Rubbish
Call me old-fashioned, but when one voluntarily puts information into the public domain on a specific topic (in this case a specific law and its enforcement) there is an obligation to be accurate.
However, there is lots of rubbish in the FCPA space. Individuals (whether paid journalists or individuals who portray themselves as compliance and ethics professionals) who pollute the public domain with false or misleading information.
I didn’t invent fact-checking, I just sometimes do it in the FCPA context. And, I encourage people to do the same to me. I want to be held accountable for the things I write.
False
The extent of false and misleading information in the public domain about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is alarming.
The latest false narrative is from Jeffrey Toobin, a lawyer and so-called legal analyst, who said on this podcast (approximately 7:30 minute mark) when talking about the DOJ that “we are no longer prosecuting that [the FCPA] anymore.”
The notion that the DOJ is no longer prosecuting the FCPA anymore is false.
NPR’s FCPA Story
Last month, I was contacted by National Public Radio. The reporter indicated that NPR was going to do a Planet Money episode on President Trump and the FCPA.
I spoke with the reporter for approximately 30 minutes, provided various factual information, and provided context about the FCPA and FCPA enforcement through the decades.
After the call, I provided various information demonstrating how various issues in President Trump’s February 9th Executive Order “pausing” FCPA enforcement have been festering for many years and discussed by numerous individuals.
From Where Does This Sh*t Originate?
Another (unfortunate) installment of “from where does this sh*t originate”? (See here for the prior post).
This recent Forbes piece by an experienced lawyer whose law firm bio suggests FCPA experience as well as a “distinguished legal writing” award begins:
“After years of vigorously enforcing the FCPA, a “sea change” in DOJ’s corporate enforcement priorities has appeared to roll in. DOJ leadership now professes that it intends for sanctions to become “the new FCPA.” DOJ has been doing more than just talking the talk to give sanctions the same attention once paid to FCPA violations. Between new hires and newly created divisions within the Department, sanctions cops may take over FCPA cops’ beat in 2024, a beat that has appeared relatively inactive in recent years.
Conservative Commentator Bill O’Reilly Serves Up A Laughable FCPA Analysis
Yesterday’s post highlighted how conservative commentator Greg Jarrett bungled the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when discussing Hunter / Joe Biden.
This post discusses how conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly has done the same thing.
In this video clip, O’Reilly attempts to describe how “the [Biden] family has already violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.”
O’Reilly begins by saying that he “stumbled” upon the FCPA, but rest assured he and his staff have done their research on the law “as we always do.”