Former federal prosecutors lambaste U.S. attorney, warn of political interference
More than 100 former top federal prosecutors are warning of leadership failures and political interference seeping into the prestigious Chicago-based U.S. attorney’s office under its latest chief.
“Our unique perspective makes it heartbreaking” to acknowledge that actions by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros have “tarnished” the office’s reputation, the lawyers said in a statement Monday.
Boutros was defiant in his response, contending on X that “my work is far from over and no matter what anyone says, today’s U.S. attorney’s office is a strong beacon of light and hope for this city.”
Calls for Boutros’ resignation have followed his unsuccessful prosecution of the “Broadview Six,” a group of political advocates charged with conspiracy and assault in connection with protests during last year’s Operation Midway Blitz mass deportation campaign.
The group of 111 lawyers includes former U.S. Attorney Scott Lassar and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Collins, a Lisle native who led the prosecution of disgraced Gov. George Ryan.
Known for its pursuit of corruption, the office is experiencing a talent drain, embarrassing court irregularities, unprecedented acquittals and grand juries declining to indict suspects, the signatories contend.
“These matters raise questions about whether there is a failure of leadership in the office we deeply respect, and whether once-forbidden political considerations are infecting prosecutorial decisions,” the letter states. “The answer to both questions, in our view, is yes.”
The former prosecutors chastised Boutros for asking grand jurors considering the Broadview Six case to raise their hands if they were “struggling” with immigration cases.
“The message he delivered effectively signaled that the head of the U.S. attorney’s office is unhappy with us and we did something wrong.”
“The pattern and timing of charging decisions, public rhetoric surrounding the operation, and the extraordinary collapse rate of these prosecutions raise, at least, the appearance that improper considerations supplanted the office’s historical exercise of prosecutorial discretion free from political influence,” the group wrote.
Boutros, a former assistant U.S. attorney appointed by President Donald Trump in April 2025, replied that his staff charged 38% more defendants in 2025 than in 2024, despite DOGE downsizing.
“Just a casual perusing of our press announcements shows one headline-grabbing case after another, including the office’s first terrorism charges on mass transit, home invasion cases, cases against cartel leaders, death-penalty eligible cases, public corruption cases, massive frauds, among other significant federal crimes,” he noted.
Boutros also cited a new healthcare fraud unit.
“In every metric, we’ve vigorously brought the full weight of this office and the federal government against dangerous criminals and serious fraudsters who previously got a pass.
“That’s because irrespective of factionalism, tribalism, or politics, the duty of a prosecutor is to charge good cases against worthy targets and to bring enough cases to discourage the public from committing crimes and to incapacitate specific offenders from reoffending,” Boutros wrote.