A federal judge in Texas today dismissed a criminal conspiracy case against Boeing over two crashes of its 737 Max jetliner that killed 346 people. Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, released the following statement:
“Unconscionable is inadequate to address the outrage of the Trump Justice Department’s decision to dismiss the criminal prosecution of Boeing. Not only did Boeing’s recklessness lead directly to the deaths of hundreds of people, but it violated the terms of the sweetheart deal it reached with the first Trump administration, again jeopardizing the lives of air passengers.
“Judge O’Connor believed his hands were tied in permitting the DOJ to drop the case, but his sharply worded decision reveals that he agrees the department’s action is outrageous. ‘The Government has a confession from Boeing, signed by the CEO and Chief Legal Officer, admitting to all the elements of the conspiracy charge against it,’ he wrote.
“For an Attorney General and DOJ leadership that has brought shame and disgrace to a previously magisterial agency, this marks a new low.”