Fort Worth, Texas - On Tuesday, district court Judge Reed O'Connor from Fort Worth, Texas announced a trial date of June 23 for a criminal case against Boeing over two deadly 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.

In two court filings, O'Connor said he was vacating an April 11 deadline for the aircraft manufacturing giant and prosecutors to announce progress on a plea deal, and moving ahead with the trial over the two crashes, in which 346 people died.

The Wall Street Journal, citing several unnamed sources, previously said the aviation giant was hoping for "more lenient treatment" from the Justice Department under President Donald Trump, whose administration is reviewing several unresolved criminal cases.

Boeing agreed last July to plead guilty to fraud after the Justice Department found the company failed to improve its compliance and ethics program, in breach of a deferred prosecution agreement in the wake of the 2018 and 2019 MAX crashes.

That deal was concluded in January 2021 to address the disasters, in which 346 people were killed in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

But in December, a judge in Texas rejected the 2024 settlement – heavily criticized by victims' family members – citing apparent flaws in the selection process for a monitor to ensure Boeing's compliance, sending the company and the government back to square one.

"Now Boeing stands to benefit from fresh eyes at Trump's Justice Department, which is inclined to at least modify parts of the agreement," the Wall Street Journal wrote, citing sources.

"Allowing Boeing to rescind its plea agreement, or lightening the company's punishment, would mark one of the most prominent examples of the Trump administration's lighter-touch approach to some white-collar enforcement," it added.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the case.

In a statement, Boeing said it was still engaged in "good faith discussions" with the Justice Department regarding an "appropriate" resolution of the matter.

"I am so happy that Judge O'Connor of Texas... has put an end to the delaying tactics of Boeing and the Department of Justice," said Catherine Berthet, whose daughter Camille died in one of the crashes. "Finally [there is] going to be a trial."