Ex-FBI Chicago chief sues Justice Department over pressure to probe Trump foes
Douglas DePodesta filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against FBI director Kash Patel, Attorney General Todd Blanche and Chicago's US attorney. He says he was blamed for a failed case against six anti-ICE protesters and forced out.
Douglas DePodesta, the former head of the FBI in Chicago, has sued the US Department of Justice (DoJ). He accuses the Trump administration of pressuring him to investigate the president's political opponents. The Guardian reported that the lawsuit was filed in federal court on Monday. DePodesta led the FBI's Chicago office as special agent in charge from 2024 until July 2026. He says he was made a "scapegoat" after a major case against anti-ICE protesters collapsed. He also says he was unlawfully forced out. The suit names FBI director Kash Patel, Attorney General Todd Blanche and Andrew Boutros, the US attorney who leads the DoJ's Chicago office. It alleges defamation and violations of due process and free speech rights. The case centres on the Broadview Six. These six activists protested at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview in September 2025. They were charged with conspiracy to impede an ICE officer. A grand jury first rejected the charges, an outcome The Guardian described as extremely rare. Prosecutors went back to the grand jury anyway. After a series of missteps, they were forced to drop the case. According to the complaint, Boutros repeatedly pushed DePodesta to open "politically motivated" investigations during Operation Midway Blitz, the ICE crackdown on Chicago. The suit says Boutros sent emails demanding probes into people who opposed the Trump administration. On one occasion, it says, he was "openly hostile" when the FBI refused to write an…
Read more 3 min read