their loved ones' memories by pressing forward with the broad and deep changes to our company,' Boeing said in its statement. In the final days of the first Trump administration, Boeing agreed to a 'deferred prosecution' settlement on the same charges that could have relieved it of ever facing criminal prosecution. But in January 2024, days before a three-year probationary period on that original agreement ended, a door plug blew out of the side of a 737 Max flown by Alaska Air. While no one was killed in that incident, it opened the door for the Justice Department to again resume prosecution of the company. Six months later, Boeing agreed to the guilty plea. But even while agreeing to the plea agreement, the company said it did not feel it had violated an earlier deferred prosecution agreement. In December, a federal judge rejected that earlier plea agreement. He objected to the agreement that called for the Justice Department to pick the monitor, and not the court itself. 'It is fair to say the government's attempt to ensure compliance has failed,' Judge Reed O'Connor wrote in his opinion. 'At this point, the public interest requires the court to step in. Marginalizing the court in the selection and monitoring of the independent monitor as the plea agreement does undermines public confidence in Boeing's probation.' But once he rejected that plea agreement, Boeing decided to move forward with challenging the case in court rather than agreeing to plead guilty. The Justice Department cited the lack of an agreement to plead guilty in its decision to drop the criminal case. In a statement two weeks ago, the Justice Department also said it had met with a broad range of the victims' families while considering what to do next. 'While they are all experiencing grief, they hold a broad set of views regarding the resolution, ranging from support to disagreement,' the Justice Department said in that earlier statement. Many of the families had not been happy with the original plea agreement, seeking to have criminal prosecution of individual executives at Boeing, and much steeper financial penalties than the $487 million in fines that Boeing had agreed to pay, an amount that is included in the NPA. The attorneys for the family said that they will seek to have the judge reject this NPA. 'This kind of non-prosecution deal is unprecedented and obviously wrong for the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history. My families will object and hope to convince the court to reject it,' Paul Cassell, one of the attorneys representing the families, said in a statement.
Bloomberg
23-05-2025
- Health
- Bloomberg
Kennedy's MAHA Report Wasn't the Hammer Industries Feared
Hi, it's Damian in New York. US manufacturers had been bracing for fallout from a MAHA report. Now it looks like they can enjoy their long weekends. But before I tell you more ... Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s ascent to head of US health policy promised to bring about radical change by cleaning up foods, policing medicines and reining in the influence of corporate profiteers, all in the name of making America healthy again.
Reuters
17-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Families of 737 MAX crash victims to object to deal allowing Boeing to avoid prosecution
WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - Families of some of the 346 people killed in two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes plan to object to a tentative nonprosecution agreement between the planemaker and the U.S. Justice Department, a lawyer said on Saturday. The Justice Department outlined the tentative deal in a more than two-hour meeting with families on Friday and said in a court filing on Saturday that they would have until Thursday to file written objections. Paul Cassell, a lawyer for the families, said they would object "to any deal along the lines described by DOJ yesterday, because it fails to hold Boeing accountable for the 'deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history,'" citing the prior comments of U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor. The Justice Department said in its filing "it has not decided whether to enter into the agreement or to proceed to trial, and would not make the decision until after finishing conferring with the families." The agreement would forestall a June 23 trial the planemaker faces on a fraud charge it misled U.S. regulators about a crucial flight control system on the 737 MAX, its best-selling jet. The agreement would allow Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab to avoid being branded a convicted felon and would be a blow to families who lost relatives in the crashes and had pressed prosecutors to take the U.S. planemaker to trial. "The new deal is a step backward from last summer, when Boeing was going to plead guilty," Cassell added. "Under the new arrangement, they don't plead guilty." Boeing declined to comment. Boeing agreed in July to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the two fatal 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, spanning 2018 and 2019, and to pay a fine of up to $487.2 million. Boeing and DOJ officials have not yet exchanged papers to negotiate final details of any nonprosecution agreement, the department said Saturday. The Justice Department told families on Friday that Boeing would be asked to pay an additional $444.5 million into a crash victims' fund that would be divided evenly per crash victim, lawyers for the families said, on top of $500 million Boeing paid in 2021. Boeing has faced enhanced scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration since January 2024, when a new MAX 9 missing four key bolts suffered a mid-air emergency losing a door plug. The FAA has capped production at 38 planes per month.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
New Jersey says chemical maker 3M agrees to 'forever chemical' settlement worth up to $450M
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's attorney general said Tuesday chemical manufacturer 3M agreed to pay up $450 million to resolve lawsuits over natural resource contamination stemming from PFAS — commonly referred to as 'forever chemicals.' The settlement is subject to court approval and a public comment period, Attorney General Matt Platkin's office said. St. Paul, Minnesota-based 3M is expected to pay $285 million this year, with additional amounts payable over the next 25 years. The total amount could reach $450 million, Platkin's office said. 'Corporate polluters must be held accountable when they contaminate our state's water supply,' Platkin said in a statement. PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of chemicals that have been around for decades and have now spread into the nation's air, water and soil. 3M said in 2022 it would end all PFAS manufacturing by the end of this year. In a statement, the company said it's on track to do so. 'This agreement is another important step toward reducing risk and uncertainty on these legacy issues, allowing 3M to focus on its strategic priorities,' 3M said. PFAS were manufactured by companies such as 3M, Chemours and others because they were incredibly useful. They helped eggs slide across non-stick frying pans, ensured that firefighting foam suffocates flames and helped clothes withstand rain and keep people dry. The chemicals resist breaking down, though, meaning they linger in the environment. Environmental activists say PFAS makers knew about the health harms of PFAS long before they were made public. The same attributes that make the chemicals so valuable – resistance to breakdown – make them hazardous to people. PFAS accumulate in the body, which is why the Environmental Protection Agency set their limits for drinking water at 4 parts per trillion for two common types — PFOA and PFOS — that are phased out of manufacturing but still are present in the environment. The New Jersey settlement stems from 2019 lawsuits at the nearly 1,500-acre (607-hectare) Chambers Works site in Pennsville and Carneys Point and another location in Parlin. The settlement also resolves all other statewide claims in litigation over PFAS in firefighting material used in the state. The lawsuits alleged the companies involved, including 3M, knew about risks from forever chemicals produced at the facilities but continued to sell them. The attorney general said that by agreeing to settle 3M would not go to trial next week in the Chambers Works case. New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection will use a portion of the settlement funds to 'protect public health, safety and the environment from impacts caused by PFAS,' according to a joint statement from the attorney general and DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.
