Document
DOJ policy — deprioritization of criminal defeat-device prosecutions
U.S. Department of Justice
Overview
DOJ has narrowed or ended active criminal prosecution of certain defeat-device conduct, without any change to the underlying Clean Air Act statutes.
Repeal relevance: Enforcement discretion is not statutory repeal. Consent decrees, civil penalties and § 306 contracting consequences remain in force even where criminal prosecution has been deprioritized.
Counterargument: A policy change is inherently reversible. It does not restore anyone's record and does not repeal any statute.
Awaiting verification · investigated 2026-07-10
What is missing
A specific DOJ memorandum, ENRD leadership statement, or Federal Register notice announcing the deprioritization of criminal defeat-device prosecutions. The current landing page is the ENRD division homepage, which does not itself announce the policy shift.
What would resolve it
A specific justice.gov URL to the memorandum, or a DOJ press release naming the change. Rob Carpenter reporting can corroborate the practical effect but cannot substitute for the primary DOJ document.
This record must not be promoted to verified-primary until a specific primary document is located that matches the claim above.