Boeing will have a hand in selecting its own “independent compliance monitor,” under the terms of the company’s new plea deal with the Department of Justice.
The provision is likely to anger lawyers and family members of those killed onboard Boeing planes, who have previously voiced their objections to Boeing’s involvement in the selection process as laid out in previous iterations of the deal.
On Wednesday evening, the company and the DOJ submitted the finalized plea agreement with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
The deal will see Boeing plead guilty to one count of “conspiracy to defraud the U.S.,” invest at least $455 million in its compliance and safety programs, and facilitate a meeting between the board of directors and the families of the 346 killed in two 737 MAX crashes.
A key provision is an “independent compliance monitor” during Boeing’s three year probation period, who will work to “reduce the risk of misconduct” by the company.
According to the deal, the DOJ will “use their best efforts” to appoint a suitable candidate within 90 days of Wednesday’s filing.
However Boeing will have a chance to object to the DoJ’s selection if it “believes in good faith that any of the six candidates do not meet the requirements.”
These requirements include expertise with U.S. fraud laws, previous service as a compliance monitor, and having no affiliation with either Boeing or any organization which has “taken a position or issued any public statement” about the company or accidents involving its aircraft.
If the DOJ concurs, new candidates will then be selected, and this process “will continue until the offices have a pool of six qualified candidates.”
However, even after a final group has been agreed upon, Boeing will have the power to “strike” one of the six candidates from the group, allowing the DOJ to select from the remaining five.
Ultimate approval will require a vote by the DOJ Criminal Division and approval by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, whose ties to Boeing have already drawn criticism from lawyers in the case.
Monaco previously worked for DC-based consulting firm WestExec Advisors when Boeing was one of their major clients.
Tim Loranger, an aviation attorney for Wisner Baum, told Newsweek that Monaco’s links to the company appeared to present a “serious conflict,” and suggested that Monaco recuse herself from any involvement with the Boeing case.
Erin Applebaum, who represents the families of those killed in the 2019 crash, previously told Newsweek that the proposed three-year probation was insufficient to change the safety culture at Boeing.
Nadia Milleron, whose daughter Samya died in the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash in 2019, has said that she and other victims’ family members also objected to the terms of the probation in initial drafts of the plea deal.
According to Milleron, who was on the June 30 call when the details of the deal were first announced to lawyers and other family members, the initial agreement would have allowed Boeing to choose its own monitors, the DOJ then selecting from these choices.
Milleron said that the call erupted with objections from the families, and that the DOJ altered the final deal as a result.
However, she added that, even under the new terms, Boeing had too big a role in the selection process.
“Boeing shouldn’t have any role in choosing their own monitor,” Milleron said, adding that she had recommended two safety monitors: “One who looks at the technical side, and one who looks at safety, and tries to implement and use the year-long study of safety at Boeing.”
Milleron was referring to a February report produced by an FAA-assembled 24-person panel, which identified 27 findings and made 53 associated recommendations to Boeing on how it should reform its safety management programs.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
