Boeing’s plea deal with the U.S. government was blocked by a federal judge.
Transcript:
Conway Gittens: The economy added 227,000 jobs in November, which was slightly ahead of forecasts. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent. Meanwhile, average hourly earnings were up 4 percent from a year ago. All said, this report points to a labor market that continues to slow enough to suggest the Federal Reserve can cut interest rates at its December meeting.
In other business news, A federal judge has rejected Boeing’s offer to accept responsibility surrounding one of the plane maker’s darkest chapters in history. Boeing was all set to plead guilty to misleading the Federal Aviation Administration before the two deadly 737 Max plane crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Judge Reed O’Connor knocked down the plea agreement because he was not pleased with the selection process for an independent monitor. The chosen person would be responsible for overseeing Boeing’s safety and quality progress. The original plea agreement would have given that responsibility to the Department of Justice, but the judge said, “At this point, the public interest requires the court to step in. Marginalizing the court in the selection and monitoring of the independent monitor as the plea agreement does undermines public confidence in Boeing’s probation.”
The judge pointed to a January incident where a door on a 737 Max flew off mid-flight as a sign the DOJ was not up to the job.
As part of the now rejected agreement, Boeing was to plead guilty to one charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States. The agreement came with fines totaling $487 million. Families of the crash victims criticized the plea deal, saying Boeing can afford to pay nearly $25 billion.
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