Law and Regulations

Feds move to dismiss McClendon indictment

Investigating McClendon's accident
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Investigating McClendon's accident

As expected, federal prosecutors have moved to dismiss the indictment of Chesapeake Energy founder Aubrey McClendon, "for the reason that such action would best meet the ends of justice in that the defendant is now deceased."

The motion was filed in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City this afternoon, the day after McClendon died in a fiery one-car crash. He was 56 years old.

Aubrey McClendon, former chairman and chief executive officer of Chesapeake Energy.
What happens to legal case now that McClendon is dead?
Chesapeake Energy Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon, co-owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder, cheers during Game 1 of the NBA basketball finals against the Miami Heat in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, June 12, 2012.
Oklahoma's heartfelt response to McClendon's death

But while the case against McClendon is expected to end, a law enforcement source tells CNBC that the Justice Department's broader investigation into possible collusion in the oil and natural gas industry is ongoing.

In announcing McClendon's indictment Tuesday, the Justice Department billed it as "the first case resulting from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the oil and natural gas industry."