Crime & Law
US Attorney Andrew Boutros Spoke to Grand Jury on Day of ‘Broadview Six’ Indictment
The Dirksen Courthouse is pictured in Chicago. (Capitol News Illinois)
U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros has acknowledged he did speak to grand jurors the day they returned an indictment in the “Broadview Six” case, but claimed he only did so to provide “general comments” about the need for grand jurors to be fair and impartial.
The embattled U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois on Tuesday issued a “rare Special Report” that includes transcripts of a 3 minute, 39 second speech Boutros gave to grand jurors on Oct. 23, 2025 — the day they indicted the “Broadview Six” on felony conspiracy charges — in which he asked any jurors who were “struggling” with a “certain type” of case to identify themselves.
He did so, according to the report, due to “prior grand jury disturbances and potential tension” and only sought to “remind the grand jurors of their obligations under the law and the role they play in our constitutional form of government.”
“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, because we have a different procedure for that,” Boutros said according to the transcript in his report.
“Fairness is the key to the operation of our system,” he continued, according to the transcript. “So is there anyone here who thinks that he or she cannot be fair, cannot be open-minded, cannot receive evidence, cannot set aside their personal feelings on any case, immigration or otherwise, child exploitation, immigration, whatever it is. Anyone who thinks they can’t do it, please raise your hand.”
Boutros then stated that no one appeared to raise their hand.
In acknowledging these comments, Boutros’ office said “the importance of U.S. Attorney Boutros entering into the grand jury cannot be overstated.”
This comes after assistant U.S. attorneys in Boutros’ office were accused of prosecutorial misconduct in the Broadview case, including excusing grand jurors who disagreed with their theory of the case.
Defense attorneys have accused the government of a cover up and claimed the prosecution of their clients — all Democrats who were arrested for allegedly impeding an Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle in suburban Broadview — was politically motivated.
Chris Parente, a defense attorney for one of the former “Broadview Six” defendants, suggested in court last month he had reason to believe Boutros himself had some type of “personal contact” with the grand jury. No further details about this were shared in open court, but the matter was discussed further during a sidebar in the chambers of U.S. District Judge April Perry.
“Of all days for the U.S. Attorney to make a rare appearance before the grand jury, that he would be present on the day he likely knew this case would be re-presented speaks for itself,” Parente said in a statement Tuesday. “Despite this interaction having occurred in October, none of this information was disclosed to the defense or the public before this afternoon.”
Boutros also blamed a “transcription error by the court reporter” for what he called a “mistaken identity” after defense attorneys suggested Boutros had prior contact with jurors.
In another unsealed transcript from Oct. 16, the grand jury foreperson stated: “You know, I would say one thing. When the USA (inaudible) — was here last week, the one thing he said that made so much sense — can I say it?”
Boutros claimed his office listen to audio recordings of this passage, which they said “makes clear” that the grand juror actually stated “AUSA Bond” — an apparent reference to Assistant United States Attorney Aaron Bond, who had appeared before the grand jury days earlier — instead of “USA (inaudible).”
Boutros’ office in a statement said those grand jury minutes “reflect a classic case of mistaken identity.”
While grand jury transcripts are typically kept under seal, Boutros said Tuesday he received “court-ordered authorization” to publish these excerpts.
Boutros apologized to Perry for his prosecutors’ conduct before the grand jury when he personally dismissed all charges against the remaining Broadview defendants last month.
Perry that day said she had read “hundreds, if not thousands, of grand jury transcripts” over the course of her career and never seen the “types of prosecutorial behavior before a grand jury that I saw in those transcripts.”
Tuesday’s report comes hours after U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin joined calls for Boutros to resign his post amid fallout from the botched prosecution. Defense attorneys also intend to seek sanctions against the prosecutors who handled the case in order to recoup legal expenses for their clients.
