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"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)
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."
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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."