DOJ’s Purdue Settlement a Trump Election Stunt — And a Failure for Victims

by Vinay Krishnan, CPD Action’s Opioid Network

When the Trump administration entered office, the overdose epidemic — not COVID — was the greatest public health threat America faced. Trump promised solutions. He promised action. And yesterday he claimed victory, as Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to three federal charges and will pay over $8 billion in its settlement.

But this is not a victory. It is a political stunt engineered to make this President look good less than two weeks before an election, all while letting the Sacklers off the hook for the harm they have caused.

And that harm, let’s remember, is significant. The Sacklers’ systematic lies on the harmfulness of OxyContin have contributed to over 450,000 deaths from opioids in the last 20 years. In rushing to a settlement, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has allowed the family to pay their way out of liability at far too low a cost. As the NY Times explains, “it is unlikely the company will end up paying anything close to the $8 billion negotiated in the settlement deal. That is because it is in bankruptcy court and the federal government will have to take its place in a long line of creditors. Typically, creditors end up collecting pennies on the dollar.” Furthermore, the Sacklers themselves will pay just $225 million in civil penalties. Because the government is now in direct competition with other claimants, the more money it receives, the less that will be available for individual victims and families.

Early Wednesday, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey responded to the news by saying, “DOJ failed. Justice in this case requires exposing the truth and holding the perpetrators accountable, not rushing a settlement to beat an election. I am not done with Purdue and the Sacklers, and I will never sell out the families who have been calling for justice for so long.”

This administration will kill you with the stroke of a pen and then go on television and say “God Bless America.”

CPD Action has been working with its affiliates — VOCAL, Maryland Communities United, SPACES in Action, MHAction, Hoosier Action, Rights and Democracy — and…