Ex-Chicago FBI boss sues Trump admin saying he was wrongfully blamed for botched 'Broadview 6' case
Chicago’s former FBI boss sued top Trump administration officials Monday alleging that he resigned under duress after Chicago U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros sought to blame him for the implosion of the politically charged "Broadview Six" case.
Douglas DePodesta's lawsuit marks another extraordinary development in the tainted case against a group of Operation Midway Blitz protesters that has created a monthslong credibility crisis for Boutros.
In the lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Illinois overseen by Boutros, DePodesta says President Donald Trump and other officials in Washington called for charges against those protesting the Midway Blitz deportation campaign last fall in the Chicago area.
In turn, Boutros brought "politically motivated prosecutions" that "were an unprecedented disaster" for his office, the lawsuit says. Boutros has adamantly denied that politics played any role in charging decisions.
When charges were dropped against the "Broadview Six" amid revelations of apparent prosecutorial misconduct, "Boutros began a campaign within the Department of Justice to blame DePodesta for the unraveling of the case." Boutros' complaints to superiors in Washington ultimately led to DePodesta's ouster, the lawsuit says.
The FBI, the Justice Department, Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel are targeted as defendants in the lawsuit alongside Boutros, who is named in his personal and professional capacities.
“The American people need to know what is happening within their government,” DePodesta, Chicago’s former FBI special-agent-in-charge, told the Sun-Times in an interview.
DePodesta acknowledged the lawsuit will likely put a target on his back. But, he insisted, “I will not let fear silence me.”
“I was forced to leave my job,” DePodesta said. “I was ordered to leave my job.”
DePodesta filed his lawsuit four months after news broke of his sudden, unexpected departure from the FBI. It came weeks after the “Broadview Six” scandal rocked the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
The news opens a new legal front in the “Broadview Six” scandal, which Friday drew in the Justice Department’s third-highest ranking official. DePodesta’s lawsuit also points to a potential rift in Chicago’s federal law enforcement community, which has long touted the value of partnerships.
Boutros and DePodesta shared credit for the filing of high-profile criminal charges as recently as early July. Boutros is considered the region’s top federal law enforcement official, and DePodesta led one of the Justice Department's most prominent agencies here.
Now they’ll become legal adversaries, in a lawsuit sure to get national attention. The lawsuit seeks DePodesta’s reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees. He also wants declarations that the defendants violated his rights and the procedures for terminating an employee.
If a judge lets DePodesta’s lawsuit move forward, it could also lead to new revelations about what went on behind the scenes during the doomed “Broadview Six” prosecution.
It all comes as controversy continues to swirl around the Justice Department. DePodesta’s attorney, former federal prosecutor Ron Safer, also represents Bradley Benavides, one of two former FBI officials charged last month with making false statements to Congress in another politically charged case.
DePodesta, a 24-year FBI veteran, recently spoke with the Sun-Times about the end of his law enforcement career and how he views the role of the FBI — under any presidential administration.
DePodesta led the FBI’s Chicago Field Office for nearly two years, starting in August 2024. He left July 6, six weeks after the “Broadview Six” case collapsed in spectacular fashion. Boutros wound up facing a credibility crisis, with judges questioning whether they could trust his team.
Even now, U.S. District Judge April Perry is considering whether to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Boutros and others for criminal contempt. She recently asked a lawyer from Boutros’ office whether any member of his team would invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination — and he didn’t rule it out.
The “Broadview Six” case revolved around a protest outside an immigration holding facility in west suburban Broadview in September 2025, at the height of Operation Midway Blitz. Prosecutors alleged that a crowd pushed and damaged a federal agent’s SUV.
But from that crowd, only six people were charged with conspiring to impede the agent, a felony carrying a maximum six-year prison sentence. Most of the defendants were involved in local Democratic politics, raising questions about selective prosecution.
The case collapsed May 21 after Perry discovered alleged prosecutorial misconduct in grand jury transcripts that she said left her “incredibly shocked.”
The spotlight wound up on one prosecutor in particular, Sheri Mecklenburg. But Boutros couldn’t shake questions about the role he and others played in the case. By the time of DePodesta’s unexpected departure, Boutros had already endured weeks of bad headlines.
DePodesta denied to the Sun-Times that he’d improperly put his thumb on the scale of any prosecution. He also dismissed the idea that family ties created any conflict of interest.
DePodesta’s sister-in-law is a defense attorney who represents Michael Rabbitt, one member of the “Broadview Six.”
She’s a former federal prosecutor who has gone on to represent individuals in other cases brought by the FBI, DePodesta pointed out. And it’s not unusual for attorneys — even judges — to have past associations with each other.
“There are lots of relationships like mine and hers within this community,” DePodesta said.
Meanwhile, DePodesta said the FBI in Chicago “did a very, very good job enforcing immigration law” in the second Trump administration. It did so, he said, “because it was lawful.” He said he even checked with the lawyers to make sure.
“When things are lawful, and it aligns with the administration’s strategy, 100% we’re on board,” DePodesta said.
“The issue,” he added, “is when it deviates from the law and the Constitution.”
In his parting message to “FBI Chicago,” DePodesta stressed that “despite alternate rhetoric or branding tactics, the FBI’s mission remains unchanged: to uphold the U.S. Constitution and protect the American people.”
DePodesta said he learned through a phone call, “completely out of the blue,” that he’d need to leave his job in Chicago. The news came from a top official, he said. But the brass also made clear to him that the decision was “not performance-based.”
Still, DePodesta said, “it was horrible.”
“I described it before as a little like a death, really,” DePodesta told the Sun-Times. “It was a part of me. … My profession was who I was.”
DePodesta said he is now the director of business development for a startup company. But he said he’s also applied for security jobs, and has “had a very hard time getting employment.”
“One could reasonably believe there was a reason for that, right?” DePodesta said. “Because of the way I was publicly removed.”
He didn’t rule out returning to law enforcement one day. He acknowledged his lawsuit will bring him back into the spotlight. But, he said, “I feel so strongly about letting people know what happened.”
“I hope others speak up about what is happening within this government,” DePodesta said.
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