The former head of the FBI in Chicago has accused the Trump administration of pressuring him to investigate the president’s political opponents and making him a “scapegoat” after a major federal case against anti-ICE protesters fell apart.
Douglas DePodesta, who served as FBI special agent in charge from 2024 until July 2026, alleged in a federal lawsuit filed on Monday that the Department of Justice (DoJ) had engaged in “misconduct” and “malfeasance” in its pursuit of unjust prosecutions – and that he was wrongly blamed for the DoJ’s missteps and unlawfully forced out of his job.
The suit names Kash Patel, the FBI director; Todd Blanche, the attorney general; and Andrew Boutros, the US attorney who leads the DoJ’s Chicago office.
DePodesta’s complaint alleges that Boutros pursued “politically motivated prosecutions” of protesters that turned into an “unprecedented disaster” for the DoJ and accuses the US attorney of making “intentionally” false statements to a judge.
DePodesta’s suit suggests the US attorney’s office in particular faced pressure from the Trump administration to bring charges against Kat Abughazaleh, an activist who then was running for Congress.
Yep, we all figured this was the case. She should sue, keep her profile high for her next run.
We’re all lucky there are still people like Kat out there willing to fight the good fight.
We’re going to see a whole lot more of these lawsuits in the coming years I think. People who were pressured to leverage their offices for political corruption are going to be wanting to cover their asses.
