Changing the deal Report: Boeing asks Trump admin to weaken penalties in 737 Max crash case Boeing plea deal opposed by victims' families might be made even weaker. Jon Brodkin Mar 25, 2025 12:40 pm | 23 An American Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 landing at Miami International Airport October 17, 2024. Credit: Getty Images | CHUYN An American Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 landing at Miami International Airport October 17, 2024. Credit: Getty Images | CHUYN Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreBoeing is trying to withdraw a plea agreement and obtain more lenient treatment from the Trump administration in a case involving two deadly 737 Max crashes, The Wall Street Journal reported today.Boeing previously agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States. Boeing could still plead guilty but face weaker penalties than it agreed to last year if the Justice Department and a federal judge agree.Trump's Department of Justice "is reviewing numerous pending criminal cases that haven't yet gone to trial or been approved by courts," and "Boeing stands to benefit from fresh eyes at Trump's Justice Department, which is inclined to at least modify parts of the agreement," the WSJ wrote, citing people familiar with the matter. "Allowing Boeing to rescind its plea agreement, or lightening the company's punishment, would mark one of the most prominent examples of the Trump administration's lighter-touch approach to some white-collar enforcement."In July 2024, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge and pay $243.6 million for violating a 2021 agreement that was spurred by 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a combined 346 people.Boeing had avoided prosecution in January 2021 when it signed a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay $2.5 billion in penalties and compensation to airline customers and the victims' families. But in May 2024, the Justice Department said it determined that Boeing violated the deferred prosecution agreement "by failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the US fraud laws throughout its operations."Judge rejected previous plea dealBoeing's plea deal was for a charge of defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration Aircraft Evaluation Group, and the plea agreement was submitted for review in US District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Judge Reed O'Connor, a George W. Bush appointee, rejected the plea deal in December because it "requires the parties to consider race when hiring the independent monitor" and because Boeing wouldn't actually have to comply with the monitor's recommendations.But as the WSJ notes, "O'Connor has said Boeing's crime 'may properly be considered the deadliest corporate crime in US history.' Nothing in his earlier ruling contemplated tearing up the guilty plea altogether or not hiring an independent monitor."Boeing and the government are still negotiating changes to the deal, the WSJ reported. One of the changes under discussion would let Boeing "forgo hiring an outside monitor to ensure its compliance with the law," the report said.In addition to the $243.6 million fine, Boeing's original deal required it to invest at least $455 million in its compliance and safety programs. It's not clear whether the $243.6 million fine is likely to be reduced or scrapped, but the WSJ writes that "Boeing isn't trying to walk back its commitment" to invest in compliance and safety improvements.O'Connor ordered the sides to provide "an update on how they plan to proceed in this matter" by April 11. The latest status report filed by the US and Boeing said "the parties are continuing to meet and confer on a resolution of this matter short of trial" and "have not reached agreement but continue to work in good faith toward that end."Boeing and the DOJ both declined to comment when contacted by Ars today.Any attempt to lessen Boeing's penalties would presumably be opposed by victims' families, whose lawyers criticized the deal struck with the Biden administration. In July, the Clifford Law Firm said the deal "unfairly makes concessions to Boeing that other criminal defendants would never receive and fails to hold Boeing accountable for the deaths of 346 persons." We contacted the firm today and will update this article if it has any comment on the report of Boeing trying to weaken the deal.Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 23 Comments