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February 23, 2010

Toyota Faces Criminal Probe
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Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal probe into Toyota’s safety
problems. A federal grand jury has subpoenaed records from Toyota
related to unintended acceleration in its vehicles and the braking
system of its Prius hybrid. The Securities and Exchange Commission has
also subpoenaed documents from Toyota. Toyota President Akio Toyoda is
scheduled to testify at a House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee on Wednesday. Longtime consumer advocate Joan Claybrook said
the congressional probe should also examine the role played by federal
regulators.

Joan Claybrook: “The regulators also are there to protect the American
people, and if the company misbehaves, that’s when the regulators take
action. Here they didn’t take action, and then Toyota boasts about it
when they’re doing briefings in their Washington office of their
Japanese officials and say that they saved the company $100 million by
avoiding a big recall and doing instead just what’s called an equipment
recall for the floor mats. So I think that Toyota has been exposed, and
they have to eat crow. I think there’s a lot that’s going to go on at
this congressional hearing that requires an explanation by both Toyota
and by the Department of Transportation, which didn’t do its job
either.”