Attorneys for the “Broadview Six” filed a motion Thursday seeking any communications potentially showing the White House put pressure on the U.S. attorney’s office to indict the controversial case, including from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and a top deputy.
The eight-page motion for discovery also includes any records of meetings and communications within the U.S. attorney’s office related to the “cover-up” of misconduct in Broadview Six grand jury sessions, which included rancor between a line prosecutor and members of the panel and a rare address from U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros.
The renewed discovery is essential, the defense argued in the motion, to guarantee “a full and fair opportunity to demonstrate the bad faith, vexatious, and/or frivolous nature of this misguided prosecution.”
Among the evidence sought were any “documents, communications and records,” including emails, texts and cellphone data, between members of Boutros’ office and Blanche or his deputy, Aakash Singh.
Singh’s controversial involvement in a human trafficking case in Tennessee against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador, recently led a federal judge there to rule the vindictive prosecution was brought because Abrego Garcia had embarrassed the Trump administration.
The judge’s May 22 ruling in the Abrego Garcia case contained more than 70 references to Singh, including detailed email exchanges he’d had with top-line prosecutors in Tennessee about the bringing of charges.
“Thank you for the detailed readout and consistent updates,” Singh emailed the then-acting U.S. attorney in Tennessee before the complaint against Abrego Garcia was filed, according to the judge’s ruling. “I appreciate you … and your teams pushing on this. It’s a top priority for us.”
The motion in the Broadview case Thursday stated the request for Singh’s communications “is well-supported based on publicly available information regarding Mr. Singh’s direct involvement in matters of this type, including presentations made to grand juries.”
What to know about the controversial ‘Broadview Six’ case — and its collapse in court
The motion was filed just hours after Blanche, the former private attorney for President Donald Trump who’s angling for the permanent attorney general position, came to Boutros’ defense in a lengthy social media post that praised him for “steadfastly” advancing the White House’s mission to make the city “safe for the American people.”
“This department fully supports U.S. Attorney Boutros and his efforts to combat violent crime, drug trafficking, immigration violations, and fraud, and we look forward to more great work from his office,” Blanche said in a statement posted on X.
Blanche said Boutros has increased indictments by 34% over the prior administration in 2025, and by 61% so far this year, although he did not give details. He specifically mentioned cases against the Sinaloa cartel and weapons charges against a man accused of killing 18-year-old Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman.
Later Thursday, Boutros responded by quote-posting Blanche’s statement on X, saying he was “deeply appreciative that Acting Attorney General Blanche would personally come out with his vigorous statement of support of me on the same day” Blanche was nominated by Trump to be the permanent Attorney General.
Boutros also thanked those who “stood by me when others capitalized on the opportunity to attempt to destabilize” the U.S. attorney’s office.
Meanwhile, a growing list of Democratic politicians have called for Boutros to step down, including U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, who said Tuesday his office has been “riddled with chaos, deep internal dysfunction, and alleged misconduct.”
Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot added to the calls Thursday, writing in a statement that as a former federal prosecutor, she was “appalled” by Boutros’ conduct in the Broadview Six case.
Boutros has been at the center of a rapidly intensifying scandal that is virtually unprecedented for Chicago’s vaunted U.S. attorney’s office, long regarded as one of the country’s most professional prosecutorial offices.
It started when the politically charged Broadview Six case against Operation Midway Blitz protesters collapsed two weeks ago in dramatic fashion, with U.S. District Judge April Perry describing “shocking” misconduct before the grand jury and Boutros himself appearing before Perry to apologize and dismiss the charges on the eve of trial.
Since that case unraveled, Boutros came under national scrutiny when it was revealed his office is leading a criminal investigation into a Chicago-based nonprofit that partially funded legal fees for E. Jean Carroll, the magazine columnist who successfully sued Trump for sexual assault and defamation.
In a carefully worded statement, Boutros said last week that reports of him opening any investigation targeting Carroll were “categorically false.”
As the scandal has widened, morale within the already-beleaguered U.S. attorney’s office has gone into free fall. Several prosecutors who played a role in the Broadview Six case have hired attorneys amid potential claims of vindictive prosecution and cover-up.
Attorneys representing the former Broadview Six defendants filed a motion this week asking a judge to award payment of the attorney fees they incurred to fight the case.
The full transcripts of the grand jury sessions in the case are expected to be made public as soon as Friday, giving a rare insider’s look into a normally secretive process and detailing the exact misbehavior previously outlined by the judge.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
