Two Democratic senators are demanding answers from Attorney General Todd Blanche after the Justice Department dropped a fraud and bribery case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani following his promise to invest $10 billion in the United States.
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter Wednesday asking whether people close to President Donald Trump were involved in the decision. It is the second time this year they have raised concerns about the DOJ’s handling of the case.
The Case
Adani was indicted in 2024 in New York for allegedly participating in a bribery and fraud scheme in which he paid Indian officials to secure a contract for one of his companies. He denied the allegations.
Prosecutors moved to dismiss the case in May after Adani hired a new legal team led by Robert Giuffra Jr., one of Trump’s personal lawyers, and offered to invest $10 billion in the US.
In August, a federal judge in New York agreed to drop the case despite having concerns about “irregularities” in the “highly unusual” decision. Judge Nicholas Garaufis said he was satisfied the investment pledge did not factor into the decision but criticized the process.
The Concerns
Warren and Blumenthal wrote that the DOJ’s actions “appear to reduce accountability for the crime of bribery while also suggesting that quid-pro-quos can successfully undermine the enforcement of our laws”.
They pointed to the involvement of two of Trump’s personal lawyers in the case and asked whether Boris Epshteyn, a member of Trump’s legal team who also served as an informal adviser, helped Adani . They also want to know if Donald Trump Jr. met with Adani before the case was dropped.
A spokesperson for Trump Jr. said earlier this year that the conversation “had zero to do with DoJ’s actions in this case” . A spokesperson for Epshteyn denied being involved in Adani’s efforts.
The Judge’s Rebuke
Judge Garaufis sharply criticized the way the decision was reached. He said Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter worked with Adani’s lawyers on the dismissal without consulting prosecutors and investigators who had handled the case.
“The irregularities in the decision to dismiss the indictment are concerning,” Garaufis wrote . “It is up to the public to decide what effect offers of this kind have on the equal administration of justice and the rule of law”.
The Bottom Line
Two Democratic senators are demanding answers from the DOJ after it dropped a bribery case against Gautam Adani following his $10 billion investment pledge. The senators want to know if people close to Trump, including his personal lawyers, were involved in the decision. A federal judge criticized the DOJ’s handling of the case as “highly unusual” and full of “irregularities.” The DOJ has not responded to the senators’ June letter.
My Opinion
The Justice Department does not drop bribery cases against billionaires because they promise to invest in America. That is not how the rule of law works. And yet, that is what appears to have happened here.
Gautam Adani was indicted for allegedly paying bribes to Indian officials. Then he hired one of Trump’s personal lawyers. Then he offered to invest $10 billion in the United States. Then the DOJ moved to dismiss the case. A federal judge approved it while admitting there were “irregularities” and calling the process “highly unusual.” If the judge is uncomfortable, the public should be furious.
The senators are asking the right questions. Was Boris Epshteyn involved? Did Donald Trump Jr. meet with Adani? Did the White House send a signal that this case needed to go away? The DOJ has not answered. That silence is not reassuring.
The message this sends is corrosive. It tells wealthy foreigners that if you get indicted in America, hire the right lawyer, make the right offer, and you can make the case disappear. It tells the American people that there are two systems of justice: one for the powerful, and one for everyone else. The judge was right. It is up to the public to decide what effect offers like this have on the equal administration of justice.
