Broadview 6 Beat Prosecutors Like An ICE Vehicle In A Crosswalk
What are they gonna do, charge 'em with conspiracy again?
On Tuesday, the US Attorney in Minnesota announced conspiracy charges against “antifa” protesters in the Twin Cities. The latest victims of the Trump administration’s effort to criminalize dissent haven’t even gotten a nickname yet. (The Fingerlakes 15? Signal Riot? Snowtifa?) But in Chicago, aftershocks from the implosion of the Broadview 6 case are still rumbling as US Attorney Andrew Boutros wages a rear guard action to block any further investigation of corruption in his office.
In April, prosecutors dropped the felony conspiracy charges against protesters who surrounded an ICE agent’s SUV during a September demonstration. By proceeding with the misdemeanors only, they hoped to head off Judge April Perry’s demand to turn over the grand jury transcripts. (Misdemeanors can be charged on the prosecutor’s word alone and don’t require a grand jury indictment.) When that failed, the US Attorneys’ Office made a last, desperate attempt to hide its misconduct by turning over copies that conveniently redacted the bad parts. Finally in May, they were forced to disclose the full record.
“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,” Judge Perry said during a May 21 hearing. “I have never seen the types of prosecutorial behavior before a grand jury that I saw in those transcripts.”
US Attorney Andrew Boutros appeared personally in court that day to announce that the entire case was being dismissed with prejudice. Clearly he hoped that this would ward off further investigation, but the former defendants aren’t letting up. Last week, Boutros conceded that the Broadview 6 are entitled to recover their attorneys’ fees from the government and asked them to submit their bills for “good faith discussion.” This is almost unheard of, and can only be read as another attempt to resolve every potential issue and then argue that the former defendants lack standing to seek discovery or sanctions.
But on June 16th, the defendants filed three motions making clear they will not be waved off with cash, and they intend to find out exactly how far up the chain this goes.
Methinks the US Attorney doth protest too much
On May 21st, Boutros boasted that he took swift action as soon as he learned that Assistant US Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg had engaged in misconduct before the grand jury.
“We established a protocol, and then we sent out office-wide guidance for how AUSAs are to respond in the future in the event that there is tension such as what took place in that grand jury,” he assured Judge Perry.
“It is my very sincere belief, Your Honor, that no prosecutor acted intentionally in misleading you, and that there was no desire to mislead the Court and no deliberate misconduct on the part of the prosecutors,” he wheedled, although he conceded that “Your Honor has indicated that you may hold a hearing or will hold a hearing. We obviously defer to Your Honor.”
