US Pushes to Pause Foreign Bribery Trial in Abrupt Reversal (2)

The Justice Department is asking a US court to pause a looming trial in its case against former Cognizant Technology executives on foreign bribery charges to review how a Trump executive order affects the matter.

The move on Tuesday marks an abrupt reversal by the department, which on Feb. 21 said that it would continue prosecuting the executives under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act despite a White House order pausing enforcement of the law.

The trial was set to start Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey. Judge Michael E. Farbiarz, however, postponed the start date to March 17 because of an unspecified “medical issue,” according to a court order issued Tuesday afternoon.

The government has accused two former senior officials at Cognizant, a publicly traded IT multinational, of approving a $2 million payoff to officials in India in connection with the construction of an office park.

John Giordano, who was sworn in on March 3 as the new acting US Attorney for the District of New Jersey, said in a letter that he wants time to review the case. He asked for a 180-day adjournment “to allow sufficient time for my consideration of the application” of Trump’s executive order.

It remains unclear how Farbiarz will react to the 11th-hour about-face from the Justice Department. And the move could add to confusion over how federal prosecutors will pursue ongoing foreign bribery cases.

Trump on Feb. 10 signed an executive order pausing new FCPA cases and requiring Attorney General Pam Bondi to review all existing investigations and actions. The order also directs Bondi to issue new enforcement guidelines for the law, which Trump has claimed hurts Americans’ ability to do business overseas.

In wake of the executive order, defense lawyers for the former Cognizant executives asked the DOJ’s acting No. 2 official, Emil Bove, to dismiss the case.

The case is USA v. Coburn, D.N.J., No. 2:19-cr-00120-MEF, letter filed 3/4/25.

—With assistance from Mike Vilensky.