"Under President Donald Trump--the supposedly 'tough on crime' president--corporate prosecutions have plummeted to the lowest level in more than 20 years." (Photo: PixaBay/cc)
Sep 27, 2019
A new report out Friday shows that President Donald Trump's Department of Justice is after corporations at a historically low level and suggests that's making companies increasingly confident about breaking the law.
Soft on Corporate Crime, a new report from Public Citizen, exposes the apparent disinterest with which the DOJ has treated corporate crime.
"Turns out 'tough on crime' is only for the poor," study lead author Rick Claypool said on Twitter.
\u201cCorporations keep committing crimes and the DOJ keeps refusing to prosecute them.\n\nTurns out "tough on crime" enforcement is only for the poor.\n\nMy latest @Public_Citizen report: https://t.co/mBcaPOjOtt\u201d— Rick Claypool (@Rick Claypool) 1569520559
"Under President Donald Trump--the supposedly 'tough on crime' president--corporate prosecutions have plummeted to the lowest level in more than 20 years," Public Citizen wrote in a statement. "Corporate lenience agreements--deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and nonprosecution agreements (NPAs)--however, are on the rise again."
Those deals, the report found, allow corporations to avoid trial:
The deals prosecutors make to protect corporations from prosecution are called deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and non-prosecution agreements (NPAs). Prosecutors and corporate defense attorneys negotiate these deals behind closed doors to keep corporations out of the criminal justice system.
"Too many criminals are punished too lightly--and go on to commit more crime," tweeted ProPublica's Jesse Eisinger. "I'm talking, of course, of corporate crime."
\u201cWe have a problem in this country. Too many criminals are punished too lightly--and go on to commit more crime.\n\nI'm talking, of course, of corporate crime. @RickClaypool has the numbers, and they are astonishing. \n\nhttps://t.co/CKvG3ohg1E\u201d— Jesse Eisinger (@Jesse Eisinger) 1569518831
The bigger the company, the better its chances to avoid consequences, according to the report:
Out of the 38 repeat offender corporations identified, 36 are major corporations that are on or have appeared on the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's largest publicly traded corporations. Three of the corporations have held the top slot as the largest corporation in the world--JPMorgan Chase (2011 and 2010), General Electric (2009), and HSBC (2008).
"The 'tough on crime' platform was always a farce," Public Citizen tweeted Thursday. "Trump criminalizes poverty and immunizes wealth."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A new report out Friday shows that President Donald Trump's Department of Justice is after corporations at a historically low level and suggests that's making companies increasingly confident about breaking the law.
Soft on Corporate Crime, a new report from Public Citizen, exposes the apparent disinterest with which the DOJ has treated corporate crime.
"Turns out 'tough on crime' is only for the poor," study lead author Rick Claypool said on Twitter.
\u201cCorporations keep committing crimes and the DOJ keeps refusing to prosecute them.\n\nTurns out "tough on crime" enforcement is only for the poor.\n\nMy latest @Public_Citizen report: https://t.co/mBcaPOjOtt\u201d— Rick Claypool (@Rick Claypool) 1569520559
"Under President Donald Trump--the supposedly 'tough on crime' president--corporate prosecutions have plummeted to the lowest level in more than 20 years," Public Citizen wrote in a statement. "Corporate lenience agreements--deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and nonprosecution agreements (NPAs)--however, are on the rise again."
Those deals, the report found, allow corporations to avoid trial:
The deals prosecutors make to protect corporations from prosecution are called deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and non-prosecution agreements (NPAs). Prosecutors and corporate defense attorneys negotiate these deals behind closed doors to keep corporations out of the criminal justice system.
"Too many criminals are punished too lightly--and go on to commit more crime," tweeted ProPublica's Jesse Eisinger. "I'm talking, of course, of corporate crime."
\u201cWe have a problem in this country. Too many criminals are punished too lightly--and go on to commit more crime.\n\nI'm talking, of course, of corporate crime. @RickClaypool has the numbers, and they are astonishing. \n\nhttps://t.co/CKvG3ohg1E\u201d— Jesse Eisinger (@Jesse Eisinger) 1569518831
The bigger the company, the better its chances to avoid consequences, according to the report:
Out of the 38 repeat offender corporations identified, 36 are major corporations that are on or have appeared on the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's largest publicly traded corporations. Three of the corporations have held the top slot as the largest corporation in the world--JPMorgan Chase (2011 and 2010), General Electric (2009), and HSBC (2008).
"The 'tough on crime' platform was always a farce," Public Citizen tweeted Thursday. "Trump criminalizes poverty and immunizes wealth."
A new report out Friday shows that President Donald Trump's Department of Justice is after corporations at a historically low level and suggests that's making companies increasingly confident about breaking the law.
Soft on Corporate Crime, a new report from Public Citizen, exposes the apparent disinterest with which the DOJ has treated corporate crime.
"Turns out 'tough on crime' is only for the poor," study lead author Rick Claypool said on Twitter.
\u201cCorporations keep committing crimes and the DOJ keeps refusing to prosecute them.\n\nTurns out "tough on crime" enforcement is only for the poor.\n\nMy latest @Public_Citizen report: https://t.co/mBcaPOjOtt\u201d— Rick Claypool (@Rick Claypool) 1569520559
"Under President Donald Trump--the supposedly 'tough on crime' president--corporate prosecutions have plummeted to the lowest level in more than 20 years," Public Citizen wrote in a statement. "Corporate lenience agreements--deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and nonprosecution agreements (NPAs)--however, are on the rise again."
Those deals, the report found, allow corporations to avoid trial:
The deals prosecutors make to protect corporations from prosecution are called deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and non-prosecution agreements (NPAs). Prosecutors and corporate defense attorneys negotiate these deals behind closed doors to keep corporations out of the criminal justice system.
"Too many criminals are punished too lightly--and go on to commit more crime," tweeted ProPublica's Jesse Eisinger. "I'm talking, of course, of corporate crime."
\u201cWe have a problem in this country. Too many criminals are punished too lightly--and go on to commit more crime.\n\nI'm talking, of course, of corporate crime. @RickClaypool has the numbers, and they are astonishing. \n\nhttps://t.co/CKvG3ohg1E\u201d— Jesse Eisinger (@Jesse Eisinger) 1569518831
The bigger the company, the better its chances to avoid consequences, according to the report:
Out of the 38 repeat offender corporations identified, 36 are major corporations that are on or have appeared on the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's largest publicly traded corporations. Three of the corporations have held the top slot as the largest corporation in the world--JPMorgan Chase (2011 and 2010), General Electric (2009), and HSBC (2008).
"The 'tough on crime' platform was always a farce," Public Citizen tweeted Thursday. "Trump criminalizes poverty and immunizes wealth."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.