Controversial DOJ boss takes reins in tainted ‘Broadview 6’ case, stymies judge’s inquiry

A controversial top Justice Department official inserted himself into Chicago's "Broadview Six" case Friday, insisting "the United States has not agreed to provide any information" sought by a judge who might name a special prosecutor to look into wrongdoing by the feds.

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward asked U.S. District Judge April Perry to clarify if she meant for her recent records "request" to be a "directive." However, he added, "the United States believes further proceedings would not be appropriate."

Woodward's entry into the case followed the withdrawal Friday of two local federal prosecutors on the case, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diane MacArthur and Nathaniel Whalen.

Woodward, the Justice Department’s third highest-ranking official, previously served as senior counselor to President Donald Trump.

But he’s increasingly finding himself at the center of the agency’s national controversies. He faced off earlier Friday with a federal judge in Washington who pressed him on whether the Trump administration had been trying to evade her review, according to news reports.

His name appears at the top of the Justice Department’s recent lawsuit over possible results in the Alaska Senate race. And back in May, he signed the settlement agreement between the president and the IRS that established the controversial “anti-weaponization fund” for people who claimed to be harmed by “lawfare” and the weaponization of the justice system.

Woodward's entry into Chicago's "Broadview Six" case came with a Friday deadline looming for the feds to turn over records sought by Perry. She is still considering whether to name a special prosecutor to investigate Boutros and other Justice Department officials for criminal contempt.

“My sole focus, at this point, is on lack of candor, concealment of material facts, or other misconduct that occurred before me," Perry said during an Oct. 1 hearing.

Perry later asked the feds to turn over records by Friday that could shed light on whether Boutros' team communicated with anyone outside his office about the case, and whether Boutros knew last fall about apparent misconduct by his staff before a grand jury.

The judge characterized her inquiry as a "request," though. That raised questions about whether it counts as a formal order.

The “Broadview Six” case revolved around a protest outside an immigration holding facility in west suburban Broadview in September 2025. Prosecutors alleged that a crowd pushed and damaged a federal agent’s SUV.

But from that crowd, only six people were charged with a conspiracy to impede the agent. Most of them were involved in local Democratic politics.

Sun-Times

Charged were then-congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, Oak Park village trustee Brian Straw, then-Cook County Board candidate Catherine “Cat” Sharp, 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson Michael Rabbitt, musician Joselyn Walsh and Abughazaleh campaign worker Andre Martin.

The case against them collapsed on May 21, after Perry discovered that Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg allegedly spoke to grand jurors outside the grand jury room and put her personal credibility on the line to support charges. The judge also indicated Mecklenburg had excused grand jurors who disagreed with the feds’ case, a claim Mecklenburg denies.

Mecklenburg retired from the Justice Department in order to defend herself, insisting that she followed the instructions of Boutros’ front office “at every turn.”

Perry has said she found “most problematic” the fact that the apparent misconduct was redacted out of transcripts initially given to her by Boutros’ office. The redactions were made after Mecklenburg withdrew from the case.

But now, the judge seems to be testing two specific claims made by the feds this spring.

The first came March 30. That's when Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Hogan, Matthew Skiba and Andres Almendarez assured her in a court filing that "there are no communications of any nature from, to, or with anyone outside [the U.S. Attorney's Office] (other than the local FBI investigators assigned to the case) regarding any investigatory or charging decisions.

"To be crystal clear, this specifically includes anyone in the White House and all components and offices of Main Justice," referring to Justice Department headquarters in Washington.

Perry is also focused on Boutros' acknowledgment that he received a grand jury transcript by email last fall, in which Mecklenburg appeared to use her personal credibility to support an indictment. That's a forbidden practice among prosecutors known as "vouching."

Boutros told Perry in May that he'd only learned of vouching in the case in late April.

Not only did Perry ask to see the email, she asked for any replies or forwards, and copies of all email chains to which it was connected.

She also asked for metadata, "including read receipts, delivery status, and message tracking logs."