{"id":903771,"date":"2026-11-02T23:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T23:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/903771\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T23:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T23:52:13","slug":"us-attorney-andrew-boutros-ordered-to-testify-in-federal-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/903771\/","title":{"rendered":"US Attorney Andrew Boutros ordered to testify in federal court"},"content":{"rendered":"

A federal judge on Monday ordered embattled U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros and several underlings to testify under oath later this month about alleged misconduct in the failed \u201cBroadview Six<\/a>\u201d case against a group of Operation Midway Blitz protesters.<\/p>\n

Boutros, who is Chicago\u2019s top federal law enforcement officer, must appear for live testimony Nov. 16, said U.S. District Judge April Perry. The judge also ordered three assistant prosecutors, William Hogan, Matthew Skiba and Andres Almendarez, to appear on the same date.<\/p>\n

The judge\u2019s order marks a rapid escalation of the long-simmering case and sets the stage for a virtually unprecedented hearing,\u00a0with the U.S. attorney himself being questioned under penalty of perjury.<\/p>\n

Perry said Boutros also will have to answer questions about his statements to her on May 21, the day he announced he was dropping all charges against the Broadview defendants, and his office\u2019s \u201crepeated failures\u201d to correct Perry\u2019s misconception that the transcript redactions were minor and appeared to be only about technical issues.<\/p>\n

It has since been revealed Boutros\u2019 office redacted large swaths of the transcripts indicating serious misconduct by the lead prosecutor, then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg, including improperly \u201cvouching\u201d for the strength of the case before the grand jury. That Oct. 9 session ended with a rare \u201cno bill\u201d vote from the grand jury declining to approve the felony indictment.<\/p>\n

Perry did not specifically request testimony from Mecklenburg, who has since retired under protest and alleged in court that Boutros threw her under the bus to protect himself. But it was clear from Perry\u2019s order that she\u2019d like to hear from anyone who will help her get to the bottom of what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Court will also accept testimony from any former or current employee of the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office or federal law enforcement agency who has first-hand knowledge about the above events and who wants to ensure a full and accurate record is presented,\u201d Perry wrote.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“Broadview Six” defendants Katherine Abughazaleh, clockwise from upper left, Andre Martin, Michael Rabbitt, Joselyn Walsh, Brian Straw and Catherine Sharp. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Attorney<\/p>\n

Attorney Christopher Parente, from left,\u00a0\u201cBroadview Six\u201d defendant\u00a0Brian Straw and his wife Shannon Craig Straw leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Oct. 1, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\u00e2\u0080\u009cBroadview<\/p>\n

\u201cBroadview Six\u201d defendant Catherine Sharp, left, and attorney Molly Armour leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Oct. 1, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\u00e2\u0080\u009cBroadview<\/p>\n

\u201cBroadview Six\u201d defendant Katherine Abughazaleh, left, stands next to attorney Molly Armour during a press conference in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Oct. 1, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Frances<\/p>\n

Frances Haydock and her boyfriend \u201cBroadview Six\u201d defendant Andre Martin leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Oct. 1, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Sarah<\/p>\n

Sarah Rabbitt and her husband \u00a0\u201cBroadview Six\u201d defendant Michael Rabbitt leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Oct. 1, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\u00e2\u0080\u009cBroadview<\/p>\n

\u201cBroadview Six\u201d defendants Kat Abughazaleh, from left, Michael Rabbitt, Andre Martin and Brian Straw embrace outside the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after federal prosecutors dismissed all remaining counts on May 21, 2026. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\u00e2\u0080\u009cBroadview<\/p>\n

\u201cBroadview Six\u201d defendants Michael Rabbitt, from left, Kat Abughazaleh and Andre Martin laugh together as they leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse following a hearing on May 21, 2026. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\u00e2\u0080\u009cBroadview<\/p>\n

\u201cBroadview Six\u201d defendant Kat Abughazaleh smiles as she leaves the courtroom at Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after federal prosecutors dismissed all remaining counts on May 21, 2026. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Rabbitt holds hands with his wife as they leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on May 21, 2026, following a hearing in the “Broadview Six” case. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Defendant<\/p>\n

Defendant Brian Straw holds hands with his wife as they leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after federal prosecutors dismissed all remaining counts on May 21, 2026. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Defendant<\/p>\n

Defendant Michael Rabbitt speaks at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after federal prosecutors dismissed all remaining counts on May 21, 2026. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“Broadview Six” defendants Kat Abughazaleh and Andre Martin embrace at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after federal prosecutors dismissed all remaining counts on May 21, 2026. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\u00e2\u0080\u009cBroadview<\/p>\n

\u201cBroadview Six\u201d defendants Andre Martin and Kat Abughazaleh leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse following a hearing on May 21, 2026. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Kat<\/p>\n

Kat Abughazaleh, second from left, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after a pretrial conference on May 18, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Andre<\/p>\n

