Regarding the "political contributions",depends how much money is left in the pot after litigation.
Boeing's current market capitalisation is 151B... with hard assets of 89.9B. I doubt that any litigation is going to meaningfully alter TBC's viability or future. Arguably, while there is an argument that they have liability for the accidents, in practical terms the world and the USA need Boeing to be active and successful, lest we have a global monopoly result which has never been desirable.
The FAA-OEM discussions on rules application is not nefarious, it arises as the aircraft has a right to legacy status, while experience has resulted in changes to the rules that would otherwise apply. The FAA may push and cajole, but the law is pretty straightforward as to the requirements and that is what TBC has likely complied with. That the rules that don't apply are more stringent is the way the world works. Legacy status is not unreasonable, it recognises that there is a long lead time in developing an aircraft, and there is a need to freeze the regulatory standard or no new product would ever be completed. On submission of a PSCP, a substantial amount of the process involves determining the rules revision status that applies to the design.
The FAA TAD and Boeing have good people within their programs, mistakes may occur, but so far, there has not been evidence of corporate irresponsibility, just lousy choices.
Rant follows:
[This is in contrast to the fiasco over the late 90's early 2000's supplier producing parts that were supposed to be CNC per the TC, but which were made literally by hand using templates and hand shears. That TBC sacked the whistleblowing QA engineers was unconscionable, just as the disgraceful behaviour to the whistleblower mechanic on the AS261 maintenance procedures, where many involved failed to act ethically. Trite words on ethics and morality are plentiful, from scripture, Sunday school, but the dirty little fact is that ethical stands usually end up with the whistleblower being punished. The most glaring example of that is still playing out today; Assange facilitates the disclosure of the simple fact that the US public were being fed false information on various subjects, in their name, specifically the video of the AH64 attack in Baghdad that killed a reporter and a number of other people through erroneous assessment of their combat status.This was the tape recording hi 5's on planting 30mike mike M789 rounds through the front windscreen of a van which was filled with civilians trying to provide aid to the dying, including in their midst a 2 Y/O child (deceased). The public get told post fact that the reporter was a terrorist. Assange is described as an enemy of the state, pilloried, and the VP, Biden suggests extrajudicial response (assassination of Assange). Years later, Snowden discloses illegal breaches of the US publics rights by No Such, breaching constitutional rights of Joe Citizen, and is branded a "traitor". The world ain't what it used to be, probably never was except in fairy tales. 200 years ago, people showing indignation would have ended up with schools, parks and roads named in their memory, today, they are the butt of derisive jokes.
Edmund Burke was right when he lamented in 1770 on what was necessary for evil to triumph in
"Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents", but today it may be that Burke would be considered to be an optimist]