The relatives of the victims from the two Boeing 737-MAX8 crashes have addressed a letter to the newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, requesting an urgent meeting concerning the ongoing criminal proceedings related to the incidents that resulted in the loss of 346 lives. Additionally, they have sought a meeting with the new U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy.
Paul Cassell, the pro bono attorney representing the families and a professor at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, dispatched the letter today (Thursday, February 4, 2025) to Bondi, stating, “… families would respectfully request that you reverse the deceptive approach of the previous Administration and direct the Department’s prosecutors to present to the district court all the relevant facts that the Department possesses.”
Cassell said, “The families would like to confer about the Department’s plans and particularly to urge the Department to reveal to the judge handling the case all relevant information concerning Boeing’s deadly crime.”
The letter highlighted that the families have been urging the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to take appropriate action regarding a new plea agreement that would hold Boeing and its former executives responsible for the criminal actions that resulted in two plane crashes, claiming the lives of 346 individuals. The families have been recognized as crime victims in federal court pursuant to the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. The letter indicated that the court determined “that Boeing’s lies to the FAA directly and proximately led to the two plane crashes.”
US District Court Judge Reed O’Connor, who is presiding over the criminal case, has established a deadline of February 16 for the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section within the Criminal Division in Washington, D.C., to provide a response to the court concerning the misleading plea agreement made between the DOJ and Boeing. Judge O’Connor previously rejected the initial plea agreement on December 5.
In 2022, the Judge determined that Boeing’s falsehoods represented the “deadliest corporate crime in US history.” Furthermore, he found that the Department had infringed upon the families’ rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA) to consult with prosecutors prior to the establishment of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA). In a 12-page opinion issued in December, Judge O’Connor stated that, despite the DPA intended to enable Boeing to rectify its mistakes, it is reasonable to assert that the government’s efforts to ensure Boeing’s compliance over the past three years have been unsuccessful.
