The Biden administration is soft on corporate crime, according to a scathing new report from Public Citizen.
In 2022, the president’s hand-picked appointees at the Department of Justice prosecuted just 99 corporate offenders, the fifth-lowest total for any year on record.
Whether it’s shoplifters and rioters terrorizing our streets or white collar crooks cutting corners in the boardroom, Biden and his allies seem totally uninterested in enforcing the law.
And don’t just listen to Republicans. In early October, even progressive darling Sen. Elizabeth Warren called out Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy AG Lisa Monaco for “reward[ing] corporate lawbreaking” and “handing out get-out-of-jail-free cards.”
Warren was referring to the DOJ’s so-called “Safe Harbor” policy which offers amnesty to corporate lawbreakers as long as they turn themselves in within six months of a merger. How does that make any sense?
Not only does this policy incentivize corporate criminals to pursue mergers and acquisitions as an end-run around prosecution, it also encourages them to sweep wrongdoing under the rug until the next merger comes around.
In announcing the policy, Deputy AG Monaco noted that “corporate crime intersects with our national security – in everything from terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, and the circumvention of export controls, to cyber- and crypto-crime.” One would assume that after saying this, the DOJ would strengthen penalties for corporate crime, not give criminals a free pass.
This might sound old-fashioned, but the DOJ should be in the business of prosecuting criminals, not providing them “Safe Harbor.”
And all the mergers that the DOJ is encouraging? They benefit the biggest corporations and their giant law firms, while killing small businesses. Free-market capitalism is dependent on competition, innovation and consumer choice, which in turn fuel economic growth and job creation. So why is Biden’s Justice Department extending a helping hand to white collar criminals while kicking small business to the curb? And why is the Democratic DOJ backtracking on Biden’s promises to promote competition?
Monaco’s policy will lead to multinational and global corporations getting bigger and bigger while cutting American entrepreneurs off at the knees. Meanwhile, small businesses, which employ nearly half of Americans in the private sector workforce, will be crushed if Democrats like Monaco have their way.
Small businesses have been the driving force of the economy from the very inception of our nation. But today, they’re confronted with excessive regulations and exploitative monopolies. The Safe Harbor policy does them no favors, while also making it easier for big corporations to get bigger.
As is the case with many things Democrats take credit for, it was actually Republicans who originally pushed for antitrust laws, giving small businesses a fair shot against corporate giants. President Trump gave new life to conservative antitrust enforcement, bringing major lawsuits against liberal tech giants like Google, but now Biden’s administration is siding with the same corporations his progressive supporters supposedly detest.
Of course, Biden has stacked his administration — including the Justice Department — with insiders from Big Tech companies, the same companies that censor conservative voices. It’s no surprise that Monaco represented Apple when she worked at a big law firm and had to sell a ton of Big Tech stock when she joined DOJ. Those companies and the rest of Big Tech stand to benefit from the DOJ Safe Harbor policy. The revolving door of the swamp is clear to anyone, and this policy does nothing but protect future Democrat staffers and their allies.
Instead of rewarding the corporate friends of Democrats, the Biden administration should focus on limiting Big Government regulation that hurts small businesses. Where’s their “Safe Harbor Policy” from harmful bureaucracy and Red Tape?
The DOJ’s Safe Harbor policy sends a clear message: big-shot CEOs can commit crimes scot-free, while mom and pop shops have to suffer under endless red tape and attempt to navigate the anti-competitive business landscape created by Democrats. This is just one more example of liberals using Big Government to help their Big Business friends at the expense of the little guy.
Ziven Havens is the policy director at The Bull Moose Project
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.