WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, launched a congressional inquiry into the Department of Justice's closure of a criminal investigation into Cronobacter bacterial contamination at an Abbott Laboratories baby formula plant. Schiff sent a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on July 8, seeking answers regarding the decision not to pursue felony charges against Abbott Laboratories and some executives.

In his letter, Schiff questioned why senior DOJ officials did not follow prosecutors' advice to pursue felony charges. "Under your management, DOJ does not consider a case involving deadly risks to medically sensitive infants, after a recommendation of a felony charge, to be worthy of criminal prosecution," Schiff wrote. He added, "If prosecuting cases involving the risk of injuries or death to premature infants are not a priority enforcement matter, I have questions about what priorities the DOJ considers worthy of pursuing."

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed receiving the letter from Schiff's office. Sources with knowledge of the matter stated that federal prosecutors wanted to pursue felony charges and had the support of Tysen Duva, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, but senior DOJ leadership ordered the case closed.

The Justice Department is working on a civil settlement with Abbott Laboratories in a parallel False Claims Act case, according to a public May 12 docket entry. A senior DOJ official stated that the department believed a civil False Claims Act resolution was the best mechanism to achieve accountability, deterrence, and protection of the public. The official also stated that Abbott's plans to possibly build a new $1 billion facility in Ohio played no role in the decision to drop the criminal investigation.

In the False Claims Act case, Abbott Laboratories faces accusations of misrepresenting the conditions under which the formula was manufactured to federal and state regulators. DOJ lawyers wrote in a February 2026 filing that Abbott repeatedly lied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state agencies when it represented that it produced powder infant formula under conditions that complied with FDA rules. "None of the misplaced arguments in Abbott's motion can turn a years-long and widespread failure to manufacture compliant powder infant formula into a 'regulatory disagreement' or 'record-keeping' error," DOJ lawyers wrote in the filing.

Abbott Laboratories recalled several powdered formula brands, including Similac, in 2022 after consumers complained about infant illness related to products from its Sturgis, Michigan plant. The FDA stated in March 2022 that five infants were hospitalized due to reported bacterial infections that may have contributed to death in two patients. Abbott Laboratories stated that no unopened, distributed Abbott infant formulas have ever tested positive for Cronobacter sakazakii. The company also stated that the FDA confirmed in March 2022 that unopened product from the homes of infants under investigation at the time of the 2022 recall tested negative for Cronobacter. In four cases where open containers of formula were tested, three were negative for Cronobacter. The fourth open container tested positive for two strains of Cronobacter sakazakii, one of which matched the strain causing infection in the infant. Neither of these two strains was found at the Sturgis plant. Abbott Laboratories also stated that it learned in March 2023 that Cronobacter sakazakii was found on breast pump parts in the home of one of the four cases.

Schiff, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, raised questions in his letter about Abbott Laboratories being represented by the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, which struck a deal with the administration to provide pro-bono legal services to pro-Trump causes last year. Schiff asked Blanche in his letter to respond to questions about the case, including whether he had personally reviewed it. Blanche is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing to be attorney general on July 15.