Washington: Six US Congressmen on Monday in a letter to new Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded a probe into indictment of Adani Group officials by Department of Justice's (DoJ) November last year.
US lawmakers - Lance Gooden, Pat Fallon, Mike Haridopolos, Brandon Gill, William R Timmons and Brian Babin termed the action against Adani group a ‘misguided crusade’ carried out at the ‘risk of harming’ the country’s relationship with its ‘strategic geopolitical partner’ India.
When the charge cropped up, the Adani Group rejected it as a baseless move by the DoJ under the Biden administration. Writing yesterday, the US congressmen called the Biden administration’s move against Adani official one of the administration’s ‘unwise decisions’.
‘This case rests on the allegation that preparations were made by members of this company in India to bribe Indian officials, also exclusively located in India. Instead of deferring the case to the appropriate Indian authorities, the Biden DoJ decided to push forward and indict the company's executives without any real injury to US interests being present,’ the Congressmen reportedly said.
The lawmakers found "no compelling reason" to target Adani officials in a manner that could potentially complicate relations with India.
‘This misguided crusade came at the risk of harming our relationship with a strategic geopolitical partner like India immediately preceding President Trump's return to the Oval Office,’ they added.
The letter pointed out that ‘valuable partners’ from India is an ‘important factor’ considering president Trump’s efforts to achieve the goal of reviving America’s economic prosperity.
They also made it clear that the ‘needless pursuits’ targeting partners that contribute ‘tens of billions and created thousands of jobs’ could discourage investors from contributing to US economy.
The two-page letter added that the US and India share a sense of mutual respect and appreciation, alongside ‘President Trump has always recognized the true potential of a strong and beneficial relationship between two economic and military superpowers like the US and India.’
The lawmakers requested Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate ‘selective pursuit’ by the Biden DoJ and share with them ‘all records pertaining to this case, for a coordinated effort in uncovering the truth’.