Former FBI Chicago field office chief Douglas DePodesta sued senior Justice Department officials, alleging he was forced out after a prosecution of six protesters at an immigration enforcement protest in Broadview, Illinois, collapsed.
DePodesta filed the lawsuit Monday, according to The Associated Press. He alleges that U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros blamed him for the case’s failure and that FBI Director Kash Patel pushed for his ouster. DePodesta told the AP he was notified of the pressure before he resigned over the summer.
The lawsuit says federal prosecutors pursued politically motivated charges and that Boutros pressed for felony cases before evidence was gathered. Boutros has denied that politics influenced charging decisions.
In the “Broadview Six” case, prosecutors charged six people with conspiring to obstruct a federal officer after a protest at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview. Grand jury transcripts later showed that jurors twice declined to indict them, according to the AP. Boutros dropped the charges in May as the court began examining possible prosecutorial misconduct.
Hours after DePodesta filed suit, U.S. District Judge April Perry ordered Boutros and three assistant U.S. attorneys to testify under oath on Nov. 16 in the failed case. Perry wrote that there was an adequate factual basis to investigate whether willful false statements had been made to the court.
The former defendants have asked Perry to appoint a special counsel to investigate possible misconduct. At an Oct. 1 hearing, she ordered further fact-finding on communications between Boutros’ office and Justice Department leadership.
DePodesta’s lawsuit also alleges Boutros told department leaders that DePodesta and his sister-in-law, attorney Nancy DePodesta, conspired to undermine the case. Nancy DePodesta represents one of the former defendants. She told the AP that her brother-in-law was forced out based on what she described as false rumors.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
