Woodward says DOJ must step in when it sees commodity-market manipulation
Stanley WoodwardU.S. associate attorney general
Stanley Woodward says the Justice Department must step in when it sees manipulation of commodity markets and says that is what it did in the egg case.
“The manipulation of prices in the commodities market is not a novel concept anymore, and it is incumbent upon the department when it sees the manipulation of commodity markets to step in,”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Cal-Maine and other egg producers manipulate egg-price benchmarks?
The Justice Department and 17 states allege that major egg producers coordinated bids to inflate Urner Barry price quotations. Cal-Maine denies wrongdoing and says its communications did not affect egg prices. The filed complaint and proposed settlement do not resolve the disputed facts by trial.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
POLITICO published the interview October 18 and describes it as recent, without giving its exact date.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
POLITICO's October 18 article describes how federal and state investigators built the case, including evidence of what New York argued was brazen coordination among top egg executives. It quotes Woodward from what it calls a recent interview.
After the quotation
He says that is what the department did in this case. Later in the article, he says DOJ did not pursue litigation because the conduct had already been resolved.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Woodward describes the department's action against the egg producers as stepping in against commodity-market manipulation, which condemns the conduct this case examines.
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More from this case
Read the full caseAssefi says the egg producers stopped competing and were coordinating
“They reach a point where they no longer want to compete, and they’re coordinating to ensure outcomes that benefit all of them and then don’t benefit the consumer,”Read statement
Lincicome questions the economic importance of alleged egg-price coordination
“That doesn’t mean necessarily that there wasn’t illegal behavior going on, but not economically important behavior.”Read statement
Food & Water Watch says DOJ's proposed egg settlement is not enough
Food & Water Watch
“The Department of Justice found that corporations like Cal-Maine engaged in price gouging of eggs - but they're giving them a slap on the wrist. Tell the DOJ that their proposed settlement is not enough, and corporate price gougers deserve consequences:”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Woodward says DOJ must step in when it sees commodity-market manipulation". First published: 2026-10-20. Last updated: 2026-10-20. https://disputeindex.com/events/6162-stanley-woodward-says-the-justice-department-must-step