Trump Admin Redefining White-Collar Prosecutions

The Trump administration is not focused on prosecuting certain types of white-collar crimes, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Cases involving foreign bribery, public corruption, money laundering, and crypto markets are among those from which the administration has retreated, the outlet reported Sunday night.

"White-collar enforcement focused on securing the integrity of U.S. markets and financial systems, tackling fraud, waste, and abuse, and recouping victims' losses is our focus," a Justice Department spokesperson told the Journal.

To go further, the Journal said the Justice Department has no interest prosecuting executives for alleged wrongdoings that don't have obvious victims, and it's open to claims that defendants were targeted for political reasons.

That approach falls in line with President Donald Trump's campaign promise to stop the weaponization of the federal government. While running for president, he was prosecuted in one civil business fraud trial and four criminal cases involving the 2020 election, classified documents and alleged payments to an adult film actress.

The president has maintained his innocence in all the cases.

In February, Trump signed an executive order stating that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been systematically and increasingly used to harm the interests of the U.S.

"Current FCPA enforcement impedes the United States' foreign policy objectives and therefore implicates the President's Article II authority over foreign affairs," the order said.
"The President's foreign policy authority is inextricably linked with the global economic competitiveness of American companies. American national security depends in substantial part on the United States and its companies gaining strategic business advantages whether in critical minerals, deep-water ports, or other key infrastructure or assets."

Early last month, watchdog group Public Citizen reported Trump's administration has moved to drop or suspend federal lawsuits, cases, and investigations against 89 corporations previously brought by the Biden administration over alleged corporate malfeasance.

This month, acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba secured the dismissal of an FCPA case against two former executives at a New Jersey company who allegedly authorized $3.6 million in bribes to an Indian official to facilitate construction of a large office complex in Chennai.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered prosecutors to focus anti-money-laundering and sanctions-evasion prosecutions on drug cartels and international crime organizations, the Journal reported.

Attorneys now are urging the DOJ to drop some cases or probes, such as the one against Polymarket, the crypto-fueled online prediction market that forecast Trump's November election victory, the Journal reported.