Justice / Federal Courts
Former Chicago FBI chief sues top Justice Department officials
Douglas DePodesta alleges he was forced to resign after being falsely blamed for a failed prosecution of ICE protesters.
Source-checked story: attributed primary-source and published reporting; no on-location reporting.
The former head of the FBI's Chicago office, Douglas DePodesta, is suing top Trump administration officials, alleging that he was falsely blamed for a botched federal case, NPR reported Nov. 6 in an interview with Chicago Sun-Times reporter Jon Seidel.
DePodesta alleges he was forced to resign because the U.S. attorney blamed him falsely when a case against a group of ICE protesters fell apart, according to the report. He is also suing FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Todd Blanche, Seidel said.
The case stemmed from a protest during Operation Midway Blitz in which a federal agent's SUV was surrounded by a crowd; six people were charged, Seidel said. The case fell apart last May after Judge April Perry discovered alleged misconduct by federal prosecutors in securing the indictment, according to the report.
Seidel said U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros allegedly told superiors that DePodesta and his sister-in-law, a defense attorney representing one of the protesters, had conspired to tank the case. DePodesta insists he never had improper discussions about a case with his sister-in-law, Seidel said.
Separately, Perry has ordered the U.S. attorney to testify in her courtroom as she weighs allegations of misconduct against prosecutors, according to the report.
What we know / what we don't
What we know
- Douglas DePodesta alleges he was forced to resign after being falsely blamed for a failed prosecution of ICE protesters.
What we don't know
- Responses from the named defendants.
The source record