Former FBI Chicago Chief Sues the FBI and Justice Department, Saying He Was Forced Out Over Midway Blitz Prosecutions

The former head of the FBI's Chicago field office sued his own bureau and the Justice Department on Monday, claiming he was forced to resign after being made a scapegoat for a series of failed prosecutions tied to Operation Midway Blitz, the federal immigration enforcement surge in the Chicago area. Douglas DePodesta filed the lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois, naming U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros — in both his official and personal capacity — along with the FBI, FBI Director Kash Patel, the Department of Justice and Attorney General Todd Blanche as defendants.

"My resignation was in no way voluntary. I was ordered to resign, period," DePodesta told CBS News Chicago, in remarks reported Monday. The complaint, as reported by The Center Square, claims Boutros made "false and defamatory statements" about DePodesta to deflect from the unraveling of the Broadview Six case — the prosecution of local politicians and activists charged over protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview — and that the pressure Boutros created inside the department was, in his superiors' word as the complaint recounts it, "irresistible." The Broadview Six case was dismissed after allegations of improper conduct by federal prosecutors came to light; DePodesta's suit says the Midway Blitz prosecutions were politically motivated and that the Broadview case disintegrated because of improper conduct by prosecutors, including Boutros himself. These are the lawsuit's allegations; no court has ruled on them.

DePodesta led the Chicago field office — some 1,100 personnel, per CBS News Chicago's reporting — from 2024 until he stepped down last July, after more than 20 years with the FBI. He is seeking his job back, along with back pay and damages, and alleges the defendants violated his First and Fifth Amendment rights; the complaint says it was filed to redress harm to his "otherwise spotless reputation." "I know what this means. It essentially puts a target on my back, but I will not be silenced by fear," he told CBS News Chicago.

The suit lands in an office already under political fire: in June, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois called for Boutros' resignation, citing "chaos, deep internal dysfunction and alleged misconduct" in his office. The Justice Department and the FBI's Chicago office did not immediately respond to The Center Square's request for comment on Monday, and CBS News Chicago reported it had also reached out to the offices of Boutros and Blanche without yet hearing back.