Dems urge investigation into Sackler family

A group of Senate Democrats is urging the Department of Justice to open an investigation into whether members of the Sackler family personally engaged in criminal conduct in connection with Purdue Pharma’s role in the opioid epidemic.

In a letter led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the Democrats have asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to consider possible criminal charges for Sackler family members on top of the department’s previously resolved civil and criminal investigations into Purdue.

“Real justice in this case means holding individual lawbreakers criminally accountable,” the Democrats wrote.

Flashback: Just two weeks before Election Day 2020, the Justice Department under former President Trump announced an $8 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma to resolve a federal probe of its marketing practices for opioids, though the company had already declared bankruptcy and was only required to pay the government $225 million.

The Sacklers owned Purdue, which manufactured the powerful opioid OxyContin. The drug is widely seen as one of the spurs of an opioid epidemic that has killed more than 500,000 people in the United States.

No charges were brought against members of the family, though Purdue pleaded guilty to three felonies for its sale and marketing of OxyContin. The senators noted that as part of the settlement, DOJ reserved the right to bring criminal charges against individuals.

“To that end, we write to encourage the Department to review the information in its possession and investigate whether members of the Sackler family engaged in criminal conduct in connection with Purdue’s admitted criminal wrongdoing, before any relevant statutes of limitations expire,” the senators wrote.