Boeing intends to plea guilty to defrauding the FAA.
Other videos mentioned in this video:
Why white collar criminals walk free – Review of ‘The Chickenshit Club’ (2017) by Jesse Eisinger
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Transcript:
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:28:06
Bennett Tomlin
Boeing has been in the news recently for the string of bad luck its planes and whistleblowers seemed to be experiencing. But we can now go even further and say that Boeing defrauded the Federal Aviation Authority related to the fatal crash. It's about 737 Max plane. A recent filing from the United States in the criminal case noted that it had reached an agreement in principle with Boeing, where it will plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States.
00:00:28:08 - 00:01:00:00
Bennett Tomlin
This will also see Boeing pay the maximum possible fine, approximately $487 million, requiring them to invest 455 million into compliance and safety, and additionally allows restitution to families that were affected by the fatalities caused by Boeing's negligence. This is a lot of money, especially if that restitution ends up is a big number, which it probably will. But also it's like less than one quarter of the profits that Boeing makes in a year.
00:01:00:02 - 00:01:26:11
Bennett Tomlin
And Boeing had previously agreed to deferred prosecution agreement related to these misrepresentations, but it has since been found to have breached the terms of that agreement. And despite the size of this fine and the fact that the government has actually gotten a guilty plea from the corporation in question, many still feel this does not go far enough. The document itself notes that many of the families object to the terms of the plea deal.
00:01:26:13 - 00:01:58:13
Bennett Tomlin
Do I think this agreement goes far enough? Frankly, I think it's far better than most corporate cases. For one, we actually have them getting a guilty plea after violation of a deferred prosecution agreement. A painfully rare occurrence. It is a significant part of me that wishes we would hand down a corporate death sentence to Boeing, but I did not expect that consequence for an important defense contractor, especially when our military industrial complex seems concerned.
00:01:58:15 - 00:02:28:23
Bennett Tomlin
Preparing ready for wars in the near term future. But that's a truly disappointing thing about our justice system. Boeing is a company our government needs so they can more efficiently kill people. And because of that need, the government in some respects is willing to tolerate Boeing killing people. This plea agreement will not affect Boeing's ability to go after government contracts.
00:02:29:01 - 00:02:45:00
Bennett Tomlin
They can pay less than one quarter of one year's worth of profits and will be allowed to continue operating. Surrounded by the survivors of the dead they killed. That is fucked up.
