The can-you-top-this derby continues in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.
Last week, Chicago U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros fell on his sword and admitted in open court that the grand jury proceedings that led to the indictment of the “Broadview 6,” including Oak Park Village Trustee Brian Straw, were tainted by Assistant U.S. Attorney misconduct on his watch.
In the wake of that embarrassment, Boutros this week announced “sweeping” changes in how his office approaches grand juries. How sweeping? He’s announced a round of training for all AUSAs on proper grand jury etiquette.
Hmm.
That would have been big news for the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office last week, because Judge Perry has not yet ruled on the request by Straw and other Broadview defendants for sanctions against the office. See, they incurred lots of attorneys’ fees defending against the admitted misconduct.
As if things couldn’t get stranger, Boutros issued a statement saying his office “has never opened” a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll. You know, the woman who was awarded $83.3 million by a civil jury in New York after finding that Donald Trump sexually abused her in a dressing room in the mid-1990s.
I have looked in my crystal ball and predict that all this drama will not end well for Boutros.
First, he failed to legitimize a political prosecution of the Broadview 6, as I believe he was instructed to do by the Justice Department.
Second, his office failed to cover up the wrongful grand jury misconduct by effectively hiding the inflammatory transcripts from Judge Perry’s purview as the Broadview 6 case fell apart.
And now, Boutros is distancing the office from prosecuting E. Jean Carrol who is high on the list for President Trump’s revenge tour.
I predict Boutros will decide to “move on” from his current job rather than face further scrutiny from Judge Perry and attorney ethical committees as well as the wrath of a vindictive President and a Justice Department anxious to do his will (see e.g. former Attorney General Pam Bondi).
Source:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/us/chicago-prosecutor-andrew-boutros.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
Jack Crowe, an Oak Park attorney, is a Wednesday Journal columnist.