Connect with us

Politics

Justice Dept. to Take Narrow Approach to Prosecuting Corporate Bribery Abroad

Published

on

Justice Dept. to Take Narrow Approach to Prosecuting Corporate Bribery Abroad

The Justice Department has closed about half of its open investigations into bribery by U.S. businesses overseas, but plans to initiate prosecutions to more narrowly focus on misconduct that hurts the country’s capacity to compete with foreign companies, officials said on Tuesday.

President Trump signed an executive order in February pausing all of the department’s investigations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, pending a review of enforcement policies by Todd Blanche, the department’s No. 2 official.

Good government groups criticized the freeze as the elimination of guardrails needed to prevent corporate abuses. The move coincided with the closing of investigations into the aircraft manufacturer Bombardier and the medical device maker Stryker, among others.

But Mr. Blanche, in a statement, said the decision was made to align enforcement of the act with the administration’s broader goal of increasing U.S. leverage against foreign businesses and governments, by “shifting prosecutorial resources to cases that clearly implicate U.S. national security and competitiveness.”

Mr. Blanche, a former criminal defense lawyer for Mr. Trump, accused the Biden administration under Attorney General Merrick B. Garland of opening too many cases, “burdening companies” and damaging national interests.

Advertisement

Critics said the new guidelines were a dangerous reversal that abandoned major investigations, including a deal the Justice Department struck in May with Boeing that spared the company from taking criminal responsibility for deadly 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. Many families of the victims vigorously opposed the agreement.

“This retreat from enforcing laws against corporate crime is a perversion of justice that further concentrates the administration’s power to corruptly reward insiders and punish perceived enemies,” said Rick Claypool, a research director at the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen.

“American corporations that engage in criminal bribery schemes abroad will no longer be prosecuted,” he added. “That’s the bottom line.”

The department plans to offload responsibility for investigating bribery by U.S. businesses and people overseas to local law enforcement and regulatory bodies, officials said.

Matthew R. Galeotti, the head of the department’s criminal division, deflected criticism that the department planned to sharply scale back its prosecutions of all corporate offenders, in the wake of the Trump administration rightward policy shift and the firings, forced transfers and mass retirements of experienced career prosecutors at the department.

Advertisement

The criminal division “has not and will not close meritorious investigations or dismiss meritorious cases” involving foreign bribery and other white-collar crimes, Mr. Galeotti told attendees of a conference in Manhattan on Tuesday, according to his prepared remarks.

“We will vigorously pursue these investigations and open new ones,” added Mr. Galeotti, a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn.

In a previous memo, Mr. Galeotti outlined other changes, including a new policy of declining to prosecute some offenses reported to the department by companies in a good-faith effort to self-police. Critics believe the move undermines the deterrence of a potential prosecution.

Mr. Galeotti defended the protocols, saying they had already yielded whistle-blower tips and self-reporting related to “drug trafficking, procurement fraud, health care fraud and more.”

He concluded with a warning to lawyers representing corporations, suggesting they should not assume that they will get a sweetheart deal if they seek “premature” plea agreements or make false claims of prosecutorial misconduct in an effort to gain leverage.

Advertisement

“Be an honest broker,” he said.

Politics

Video: Democrats Confront RFK Jr. on Vaccines and Health Care Fraud

Published

on

Video: Democrats Confront RFK Jr. on Vaccines and Health Care Fraud

new video loaded: Democrats Confront RFK Jr. on Vaccines and Health Care Fraud

transcript

transcript

Democrats Confront RFK Jr. on Vaccines and Health Care Fraud

Lawmakers confronted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccine messaging and the Trump administration’s handling of health care fraud. The health secretary was also criticized over comments he made about psychiatric medications and Black children, which he denied.

“A deadly measles outbreak in Texas killed an unvaccinated 6-year-old, the first such death in a decade. Do you agree with the majority of doctors that the measles vaccine could have saved that child’s life in Texas?” “It’s possible, certainly.” “President Trump approved your decision to end the C.D.C.’S pro-vaccine public messaging campaign?” “We’ve done better at preventing —” “That’s not answering my question. You suspended this pro-vaccine messaging campaign, but somehow you’re spending taxpayer dollars to drink milk shirtless in a hot tub with Kid Rock.” “Our nation has a long and painful history of separating Black children from their families. During slavery, Black children were taken from their parents and sold with no regard for their humanity. When you suggested re-parenting Black children, when you sow doubt about the safety of vaccines and when you promote unproven statements that have no basis in science, you endanger the lives of everyone across this nation.” “If we’re going to pursue fraudsters, it’s not just the people who might make simple, honest mistakes that could be corrected. It’s the people at the top that help to perpetuate this fraud. And the administration’s position seems to be that it’s only the recipients and not the providers that commit fraud. We want an even-handed approach to these fraud investigations, including those whose schemes have cost the American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Advertisement
Lawmakers confronted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccine messaging and the Trump administration’s handling of health care fraud. The health secretary was also criticized over comments he made about psychiatric medications and Black children, which he denied.

By Jorge Mitssunaga

April 16, 2026

Continue Reading

Politics

Tennessee governor signs nuclear family month resolution as critics push back on exclusions

Published

on

Tennessee governor signs nuclear family month resolution as critics push back on exclusions

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed a resolution declaring June Nuclear Family Month as an alternative to the usual LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

Lee, a Republican, signed House Joint Resolution 182 April 9 after it passed the House in April 2025 and the Senate last month.

