Overview
- Senior Justice Department officials filed a motion on May 18 to dismiss all charges against Gautam Adani and other defendants without signatures from the line prosecutors who built the case.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Boris Epshteyn, President Trump’s personal lawyer, had joined or advised Adani’s defense before the dismissal and that his name was discussed inside the DOJ.
- Boris Epshteyn and the Adani Group have denied that he represented them, and Sullivan & Cromwell — which formally took over Adani’s defense last July — says it handled the case in court.
- The Adani indictment, filed in October 2024, alleges a scheme to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials to win solar contracts, a charge the DOJ now says falls outside its role in international prosecutions.
- Democratic lawmakers have sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche seeking an explanation and oversight, and the reporting has raised fresh questions about political influence, personnel ties inside the DOJ, and possible effects on U.S.-India legal and diplomatic relations.