The legal department of General Motors has become a focus of a broad internal inquiry into how the company handled a vehicle safety issue linked to 13 deaths. The failure of ignition switches caused Chevrolet Cobalts and other cars to lose engine power and deactivate air bags.
Regulators are investigating whether G.M.’s top officers deliberately ignored the need to fix faulty ignition switches in some of its vehicles. While the company continues to insist that work on defective ignition switches was limited to a handful of midlevel employees, a review of internal documents, emails and interviews show that high-ranking officials acted with increasing urgency to grapple with the spreading impact of the ignition problem.
Four senior executives have resigned or left the company since the recall began, including a top engineer, Jim Federico. Last summer, Mr. Federico avoided being deposed in a lawsuit when G.M. lawyers abruptly settled a case tied to a defective ignition switch. Once depositions threatened to ensnare senior officials, several other departments in the company stepped up efforts to fix the switches.
Regulators suspect that G.M.’s unwillingness to share information about the defective switches most likely cost lives in accidents. Transportation Secretary Anthony R. Foxx said in a news briefing, “Literally, silence can kill.”
The automaker is facing several other investigations, including from the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and has agreed to pay a $35 million penalty imposed by federal regulators. Anton R. Valukas, a former United States attorney, is close to concluding an internal investigation into the company that is being closely watched by lawmakers, federal regulators and Justice Department investigators.