The legislation highlights the importance of celebrating the traditional family unit, described as “consisting of one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered children.”

“The nuclear family is under attack in our beloved State and nation, and it is our responsibility to uplift, protect, and support values that help Tennessee prosper,” the resolution adds.

Advertisement

NASHVILLE TEACHER HAS RECORD CLEARED AFTER REFUSING TO READ SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BOOK TO FIRST-GRADERS

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a resolution declaring June “Nuclear Family Month,” promoting traditional family structures as an alternative to Pride Month. (Getty Images)

A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have begun to speak out against the resolution, and a representative for GLAAD gave Fox News Digital its opinion on the bill.

OHIO TEACHER SUES HIGH SCHOOL FOR DEMANDING HE REMOVE LGBT POSTER INSIDE CLASSROOM

Advertisement

LGBTQ community members hold flags and placards during a rally. (Roy De La Cruz/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“The strongest families are grounded in love, not legislative definitions. It is disturbing to see lawmakers use their platform to intentionally exclude their own constituents,” the organization wrote in a statement.

“Instead of drafting resolutions that aim to divide Tennessee families, Gov. Lee should be focused on building a state where every family is treated fairly, and every child has the opportunity to succeed.”

The news of the legislation comes a few days after the pride flag at Stonewall National Monument’s federal flagpole in New York City, a well-known symbol for the LGBTQ+ community, was restored after a two-month legal battle and settlement with the Trump administration.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee responds to questions during a news conference Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/AP)

Advertisement

“This is a victory for the LGBTQ+ community and for our entire city,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote in an X post Monday. “It’s a reminder that New Yorkers won’t let our history be rewritten.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Our administration will keep working to ensure LGBTQ+ New Yorkers can live safely and with dignity in our city.”

Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Politics

Hegseth recites ‘Pulp Fiction’ speech at Pentagon prayer service

Published

on

Hegseth recites ‘Pulp Fiction’ speech at Pentagon prayer service

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, leading a Pentagon prayer meeting, quoted a fictional bible verse taken from a violent monologue in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film “Pulp Fiction,” originally delivered by actor Samuel L. Jackson just before his character shoots a helpless man to death.

The secretary used the prayer to frame the war in Iran as an act of divine justice, the same justification Jackson’s character cites in the film before pulling the trigger.

Hegseth told the audience at a monthly Pentagon worship service held Wednesday that he learned the prayer from the lead mission planner of a team called “Sandy 1,” which recently rescued downed Air Force crew members in Iran.

Hegseth said the verse is frequently spoken by combat search-and-rescue crews, who call the prayer “CSAR 25:17, which I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17” from the Bible.

“And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother,” Hegseth recited. “And you will know my call sign is Sandy 1, when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”

Advertisement

The infamous Ezekiel 25:17 speech from “Pulp Fiction” is almost entirely a screenwriter’s creation; only the final refrain is loosely inspired by the actual biblical verse. The majority of the monologue in Tarantino’s film is adapted from the opening of the 1976 Japanese martial arts film “The Bodyguard,” with action star Sonny Chiba.

Hegseth’s minute-long prayer closely followed those scripts, with only the last two lines resembling language from the Bible. In Hegseth’s version, he replaced “and they shall know that I am the Lord,” from the book of Ezekiel with the call sign for a U.S. A-10 Warthog aircraft.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said some outlets accused Hegseth of mistaking Jackson’s Golden Globe-winning performance with actual scripture, and called that narrative “fake news.”

“Secretary Hegseth on Wednesday shared a custom prayer, referenced as the CSAR prayer, used by the brave warfighters of Sandy-1 who led the daylight rescue mission of Dude 44 Alpha out of Iran, which was obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction,” Parnell wrote on X. “However, both the CSAR prayer and the dialogue in Pulp Fiction were reflections of the verse Ezekiel 25:17, as Secretary Hegseth clearly said in his remarks at the prayer service. Anyone saying the Secretary misquoted Ezekiel 25:17 is peddling fake news and ignorant of reality.”

“Pulp Fiction” co-writer Roger Avary, who shared the Academy Award for Original Screenplay with Tarantino, weighed in Thursday, posting on X: “I am perfectly fine with @SecWar
quoting Jules in Pulp Fiction if it keeps bullets from hitting our soldiers.”

Advertisement

Hegseth has frequently used his prayer sessions to call for violence in the ongoing Iran war. In last month’s sermon, he asked God to “grant this task force clear and righteous targets for violence.”

The services are not mandatory, a senior defense analyst with knowledge of Pentagon operations told The Times, but some who work closely with Hegseth’s office feel an “implied pressure” to attend and “fill seats.”

The effect — some feel — is less attention on the Pentagon’s wartime efforts, and more on supporting political stunts, according to the source, who is not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity.

“We have managers and leaders that are missing mission critical work to go listen to ‘Pulp Fiction’ quotes,” the source said. “It delays our ability to make operational, mission related war-fighting decisions.”

The prayer came amid an ongoing clash between the Trump administration and Pope Leo XIV, who has spoken out in recent weeks against the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. Statements from the Vatican were met with a series of reprisals from President Trump, who said he doesn’t “want a pope” who criticizes the president of the United States.

Advertisement

On Thursday, the pope released a statement against military leaders who conflate war with divinity.

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” he said.

Continue Reading

Trending