Report, “Corporate Impunity
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July 2018 CORPORATE IMPUNITY “Tough on Crime” Trump Is Weak on Corporate Crime and Wrongdoing Corporate Impunity “Tough on Crime” Trump Is Weak on Corporate Crime and Wrongdoing Acknowledgements This report was co-authored by Rick Claypool, Taylor Lincoln, Michael Tanglis and Alan Zibel, research directors for Public Citizen’s president’s office and Congress Watch divisions. Philip Mattera of the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First, which produces Violation Tracker, provided data, analysis and invaluable guidance. Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, authored the introduction. About Public Citizen Public Citizen is a national non-profit organization with more than 400,000 members and supporters. We represent consumer interests through lobbying, litigation, administrative advocacy, research, and public education on a broad range of issues including consumer rights in the marketplace, product safety, financial regulation, worker safety, safe and affordable health care, campaign finance reform and government ethics, fair trade, climate change, and corporate and government accountability. About the Corporate Research Project The Corporate Research Project is a non-profit center that provides research assistance to organizations working on a wide range of corporate accountability issues. It produces public resources such as a guide to online corporate research; Corporate Rap Sheet profiles of more than 70 large and controversial companies; and Violation Tracker, a database containing more than 300,000 entries relating to corporate regulatory violations and other forms of misconduct. The Corporate Research Project is an affiliate of Good Jobs First, a national resource center on economic development accountability. Public Citizen Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First 1600 20th St. NW 1616 P St. NW Washington, D.C. 20009 Suite 210 P: 202-588-1000 Washington, DC 20036 www.citizen.org www.corp-research.org © 2018 Public Citizen Public Citizen Corporate Impunity Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................................. 3 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 I. LAW ENFORCEMENT .................................................................................................................................................... 12 1. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Criminal Enforcement........................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Civil Enforcement ................................................................................................................................................................................ 21 II. CONSUMER AND WORKER PROTECTION ............................................................................................................. 29 2. AVIATION CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION .............................................................................................................................. 29 3. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION ................................................................................................................................. 34 4. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION ..................................................................................................................... 39 5. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION .................................................................................................................................... 45 6. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ......................................................................................................................................................... 51 III. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ............................................................................................................................. 59 7. BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT ...................................................................................................... 59 8. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ....................................................................................................................................... 66 IV. FINANCIAL REGULATION....................................................................................................................................... 76 9. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION ............................................................................................................................. 76 10. OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY ................................................................................................................. 81 11. OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL ..................................................................................................................................... 85 12. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ............................................................................................................................... 89 APPENDIX A: INDIVIDUAL CASES THAT DEMONSTRATE DECLINING ENFORCEMENT ................................. 96 APPENDIX B: ADDITIONAL METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION ........................................................................ 102 APPENDIX C: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CASES SPLIT BETWEEN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PORTIONS .... 103 July 25, 2018 2 Public Citizen Corporate Impunity EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Table 1: In 11 out of 12 agencies led by a Trump administration official for most of 2017, the amount of penalties imposed on corporate violators1 declined, in many cases quite dramatically. Agency Penalty Sum Penalty Sum % Change in from Obama's from Trump's Penalty Last Year First Year Sums Environmental Protection Agency $23,870,000,000 $1,460,000,000 -94% Department of Justice $51,506,033,030 $4,898,284,958 -90% Federal Communications Commission $257,034,240 $39,631,327 -85% Commodity Futures Trading Commission $751,793,192 $153,469,100 -80% Securities and Exchange Commission $2,909,912,692 $927,377,931 -68% Federal Trade Commission $12,387,666,094 $4,338,996,773 -65% Office of the Comptroller of the Currency $214,981,500 $89,316,420 -58% Consumer Product Safety Commission $37,300,000 $21,350,000 -43% Equal Employment Opportunity Commission $52,000,000 $42,000,000 -19% Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement $2,198,770 $1,939,158 -12% Aviation Consumer Protection Division $3,605,000 $3,205,000 -11% Office of Foreign Assets Control $22,012,520 $118,974,240 440% Source: Public Citizen analysis of data from Violation Tracker and federal agencies. Table 2: In 10 out of 12 agencies led by a Trump administration official for most of 2017, the number of enforcement actions against corporate violators2 declined, in many cases quite dramatically. Agency Enforcement Enforcement % Change in Actions in Actions in Enforcement Obama's Last Trump's First Actions Year Year Federal Trade Commission 27 14 -48% Securities and Exchange Commission 207 116 -44% Federal Communications Commission 49 30 -39% Aviation Consumer Protection Division 28 18 -36% Consumer Product Safety Commission 6 4 -33% Commodity Futures Trading Commission 51 36 -29% Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 14 10 -29% Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 171 125 -27% Department of Justice 308 241 -22% Environmental Protection Agency 2107 1847 -12% Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement 27 24 -11% Office of Foreign Assets Control 12 13 8% Source: Public Citizen analysis of data from Violation Tracker and federal agencies. 1 EPA and FCC penalty sums include non-corporate violators (i.e., individuals and public entities). 2 EPA and FCC enforcement action tallies include non-corporate violators (i.e., individuals and public entities). July 25, 2018 3 Public Citizen Corporate Impunity INTRODUCTION Americans may be divided on many issues, but not on favoring tough enforcement of regulations and laws. Americans are virtually united in support for regulatory enforcement. Polling shows Americans favoring tough regulatory enforcement by an 87-12 margin. Democrats (89), Republicans (85), Independents (87) all agree, as do Americans from all parts of the country: Northeast (86), Midwest (88), South (88), West (84).3 In focus groups, Americans connect proper and fair enforcement of the rules to concerns about a rigged political and economic system. They favor enforcement to ensure that everyone has a fair shot in society. They want assurances that weak regulatory enforcement does not enable corporations and the rich to play by a different set of rules – with everyday people held to account, but the powerful able to disregard the rules because they know they won’t be enforced against them.4 These views are durable, and withstand counter-messaging.5 Indeed, Americans express overwhelming support for stronger regulatory enforcement.6 Americans’ overwhelming support for tough law-and-order against corporate wrongdoers reflects three interconnected understandings. First, basic standards of justice require that the rules be enforced equally against powerful corporations as they are against vulnerable