Earlier this week, at FCPA Inc.’s annual “dog and pony show,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche reportedly stated:
“If folks in this room are going to be honest brokers when counseling clients, posting on LinkedIn or writing client alerts, the public narrative should match the private one. If you publicly claim we are not enforcing white-collar crime aggressively enough, but privately insist that your clients are the victims of overreach, we notice that inconsistency,” Blanche told hundreds of lawyers gathered outside Washington for a conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
“It’s remarkable how some members of the white-collar bar seem to have an endless stream of clients who are each coincidentally victims of supposed overreach or weaponization, but still publicly draft client alerts suggesting that the department is not prioritizing white-collar cases,” Blanche said. “Such a statement is wrong. White-collar cases are a significant priority for President Trump, for the attorney general and for the department.”
One headline stated: “Blanche warns lawyers who criticize Justice Department.”
A tad bit misleading.
What is wrong – at an industry specific conference – for the DOJ to call out false narratives on FCPA enforcement that do not match reality?
Thus far in 2025, there have been more DOJ corporate FCPA enforcements compared to 2021 and 2015.
DOJ individual FCPA enforcement actions have been vibrant as well (compared to historical norms). In September, there was an FCPA trial, another FCPA trial is currently underway, and two additional FCPA trials are scheduled for 2026. This is likely one of the most active periods of FCPA trials in the FCPA’s nearly 50 years.
Yet against this backdrop, there continues to be several false or misleading narratives about FCPA enforcement in law firm client alerts, by lawyers on social media, and by the media itself.
What is wrong with calling out false narratives?
