Two Boeing 737 Max airplanes crashed in 2018 and 2019, claiming 346 lives.

• Despite evidence of misconduct by the company, federal law enforcement officials agreed not to prosecute Boeing if it promised, essentially, not to do it again.

• These barely-a-slap-on-the-wrist corporate leniency deals are known as “deferred prosecution agreements.” And the U.S. Department of Justice has become far too dependent on them.

• But it turns out that giant corporations are no better at keeping their word than a child who promises “not to do it again” after getting caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

• The result is that corporate criminals — even flagrant and repeat offenders — go unpunished time and time again.

• Fast forward to January of this year, when a section of the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines jet built by Boeing blew out while the plane was flying at roughly 440 miles per hour at an altitude of 16,000 feet.

• And there have been other alarming incidents with Boeing planes this year.

Public Citizen has sent a letter to the Department of Justice urging it to investigate whether recent problems with Boeing aircraft violate the leniency deal the company got after the disasters in 2018 and 2019.

Here’s some of our letter to the DOJ:

The Boeing Company is fast becoming a case study in how a leniency deal between the U.S. Department of Justice and a corporate criminal fails to protect the public, reform a corporate offender, and deter corporate crime.

The DOJ’s 2021 leniency deal for Boeing was a travesty and a shameful dishonoring of those who lost their lives in the 737 Max crashes. Such kid-glove treatment invites further corporate wrongdoing.

Looking forward, if the DOJ finds Boeing again violated the law, Boeing should be prosecuted both for its original and its subsequent misconduct. Boeing should be charged as aggressively as the facts and the law support, including possibly with multiple counts and manslaughter charges.

Join us in a message to the U.S. Department of Justice:

If new investigations stemming from the malfunctioning Boeing 737 Max 9 door plug on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 expose criminal misconduct, we urge you to hold Boeing fully accountable. Boeing should be prosecuted both for its original and its subsequent misconduct. Boeing should be charged as aggressively as the facts and the law support, including possibly with multiple counts and manslaughter charges.

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Thanks for taking action.

For justice,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
 
 
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