U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros releases report disputing claims he had improper personal contact with "Broadview Six" grand jury during deliberations

Chicago U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros on Tuesday released a report disputing allegations that he may have had personal contact with members of the grand jury who indicted the "Broadview Six" immigration protesters while the grand jury was deliberating.

The report from Boutros' office asserts that he "has never appeared before the panel of grand jurors hearing facts, evidence, or law" in the Broadview Six case or any other grand jury since he took office in April 2025.

According to the report, the only times Boutros ever spoke to the grand jury that eventually indicted the Broadview Six protesters was to welcome them when the grand jury was impaneled, and "to advise generally on the role, function, and importance of the grand jury in our constitutional system of government and laws."

Specifially, the report states that Boutros addressed the Broadview Six grand jury on Oct. 23, 2025 "given prior grand jury disturbances and potential tension" during grand jury proceedings one week earlier.

"U.S. Attorney Boutros's intentions were to remind the grand jurors of their obligations under the law and the role they play in our constitutional form of government," the report states.

The report states Boutros spoke to the grand jury four about 3 1/2 minutes, and asked anyone on the grand jury who felt they could not be objective regarding the evidence in the case to identify themselves.

"If there's anyone here who is struggling with a certain type of cases, such as the immigration cases or other cases where they do not believe that they can set aside their personal, their personal emotions, that they cannot listen and deliberate honestly and objectively, I would ask that you raise your hand and identify yourself," Boutros told the grand jury, according to a copy of a transcript included in the report.

The report blames any suggestion that Boutros had personal contact with the grand jury while they were deliberating on "a transcription error made by the court reporter transcribing the audio recording of the grand jury minutes from October 23, 2025, inadvertently and mistakenly stated 'USA (inaudible)' instead of 'AUSA Bond,' as what the Grand Jury Foreperson said in the relevant portion of the minutes."

According to the report, a review of the audio recording determined that the grand jury foreperson clearly referenced "AUSA Bond" – a reference to Assistant United States Attorney Aaron Bond – rather than "USA (inaudible)" – an apparent reference to U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros.

The report describes the mixup as a "Classic Case of Mistaken Identity," and concludes "never once in any of his remarks in any grand jury did U.S. Attorney Boutros reference any case or any specific substantive law."

The reports's release comes one week after a defense attorney for one of the "Broadview Six" immigration protesters alleged in court Tuesday that he had "reason to believe" that Boutros had personal contact with members of the grand jury who indicted the group on the same day on Oct. 23, 2025.

Boutros himself made a rare appearance in court last month to drop all charges against the four remaining "Broadview Six" defendants  due to improper handling of the grand jury proceedings by the lead prosecutor in the case. 

It was a dramatic final twist to the highest-profile criminal case resulting from the Trump administration's "Operation Midway Blitz" mass deportation campaign last fall in Chicago. Boutros took responsibility for the actions of the former lead prosecutor on the case, whose behavior in front of the grand jury last fall came to light after U.S. District Judge April Perry reviewed transcripts of the grand jury proceedings.

Perry all but accused Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg of prosecutorial misconduct, saying the transcripts revealed inappropriate "vouching" in which Mecklenburg put "her personal credibility and trustworthiness on the line in support of the charges," the judge said. The prosecutor also apparently asked grand jurors who did not support the government's case to not come back, and allegedly had improper contact with those impaneled outside the grand jury room.

Mecklenburg left the case in February when she took an assignment to represent the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., as counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, on which Illinois' senior U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin serves as the ranking Democrat. Durbin's office last month confirmed Mecklenburg had been terminated from her new job after her alleged prosecutorial misconduct was made public.

Durbin and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth called for Boutros to resign over Mecklenburg's alleged prosecutorial misconduct in the  Broadview Six case.

Boutros' office has not responded to requests for comment on the senators' call for his resignation.