The News
US President Donald Trump Monday ordered the Department of Justice to halt enforcement of a 48-year-old law that barred US companies from bribing foreign governments to bolster their business abroad.
Trump said the order was designed to boost US competitiveness across global markets: “It’s going to mean a lot more business for America.”
Trump has long criticized the law, known as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as harmful for US business: Some of the world’s largest companies, including Siemens and Goldman Sachs, have been charged and face fines under its auspices.
The order bars the Justice Department from initiating new investigations or enforcement actions for 180 days, while current investigations will be reviewed to “restore proper bounds.”
SIGNALS
Anti-bribery law roll back marks shift in Justice Department focus
The FCPA’s suspension marks a broader shift for the Justice Department under Trump’s US Attorney General Pam Bondi to de-emphasize white collar crime. Bondi has pledged more resources to tackle cartel and human trafficking crimes instead, in line with the president’s campaign promises to overhaul law enforcement at the border and cut federal bureaucracy that might hamper private business interests. The US Securities and Exchange Commission can also investigate public companies under FCPA, but scaling back the law’s reach could hamper other efforts to combat corruption, The Wall Street Journal noted, including Congress-backed whistleblower programs: “If prosecutors are less likely to pursue antibribery cases, companies would have a reduced incentive to blow the whistle on themselves,” the outlet wrote.
Order comes as Justice Dept. reconsiders bribery charges against US lawmakers
Donald Trump’s directive to the Justice Department to pare back FCPA’s enforcement comes as the department on Monday recommended dismissing federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, indicted for allegedly receiving bribes and other gifts from Turkish officials. The DOJ said Adams’s charges hampered delivering on Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, but the underlying message, political journalist Noah Schactman argued, is that “America is open for business.” Meanwhile, former New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, found guilty last year of accepting bribes from foreign officials, has reportedly appealed to Trump for a pardon, casting his prosecution as “political and it’s corrupted to the core.”