Political analysts dragged President Donald Trump's Department of Justice on Wednesday after it moved to drop a corruption case against a former Fox executive who was convicted of bribery and money laundering charges.
The DOJ moved to drop its conviction of Hernán López, a former Fox executive who oversaw the network's Latin American sports broadcasting business, who had been convicted of multiple crimes related to the FIFA corruption investigation that began in 2010. López was involved in a scheme to funnel millions of dollars to the heads of the international soccer organization in exchange for the rights to broadcast the World Cup and multiple high-profile tournaments in South America. He was convicted alongside a marketing company he worked with, Full Play Sports, in 2023, The New York Times reported.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York wrote a letter to a federal judge arguing that dismissing López's case was "in the interest of justice," according to the NYT.
It was announced just days after FIFA gave the president its inaugural "peace prize."
Political analysts and observers shared their reactions on social media.
"All it took was a little ribbon for DOJ to fully embrace corruption," journalist Marcy Wheeler posted on X.
"Amazing what a made up trophy can get you these days," Sam Stein, managing editor of The Bulwark, posted on X.
"That didn't take long," Whitney Westerfield, legal affairs analyst in Kentucky, posted on X. "Everyone under legal or regulatory scrutiny from the feds, just dig around for some spare gold and that'll solve all your problems."
"A week after FIFA gave Trump a newly created award and made him a focal point of the World Cup draw," CNN reporter Aaron Blake posted on X. "And with no real explanation."