Trump's Lawyer Boris Epshteyn Became Involved in Adani Defence Before US Case Was Dropped: Report

New Delhi: The Wall Street Journal has reported in a story published on Tuesday (June 16) that Boris Epshteyn, US President Donald Trump's personal attorney, became involved in billionaire Gautam Adani's legal defence against a criminal case in the US.

The result, the article suggests, was that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) case, which alleged that Adani and others were involved in a fraud and bribery scheme, fell through. Until Epshteyn arrived on the scene, the report says, the DOJ was actively pursuing the case against Adani.

The report says Epshteyn never attended meetings with prosecutors involved in the Adani matter. Epshteyn's name never appears on legal papers either. "But Epshteyn's presence was discussed inside the Justice Department and among others familiar with the case," says the report.

Epshteyn's spokesman said he had "no relationship with Adani, was not hired by him, and received no payments from Adani or the Adani Group", says the report.

The WSJ noted that its report is based on conversations with seven unnamed persons, who suggest there was a great deal of closeness between Trump and Epshteyn, as well as records it has reviewed.

Epshteyn regularly interacted with Trump, people familiar with the matter told WSJ. "Last week, he was standing just behind the president in a box at a Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals game. He calls Trump so frequently that even the President jokes about it, administration officials said. 'It's Boris again,' Trump will say, holding up his phone," says the report.

"Although Epshteyn has no official government role, his access to the President's position him as someone who could make or break a career," people familiar with the matter told WSJ's reporters on the story, Joe Palazzolo, Rebecca Balhaus, C. Ryan Barner, Josh Dawsey and Dave Michaels.

Epshteyn, the Adani Group and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have all denied the claims in the Journal article.

Trent McCotter, the principal associate deputy attorney general, one of the DOJ's most senior officials, also features prominently in the WSJ report. The report says that Epshteyn had pushed for McCotter to get a DOJ posting, according to its sources.

McCotter had "the final say on whether to drop the Adani charges", says a DOJ spokeswoman cited in the report, making the point that Epshteyn played no role in his being hired. She pointed out that he had served in the department "long before ever meeting" Epshteyn.

Previously, the BBC reported in 20204, Epshteyn faced allegations of "seeking payments from people to promote them for roles in the incoming [Trump] administration".

McCotter and US Attorney Joseph Nocella said in a court filing last month that the DOJ wouldn’t “devote further resources” to the Adani case.

Meanwhile, democratic senators are questioning the DOJ for dropping fraud charges against Adani. In a letter, senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have asked US Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for an explanation for its decision.

"This backtracking on white-collar crime prosecution came after Mr Adani hired President Trump’s personal lawyer and reportedly promised last month to invest $10 billion in the United States if the DOJ stopped prosecuting him," says the letter.

The letter also says: "...the DOJ’s actions doubly undermine global efforts to combat bribery: they appear to reduce accountability for the crime of bribery while also suggesting that quid-pro-quos can successfully
undermine the enforcement of our laws."

A page from the letter sent by democratic senators to the Attorney General Todd Blanche on June 11, 2026.

Timeline of developments

In November 2024, federal prosecutors in the US charged Adani and others in a fraud and bribery-related case. Adani's lawyers at the time were trying to get the case dropped.

Until early 2025, Adani's defence lawyers were arguing before federal prosecutors in Brooklyn that the case would not have been brought under the Trump administration and that it threatened India-US relations and jeopardised Adani's investments in the US, says the WSJ report.

Nevertheless, in March 2025, senior DOJ officials gave the green light for the prosecution to proceed.

At around this time, WSJ's report says, Adani's associates were asking around about Epshteyn and whether he was genuinely influential in Trump circles. The Adani family, according to the article, told people that Epshteyn was helping them.

"'As of last summer, the Adani family was telling people that Epshteyn was helping them,' some of the people said," says the report.

In July last year, Adani hired the legal firm Sullivan & Cromwell, as per the WSJ. The firm's lawyers met DOJ officials twice, in February 2026 and April 2026. Senior DOJ officials then took the "unusual step", says WSJ, of asking a judge to dismiss its charges against Adani and other defendants.

The case and outcome

The DOJ had charged Adani and associates with participating in a scheme involving bribes to Indian officials to secure solar-power contracts in India. Prosecutors alleged that investors and lenders (in the US) were misled about the company's practices and the existence of the bribery scheme. A separate and parallel securities-law (civil) matter also arose from the same underlying facts.

Adani denied wrongdoing throughout. It is this case that was effectively abandoned in May 2026.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in May 2026 that Adani and his nephew had agreed to personally pay a combined $18 million without admitting wrongdoing in the civil matter. Separately, Adani Enterprises agreed to pay $275 million to settle allegations by the US treasury Department that it had purchased liquefied petroleum gas from Iran in violation of US sanctions, bringing the total value of the settlements to $293 million.

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