Andre Martin leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after a pretrial conference on May 18, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Brian<\/p>\n

Brian Straw leaves Dirksen U.S. Courthouse with his wife Shannon Straw after a pretrial conference on May 18, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Then-congressional<\/p>\n

Then-congressional candidate Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh, second from left, with her boyfriend, Ben Collins, left, leaves with her attorneys at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in the Loop on Jan. 28, 2026, after a hearing for charges of conspiracy during a protest outside the Broadview ICE facility in September. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Rabbitt, center left, and Brian Straw, center right, leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Feb. 26, 2026, after a hearing in the \u201cBroadview Six\u201d conspiracy case. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Joselyn<\/p>\n

Joselyn Walsh, third from left, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Feb. 26, 2026, with then-congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, fourth from right, and Andre Martin, right, following behind after a hearing in the \u201cBroadview Six\u201d conspiracy case. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Catherine<\/p>\n

Catherine \u201cCat\u201d Sharp, left, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Feb. 26, 2026, after a hearing in the \u201cBroadview Six\u201d conspiracy case. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Then-congressional<\/p>\n

Then-congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, center left, Joselyn Walsh, center right, and Andre Martin, center, leave the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Feb. 26, 2026, after a hearing in the “Broadview Six” conspiracy case. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Andre<\/p>\n

Andre Martin leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Feb. 26, 2026, after a hearing in the \u201cBroadview Six\u201d conspiracy case. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Rabbitt, left, arrives at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Feb. 26, 2026, for a hearing in the “Broadview Six” conspiracy case. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Then-congressional<\/p>\n

Then-congressional candidate Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh, right, listens to her attorney, Josh Herman, speak to media in the lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in the Loop on Jan. 28, 2026, after a hearing on charges of conspiracy following a protest outside the Broadview ICE facility in September. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Then-congressional<\/p>\n

Then-congressional candidate Katherine “Kat” Abughazaleh, center, and her deputy campaign manager, Andre Martin, left, leave with their attorneys from the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in the Loop on Jan. 28, 2026, after a hearing on conspiracy charges following a protest outside the Broadview ICE facility in September. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Joselyn<\/p>\n

Joselyn Walsh speaks with a reporter at her apartment on Dec. 10, 2025, in Chicago. Walsh is a musician and activist who plays with an open group of musicians called \u201cSongs of Liberation.\u201d They play at a wide array of venues, including outside of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview. Walsh is one of the “Broadview Six,” who face federal charges for allegedly impeding a federal agent during a September 2025 protest. (Stacey Wescott\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Dave<\/p>\n

Dave Martin, from left, Joselyn Walsh and Joseph Ozment sing pro-Palestinian songs with other activists near the State\/Lake CTA Station on Dec. 14, 2025, in Chicago. Walsh and five others were indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy charges stemming from an immigration protest outside the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Catherine<\/p>\n

Catherine \u201cCat\u201d Sharp, center, rallies with supporters before a hearing for her and other indicted Broadview immigration protesters on Nov. 12, 2025, at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Then-congressional<\/p>\n

Then-congressional candidate Katherine \u201cKat\u201d Abughazaleh, right, hugs her deputy campaign manager, Andre Martin, after their hearing at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse for the “Broadview Six,” which includes Martin and Abughazaleh, on Nov. 12, 2025. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Then-congressional<\/p>\n

Then-congressional candidate Katherine \u201cKat\u201d Abughazaleh, right, listens as her lawyer talks to the media after a hearing for the indicted “Broadview Six” immigration protesters on Nov. 12, 2025, at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Demonstrators<\/p>\n

Demonstrators rally before a hearing for the indicted “Broadview Six” immigration protesters on Nov. 12, 2025, at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Catherine<\/p>\n

Catherine \u201cCat\u201d Sharp rallies with supporters before a hearing for her and other indicted Broadview immigration protesters on Nov. 12, 2025, at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"Kat<\/p>\n

Kat Abughazaleh, far left, and other protesters surround a federal SUV and try to prevent it from driving to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview on Sept. 26, 2025. According to the indictment, the group surrounded an ICE vehicle outside the Broadview facility during a Sept. 26 protest and \u201cbanged aggressively\u201d on the vehicle\u2019s side and back windows, hood and doors before they \u201ccrowded together in the front and side of the Government Vehicle and pushed against the vehicle to hinder and impede its movement.\u201d (Stacey Wescott\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 34<\/p>\n

“Broadview Six” defendants Katherine Abughazaleh, clockwise from upper left, Andre Martin, Michael Rabbitt, Joselyn Walsh, Brian Straw and Catherine Sharp. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

