Top Justice Department officials have sidelined career prosecutors’ long-running grand jury investigation of Meta Platforms over facilitating illegal pharmaceutical sales, just after company executives were subpoenaed to testify, two people familiar with the matter said.
Senior leaders at DOJ headquarters ordered career prosecutors in the Western District of Virginia to cease the criminal investigation following advocacy from
The officials — including acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter and his No. 2 Aakash Singh — are considering a civil resolution with a fine or a non-prosecution agreement, added one of the people. Such a deal would allow the social media giant to avoid charges for its role in creating a market for youth to purchase deadly fentanyl pills and other addictive drugs.
Department leaders intervened to protect the company as its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has played a core role shaping President Donald Trump’s strategy to counter growing backlash over the safety of AI technology. While the Trump administration has retreated on a wide range of other corporate investigations inherited from the Biden era, this probe was initially allowed to continue when Meta lawyers elevated it to political leadership of DOJ last year, said two people, who like others spoke anonymously about an ongoing case.
Officials are now mulling a range of more lenient options that fall short of the drug trafficking theory pursued by the Appalachia-based Western Virginia district known for aggressive corporate pharmaceutical prosecutions holding chief executives accountable, the individuals said.
The investigation arose during the Covid-19 pandemic when Meta and other social media behemoths faced public and congressional scrutiny for allowing the promotion of prescription drugs to children on their platforms, and for potentially profiting off of users’ illicit transactions. Political and career supervisors overseeing the case have at various points debated its strength, given the challenge of proving criminal intent of far removed Meta executives, said two people briefed on the situation.
Meta assembled a team of prominent defense lawyers from Davis Polk & Wardwell, former Republican Deputy AG Mark Filip of Kirkland & Ellis, and Sullivan & Cromwell — which represents Trump personally in criminal and civil litigation — throughout the history of this case, several people said.
The more recent subpoenas to executives prompted Meta to escalate its concerns to the top of DOJ, leading officials to convene the latest meeting between Filip, Davis Polk lawyers, Meta’s in-house counsel, and the Western District of Virginia prosecutors. Career prosecutors were then told to retreat from their grand jury investigation, the individuals added.
It’s not clear whether prosecutors were targeting particular executives for individual charges or if they were seen as witnesses in a corporate prosecution.
Defense lawyers pointed to instances in which Meta has cooperated with law enforcement by flagging possible illicit drug promotions on its site and has taken steps to mitigate future risks, said one of the individuals. The company also announced partnerships with law enforcement in September for an “anti-scam education campaign” to support Asia-Pacific markets and issued a threat report in March highlighting its increased efforts to combat cartels and other drug-related gang activity.
The existence of this DOJ investigation of Meta was first reported in the Wall Street Journal in 2024.
Meta declined to comment.
A spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in Western Virginia deferred comment to DOJ headquarters.
“The Department of Justice cannot comment on ongoing investigations or negotiations. However, this Department has ended the Biden-era days of aggressively and indiscriminately targeting corporations and businesses,” department spokesperson Kiersten Pels said in a statement. “Instead, we are focused on following the facts and the law to surgically address corporate wrongdoing.”
Veteran Prosecutor
The Trump DOJ has recently overruled career prosecutors seeking criminal charges against other global corporations facing investigations for consumer health and safety.
That includes a criminal case against Abbott Laboratories stemming from contaminated baby formula that resulted in a $385 million civil settlement, and a non-prosecution agreement with Chinese tech company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which agreed to pay $600 million over accusations it failed to prevent illegal pharmaceutical sales. CBS News reported earlier on DOJ’s internal dispute over the Alibaba case.
Meta’s probe was led by Randy Ramseyer, the veteran Abingdon, Va.-based assistant US attorney who has long chased Big Pharma heavyweights from Purdue to Abbott on theories of misbranding opioids. Ramseyer is held in high regard by colleagues and feared in the defense bar for his hardball tactics. Pharma companies in prior administrations have also lobbied Main Justice for relief from Ramseyer.
He pulled off the rare feat of putting a pharmaceutical CEO in prison late in Trump’s first term. Lately, however, Ramseyer and his district appear to be losing clout to defendants and Main justice. Under the leadership of Western Virginia’s top prosecutor Robert Tracci, whom the administration installed after it pushed out Trump’s first selection for the post last year, the office also experienced a Washington intervention to scuttle another of its multi-year opioids investigations over the summer.
Swedish pharmaceutical company Orexo announced in August that it had reached a non-binding settlement with the department to end the probe, which two people familiar with the matter said resulted from defense lawyers elevating the case to DOJ leadership.
(Adds DOJ response in 14th paragraph. )
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