Judge Rejects Boeing Guilty Plea Over DEI Requirement- Wall Street Journal

Plea deal between plane maker and Justice Department imposed inappropriate diversity considerations on monitor appointment, judge says

The decision casts fresh uncertainty into a yearslong legal odyssey for Boeing. PHOTO: JASON REDMOND/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

A federal judge in Texas rejected Boeing’s plea deal with the Justice Department in a case related to two deadly 737 MAX crashes.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor declined to approve the agreement, saying it inappropriately tied the court’s hands by imposing diversity considerations on the appointment of an outside monitor who would oversee Boeing’s future legal compliance.

O’Connor wrote that prosecutors gave him “shifting and contradictory explanations” of the role that race or diversity would play in the selection of a monitor. “In a case of this magnitude, it is in the utmost interest of justice that the public is confident this monitor selection is done based solely on competency,” O’Connor wrote.

The decision casts fresh uncertainty into a yearslong legal odyssey that began after two 737 MAX crashes took 346 lives and was revived earlier this year when a fuselage panel blew outon the same type of jet, operated by Alaska Airlines, in January.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment. Boeing didn’t immediately comment.

Boeing shares moved slightly lower in midday trading, with U.S. stock indexes mixed.

The Justice Department in May accused Boeing of violating its corporate probation over a fraud conspiracy charge related to the 2018 and 2019 crashes. Prosecutors then asked the company to plead guilty to the charge, and Boeing in July agreed to do so.?

O’Connor, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, on Thursday also criticized how the Justice Department oversaw the probationary agreement, which was struck in the final days of the first Trump administration. Boeing admitted at the time that two former employees misled the FAA about a new flight-control feature on the 737 MAX that wasn’t supposed to activate in normal flying conditions.

Boeing paid a $244 million criminal fine under the 2021 criminal settlement. It otherwise received leniency, however, avoiding a guilty plea at the time and instead landing a form of corporate probation.?

The resolution required Boeing to report its compliance-program improvements to the Justice Department.?

“It is fair to say the government’s attempt to ensure compliance has failed,” O’Connor wrote, explaining why he believes the monitor should report to the court and not to the Justice Department.?

Paul Cassell, a lawyer for the crash victims’ families, praised the judge’s ruling. Families of the crash victims had asked O’Connor to reject the deal, saying it was too lenient on Boeing.?

Cassell said the families would seek a stronger agreement that holds Boeing accountable and seeks appropriate monitorship to prevent future disasters.

Write to Andrew Tangel at [email protected] and Dave Michaels at [email protected]