In one remarkable section of her seven-page order, Perry all but accused Boutros of misleading her when he claimed he had not known about Mecklenburg\u2019s vouching until months later, when it has since been revealed that he was emailed an expedited transcript of the grand jury proceedings five days after it happened.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Boutros\u2019) statements are hard to credit,\u201d Perry wrote. \u201cGrand jury \u2018no bills\u2019 are exceedingly rare. To anyone who has been a federal prosecutor, a no bill would be an immediate red flag that something has gone very wrong in the grand jury.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perry noted that under federal court rules, Boutros would have had to personally OK a second attempt at an indictment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea that USA Boutros would have made such a significant decision without reviewing the best evidence available to him about what went wrong in the grand jury is nearly unfathomable,\u201d Perry said.<\/p>\n

The judge also blasted the Department of Justice for what appeared to her to be a last-minute attempt<\/a> to \u201cinject unnecessary delay into these proceedings\u201d by having Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward intervene on Friday \u2014 the day that the U.S. attorney\u2019s office had been scheduled to hand over discovery materials to her.<\/p>\n

Instead, Woodward filed a defiant brief<\/a> declaring the government \u201chas not agreed to cooperate\u201d with any investigation into wrongdoing and asking Perry to provide justification for it. Woodward argued the Justice Department did not construe her minute order \u201cas a directive creating any obligation to produce any information\u201d because it used terms like \u201cask\u201d and \u201crequest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perry was obviously not pleased with what she called the \u201cprofessed confusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be clear: the factual basis for the Court\u2019s inquiry is not a mystery to anyone who has had any involvement with this case or even conducted a cursory review of the docket,\u201d the judge wrote in her order.<\/p>\n

In apparent response to claims she\u2019d been vague, Perry went so far as to define \u201cmust\u201d when it came to her order that Boutros \u201cmust appear to testify.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Court uses \u2018must\u2019 in a legal sense, which is to say it is mandatory,\u201d Perry wrote in a footnote.<\/p>\n

In her order, Perry also said that by inserting himself into the case, Woodward has strengthened the argument that the Attorney General\u2019s office is compromised and cannot supervise an investigation of any special counsel into potential contempt charges.<\/p>\n

\"AttorneyAttorney Stanley Woodward Jr. arrives at the Alto Lee Adams Sr. U.S. Courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, on May 22, 2024. Woodward, the head of the Justice Department’s civil division, has represented a number of Trump aides in criminal investigations related to Trump or the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. (Saul Martinez\/The New York Times)<\/p>\n

Perry also is not letting the government off the hook on providing the promised discovery, ordering it produced by 5 p.m. Thursday.<\/p>\n

The order marked yet another dramatic twist in the long-running legal drama of the Broadview Six, which stemmed from the charging of six protesters during Operation Midway Blitz a year ago.<\/p>\n

The case collapsed in May amid allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, and Perry has since begun an inquiry that could lead to sanctions or even appointment of special counsel to investigate criminal contempt charges.<\/p>\n

Perry had ordered the U.S. attorney\u2019s office to turn over her discovery requests by Friday, including written communications with anyone outside the office regarding \u201cinvestigatory or charging decisions\u201d as well as an email sent to Boutros attaching an expedited transcript of grand jury proceedings.<\/p>\n

Instead, the two assistant U.S. attorneys who had been handling the case for Boutros\u2019 office since the summer, Nathaniel Whalen and Diane MacArthur, both filed motions earlier Friday seeking to withdraw.<\/p>\n

Perry granted those motions on Monday.<\/p>\n

The developments came on the same day that\u00a0ex-Chicago FBI boss Douglas DePodesta filed a bombshell lawsuit<\/a> against Boutros and top officials in the Department of Justice, claiming he was scapegoated by Boutros for the failed Broadview Six case.<\/p>\n

In the suit, DePodesta alleged he and Boutros met personally with now-Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel and others at the Chicago FBI headquarters on Oct. 7, 2025, just two days before Boutros\u2019 office first took the case to the grand jury.<\/p>\n

DePodesta\u2019s lawsuit clearly caught the attention of Perry, who referenced it in her order when she discussed how the U.S. attorney\u2019s office has been \u201ccagey\u201d about its communications with officials in Washington.<\/p>\n

Specifically, she noted Hogan\u2019s \u201cinflammatory\u201d claim in a court filing that any allegation of DOJ interference was \u201cthe product of fevered paranoia and delusional speculation.\u201d<\/p>\n

If DePodesta\u2019s lawsuit is accurate, Perry wrote, any meeting he had with Boutros and Blanche \u201cwould have been covered by the discovery request and directly contradicts AUSA Hogan\u2019s assertions to the Court.\u201d<\/p>\n

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A federal judge on Monday ordered embattled U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros and several underlings to testify under oath…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":903772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,161804,120839,378244,12,16672,6270,3,16673,21,19,22,20,25,135328,24],"class_list":["post-903771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-andrew-boutros","tag-april-perry","tag-broadview-six","tag-donald-trump","tag-grand-jury","tag-investigation","tag-news","tag-testimony","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-us-attorney","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}