A US federal court has directed the Department of Justice to comply with requirements set out in its August 10 order in the bribery case against Adani Group executives and other defendants, after finding that a subsequent filing by Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter did not satisfy those requirements.
Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in an order dated August 12, said McCotter’s August 11 letter, filed in response to the court’s August 10 Memorandum and Order, did not provide the information sought by the court.
The court said the letter provided neither “factual support for each [proffered] reason” for the decision to dismiss Counts One and Five with prejudice, nor confirmation that the Department of Justice had advised counsel for non-appearing defendants of their obligation to provide “the direct assurances of Non-Appearing Defendants’ consent” to the Rule 48(a) motion on the record.
“Thus, it does not satisfy the 49 August 10 Order,” Garaufis said in the order.
The judge directed the government to review the August 10 order and comply with the requirements set out on pages 46-47 by August 31, 2026.
The latest order comes a day after McCotter defended the DOJ’s decision to seek dismissal of the remaining charges and pushed back against the court’s criticism of the government’s handling of the case.
In his August 11 filing, McCotter said the suggestion that he had disregarded the professional opinions of officials involved in the case was “demonstrably incorrect”. He said he had consulted extensively with DOJ attorneys and that his ultimate decision reflected the input and advice he received from them.
McCotter had also urged the court to promptly grant the remainder of the government’s motion to dismiss, saying that if the court denied the motion or declined to dismiss the remaining charges with prejudice by August 25, the government intended to seek appellate relief to end what he described as a “meritless case”.
The August 12 order, however, requires the government to address the deficiencies identified by the court and comply with the earlier directions by August 31.
