STATEMENT OF ACTING ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL JOHN C. RICHTER ON THE SUPREME COURT’S DECISION IN ARTHUR ANDERSEN

The following press release was published by the US Department of Justice on May 31, 2005. It is reproduced in full below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2005 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CRM (202) 514-2008 TDD (202) 514-1888 Department of Justice is disappointed in today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding jury instructions given in the case, but of course we respect the Court’s decision.

“The Justice Department’s decision to charge Arthur Andersen was based at the time on the determination that the substantial destruction of documents in anticipation of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission violated the law. We remain convinced that even the most powerful corporations have the responsibility of adhering to the rule of law.

“We will carefully examine today’s decision and determine whether to re-try the case.” 05-294

Source: US Department of Justice