Industry Lawyers Say Trump EO Marks Major Shift In Criminal Enforcement

Industry attorneys say President Donald Trump’s recent executive order (EO) seeking to scale back criminal enforcement of environmental and other regulations could mark a “significant policy shift” in how the federal government approaches such enforcement, likely easing penalties for regulated industries. The May 9 EO , “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations,” says criminal prosecution of regulatory offenses is “disfavored,” while stressing that such prosecutions “should focus on matters where a putative defendant is alleged to have known his conduct was...