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Key Takeaways
- A Texas judge has ordered that Boeing and the U.S. Department of Justice go to trial this June.
- The plane maker agreed to plead guilty last July to a charge of defrauding the federal government over the 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
- In December, the judge rejected the plea agreement over concerns with a required diversity consideration for hiring the independent monitor to oversee Boeing's compliance.
- The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Boeing is negotiating with DOJ about possible changes to its guilty verdict.
Boeing (BA), the U.S. Department of Justice, and other parties are expected to go to trial in the summer after a Texas Judge canceled an April 11th deadline for the parties to present a new plea deal.
On Tuesday, U.S. district judge Reed O’Connor vacated April’s deadline and instead set the trial to begin on Wednesday, June 23. The plane maker agreed to plead guilty last July to a charge of defrauding the federal government over the 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
"As stated in the parties' recent filings, Boeing and the Department of Justice continue to be engaged in good faith discussions regarding an appropriate resolution of this matter," a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement to Investopedia. The DOJ didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry for comment.
In December, Judge O’Connor refused the plea deal due to concerns about the diversity requirement for hiring an independent monitor to oversee Boeing’s conformity. The Wall Street Journal reported in the early part of this week, that Boeing was in negotiations with the DOJ about removing the requirement to have an independent monitor, or even rescinding its guilty plea.
Boeing shares are little changed Wednesday morning in premarket trading.
