WASHINGTON — A federal prosecutor in the Justice Department’s Fraud Section in Washington who had been assigned to the now-dismissed case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani was fired by the Trump administration, two people familiar with the firing told NBC News on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. NBC did not publish the prosecutor’s name.

That prosecutor was one of two who asked to withdraw from the Adani matter two days after Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter moved in May 2026 to dismiss charges against Adani, NBC reported.

Adani was charged in November 2024 in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud U.S. investors and bribe Indian officials to win a bid for India’s largest solar power plant. He called the accusations baseless.

Adani later pledged billions of dollars in U.S. investment. Democratic lawmakers raised quid-pro-quo questions. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York ordered Adani to explain whether any deal was tied to the government’s reversal. In a sworn July statement, Adani said he was “not aware of any agreement involving any person or entity exchanging anything for the dismissal of the indictment.” The Justice Department also denied a quid pro quo.

Garaufis eventually dismissed the case against Adani but blasted the administration’s “highly unusual” conduct, NBC reported. The firing came about a month after that dismissal. The administration has dismissed numerous federal employees with letters citing Trump’s executive powers — letters Justice Department alumni have nicknamed “Article II letters,” NBC said.

Last week, Garaufis let some counts stand against some co-defendants, saying the administration had “not provided sufficient factual information to support the stated reasons” for those dismissals.

McCotter has called the Adani case “indefensible.” An email from U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said a defense slide proposing a $10 billion U.S. investment was “categorically rejected” by the office. A spokesperson for the Eastern District of New York declined to comment. The fired prosecutor did not immediately respond to NBC.

Whatever one’s view of Adani or of foreign bribery enforcement, the episode underscores how much power a White House can exercise over career prosecutors — and how quickly politics can swallow the line between charging decisions and personnel.

Sources