Warren, Blumenthal Push Department of Justice to Hold Boeing Executives Accountable for Deadly Safety Failures
Lawmakers urge DOJ to investigate Boeing executives’ behavior, criminally prosecute those responsible for crashes
“For too long, corporate executives have routinely escaped prosecution for criminal misconduct... This coddling comes at the expense of customer and worker safety.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Boeing executives following years of promoting short-term profit over passenger safety. In the letter, the lawmakers urge the DOJ to review the behavior and potential culpability of Boeing’s executives, and criminally prosecute those responsible.
The letter comes as years of safety issues involving Boeing planes – including the fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 – have continued to raise alarm about Boeing’s corporate culture. As recently as last week, the National Transportation Safety Board was forced to issue “urgent safety recommendations” for Boeing’s 737 aircraft line due to mechanical issues. Even amidst these continued failures, the Department of Justice has not criminally prosecuted those individuals responsible for harms to deliver justice and hold Boeing accountable. In July 2024, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to defraud the federal government, but DOJ did not take the company to trial or charge individual executives. The deal included an additional fine, commitments to update compliance and safety processes, and oversight by a safety monitor for three years.
“For years, the federal government has accused Boeing of putting profits over passenger safety, without pursuing full accountability from the company or the company’s executives directly responsible for compromising passenger safety,” the lawmakers wrote. “[T]he combination of a relatively small fine coupled with a toothless commitment to improve aircraft safety has proven insufficient to effect real change at the company.”
In October 2023, Senator Warren called on the DOJ to immediately reverse its newly unveiled “safe harbor” policy, which would offer a “get-out-of-jail-free” card for mergers involving corporate white-collar criminals. Deputy Attorney General Monaco justified the policy, later noting that “[t]he rule of law demands that those most culpable for a company’s misconduct are the ones being charged, prosecuted, and convicted.”
“For too long, corporate executives have routinely escaped prosecution for criminal misconduct. This coddling comes at the expense of customer and worker safety, and it must end,” wrote the lawmakers.
After 346 people died in two Boeing 737 MAX plane crashes due to apparent failures in the MCAS flight stabilization system, the DOJ deferred prosecution, instead negotiating a deal to resolve criminal charges. This year, after the DOJ found that Boeing violated the terms of the deal, Boeing entered a plea agreement. Again, the DOJ failed to hold any Boeing executives accountable for the serious failures — and since the fatal 737 MAX crashes, countless more safety concerns have surfaced.
“The deadly crashes and reporting on safety issues since 2018 have shined a spotlight on Boeing’s corporate culture of prioritizing profits at the expense of safety…DOJ must do its part to bring the individuals responsible for Boeing’s safety failures to justice,” wrote the lawmakers.
###
Next Article Previous Article
