Trump administration fires prosecutor in dropped case against Gautam Adani

The Trump administration has terminated a federal prosecutor assigned to the fraud case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, according to a report by NBC News. The prosecutor, who served in the Justice Department’s Fraud Section, was one of two lawyers who sought to withdraw from the case after Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter moved to drop the charges. The prosecutor was subsequently dismissed via an "Article II" letter citing constitutional executive authority.

Adani was originally indicted in November 2024 over allegations of defrauding U.S. investors and bribing Indian officials to secure solar power contracts, charges he firmly denied. The dismissal of the case prompted criticism and accusations of a potential quid pro quo after Adani pledged multi-billion-dollar investments in the U.S. Although an internal email noted a $10 billion investment proposal from Adani's legal team was "categorically rejected," both Adani and the Justice Department denied any deal-making. McCotter maintained that the prosecution was "indefensible" regardless of investment discussions, the NBC News report cited.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis ultimately threw out the charges against Adani while criticising the administration's "highly unusual" handling of the matter. The prosecutor’s termination occurred a month later. Judge Garaufis also reportedly refused to dismiss charges against several of Adani's co-defendants, ruling that the Justice Department failed to provide adequate factual grounds to justify dropping those counts.