Ex-Chicago FBI boss sues US attorney and Kash Patel alleging he was scapegoated for failed Midway Blitz cases

Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune on Nov 2, 2026

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CHICAGO — Four months after being forced into retirement, ex-Chicago FBI boss Douglas DePodesta is suing U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros, Kash Patel and the Department of Justice claiming he was scapegoated for the failed “Broadview Six” prosecution and other Operation Midway Blitz prosecutions.

The explosive 38-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on Monday alleges that Boutros “began began a campaign within the Department of Justice to blame DePodesta for the unraveling” of the Broadview case “to deflect from his own malfeasance.”

“Knowing that the case was dismissed because of improprieties by those under Boutros’ supervision, and Boutros himself, before the grand jury and the district court, and despite knowing that DePodesta had nothing to do with those grand jury or court proceedings, Boutros repeatedly complained to his superiors in Washington that DePodesta was responsible for the disintegration of the Broadview Six case,” the suit alleged.

DePodesta also accused Boutros of trying to hide the fact that he’d had conversations with officials in Washington about the charging of the Broadview case, which accused six protesters of felony conspiracy stemming from an incident outside the Broadview ICE facility in September 2025.

Boutros, who was forced to drop the charges in May amid accusations of prosecutorial misconduct, has tried to paint Washington’s involvement in the case as minimal.

But DePodesta alleged in the lawsuit that 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, shortly before Boutros’ office first took the case to the grand jury.

“During this meeting, Defendant Boutros discussed the Broadview Six investigation with his superiors in the Department of Justice and other law enforcement officers,” DePodesta alleged in the suit.

The lawsuit also accused Boutros of unlawfully pushing the FBI to open investigations in other Midway Blitz cases even when DePodesta and others — including Boutros’ own prosecutors — pushed back and said the evidence wasn’t there.

When Boutros sent emails demanding that DePodesta open FBI investigations “into individuals with political views or affiliations in opposition to the Trump administration,” DePodesta would always ask “for factual predication that would justify opening an investigation, in accordance with DOJ regulations and DePodesta’s ethical and professional obligations,” the lawsuit stated.

If DePodesta declined to open an investigation, he was met with hostility” from Boutros, the suit alleged.

Representatives of Boutros and the Department of Justice did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

DePodesta’s impressive FBI career came to an abrupt end in July when he was forced to retire early due to a falling out with bosses in the Justice Department, apparently over issues with his fealty to the Trump administration’s political agenda, or lack thereof.

In a farewell note to colleagues, DePodesta was clear that some type of conflict induced his departure, though he offered no specifics at the time.

“I’ve never backed down from a fight, as long as it meant our personnel could continue serving the FBI’s mission,” DePodesta wrote in the message. “Unfortunately, that has proved unpopular over time and my departure is a consequence of that.”

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