The judge handling Boeing's plea deal asks Justice Department to explain its diversity policy

The federal judge considering Boeing’s plea deal with prosecutors wants to know how the Justice Department’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies would affect the selection of an independent monitor to oversee the aerospace company. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor ordered the Justice Department to explain how it will pick the monitor and whether DEI considerations would — or should — influence the choice. The appointment is a key component of the deal in which Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to defraud the government. O’Connor is a conservative nominated to the federal bench in Fort Worth, Texas, by President George W. Bush in 2007.