Should movement to ease criminal laws extend to white-collar offenders? Coalition splits on answer
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A bill that would make it more difficult to prosecute alleged white-collar offenders has exposed a rift in a coalition pushing for less punitive criminal laws.
The conservative Koch brothers had joined with the U.S. Justice Department to support criminal justice reform, but they are parting ways over the House bill, the New York Times reports.
The legislation would add a “mens rea” requirement to federal laws governing some white-collar crimes, requiring prosecutors to prove the defendants knew or had reason to believe their conduct was unlawful.
The bill was among a package of reforms approved earlier this month by the House Judiciary Committee.
Environmentalists claim Koch Industries supports the mens rea requirement to block potential prosecutions against its own companies. And the U.S. Justice Department contends the bill would allow countless defendants who caused harm to escape criminal liability.
A mens rea standard might have prevented guilty pleas in two cases in recent years involving food contamination and mislabeled painkillers, Justice Department officials said. The standard would also hamper prosecutions for failure to report safety problems.
Mark Holden, general counsel and senior vice president at Koch Industries, acknowledged in an interview that prosecution of the company for covering up air pollution inspired its efforts to reform criminal law. In that case, Holden said, Koch Industries paid a $20 million penalty though it didn’t knowingly violate the law and notified authorities when it discovered the problems.
But he said Koch Industries is “not trying to cut some back-room deal or get-out-of-jail free card.” Its primary concern, he said, is broader criminal justice reform.
