'Trust has been broken': Judge unleashes on Trump DOJ 'misconduct' in closed-door hearing

Prosecutors admitted to misconduct in a case involving six lawmakers, candidates and activists in Chicago who were standing in opposition to President Donald Trump's “Operation Midway Blitz." Authorities say group of protesters surrounded an ICE vehicle, pounded on the windows and scratched "pig" into it. But prosecutors were caught trying to hide some of the facts.

"The case had been scheduled to go to a rare federal misdemeanor trial next week after having been winnowed down from six to four defendants in March before prosecutors suddenly announced their decision to drop the marquee felony conspiracy charge late last month," reported Capitol News Illinois on Thursday.

After a meeting in the judge's chambers, U.S. District Judge April Perry accused government attorneys of prosecutorial misconduct before the grand jury. The judge then canceled the trial.

Among the issues is that the prosecutors redacted pieces of the grand jury transcript that would have flagged the misconduct much sooner.

“I have read hundreds — if not thousands — of grand jury transcripts involving prosecutors who are the most junior of prosecutors to several U.S. Attorneys who appeared before the grand jury,” Perry said, according to a record of the sealed hearing. The details were finally made public late Thursday evening. “I have never seen the types of prosecutorial behavior before a grand jury that I saw in those transcripts.”

U.S. Attorney Anthony Boutros appeared personally in court where he asked that the remaining charges be dropped.

He swore that the prosecutors never "acted intentionally" when they redacted parts of the grand jury transcript.

Once the judge was finally able to see the full grand jury transcript, she identified several issues. The first was the prosecutor put her "personal credibility and trustworthiness on the line in support of the charges," the judge said. Another was that the prosecutor excused possible jurors who disagreed with the case.

“I am not trying to deflect blame, but I was with a 20-years-plus senior veteran,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Skiba.

The judge sifted through the transcript, noting, “I remember thinking at the time that I would never make that statement as a matter of personal style. What I did not know then, and what only became apparent as we were discussing dismissing these charges, is that’s beyond personal style, and that is, at a minimum, arguably misconduct.”

Boutros swore he was unaware of what unfolded. He also said that when the grand jurors were dismissed, he immediately shut down the grand jury session entirely. It took three grand juries to get the indictments the DOJ sought.

Still, he was prepared to bring the case to trial, claiming that the charges should still stand.

Perry explained her ruling, saying she didn't want to risk the jury being tainted by protesters. U.S. Attrorney Boutros suggested the judge meant not wanting to “subject the jurors to a mob scene and the chaos that ensued," the report said, quoting the transcript.

“And that’s what this case is about,” Boutros argued, saying that the people surrounding the vehicle were “unacceptable in a civilized society.”

“And it is for the grace of God that that agent moved at two miles per hour,” Boutros continued. “That the agent didn’t panic and step on the accelerator … or pull out his gun and shoot somebody.”

That argument didn't set well with Perry. She explained that her ruling wasn't against the jury taking a field trip to see the scene and being exposed to a "mob."

“Secondly, you are significantly undercutting your mea culpa here by standing behind the charges and continuing to vilify these particular defendants,” Perry added.

She ultimately summarized the case by saying that one should admit to their mistakes, apologize for them and move forward.

"What you do not do is hide it," said Perry.

This exchange comes at a time when the Justice Department is extremely understaffed after an exodus of personnel.

The advocacy group Justice Connection reported that around 5,500 people had left the DOJ by Sept. 2025, either by choice, through buyouts or by being fired. Not all of those were attorneys, however.

“We’re talking about continued misconduct by the U.S. attorney’s office, which continued the prosecution that cost these individuals significant attorney’s fees, significant stress … for what?” Chris Parente, a previous prosecutor working for a local firm said. “I’m sick to my stomach as a former prosecutor. I’m sick to my stomach as a U.S. citizen who has to live in this country with this Department of Justice that is acting this recklessly.”