U.S. Official Says No Decision Yet On Prosecuting Boeing

The US Justice Department has made no decision yet on whether to pursue a prosecution of planemaker Boeing for violating the terms of a 2021 settlement related to two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, a top DOJ official said in an email seen by Mike Spector and Chris Prentice for Reuters.

In May, the Justice Department said Boeing had violated a 2021 agreement with prosecutors that shielded it from criminal prosecution over the fatal crashes. I Photo: The Boeing Company Facebook

Glenn Leon, chief of the Justice Department's fraud section, said in an email on Friday to lawyers representing family members of victims of the crashes: "The department has not made a decision on how to proceed or whether to pursue prosecution of Boeing."

In May, the Justice Department said Boeing had violated a 2021 agreement with prosecutors that shielded it from criminal prosecution over the fatal crashes.

The 2021 DPA required the US planemaker to overhaul its compliance practices. Boeing has said it complied with the agreement.

Earlier, the New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the Justice Department "is expected to allow Boeing to escape criminal prosecution" for violating the DPA.

Leon's email said, "The reporting was simply not correct." The Times later revised its story to say that the Justice Department is "considering allowing" Boeing to avoid criminal prosecution, David Shepardson also reported for Reuters.