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"The U.S. Attorney's Office seeks an order authorizing disclosure of the … transcripts and exhibits to Ms. Mecklenburg and her counsel and AUSA Skiba's counsel."

C. OPR’s Request to Unseal Unredacted Grand Jury Transcripts and Exhibits
On behalf of OPR, the U.S. Attorney’s Office seeks an order authorizing disclosure of the
unredacted October 9, 16, and 23 grand jury transcripts and exhibits to Ms. Mecklenburg and her
counsel and AUSA Skiba’s counsel to allow Ms. Mecklenburg and AUSA Skiba to respond to the
allegations under inquiry by OPR.5
Ms. Mecklenburg and her counsel and AUSA Skiba’s counsel
have a particularized and compelling need for such disclosures to ensure that OPR can conduct a
full and fair assessment of the matters under inquiry.
Accordingly, the United States seeks disclosure of this material pursuant to this Court’s
inherent authority.

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"[The Office of Professional Responsibility] has a particular need to interview former Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Sheri Mecklenburg and AUSA Matthew Skiba."

government’s redaction of the October 9, 16, and 23 grand jury transcripts provided to the Court
for in camera review. OPR has a particular need to interview former Assistant U.S. Attorney
(AUSA) Sheri Mecklenburg and AUSA Matthew Skiba concerning their conduct in the grand jury,
and Ms. Mecklenburg and her counsel and AUSA Skiba’s counsel need access to these unredacted
transcripts and exhibits to effectively respond to OPR’s inquiry. The United States relies on
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e)(3)(E) and the Court’s inherent authority to grant
disclosure as requested under the special circumstances described below.

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NEW: The feds' petition has been made public in unredacted form. Here's the full filing (with signature blocks below): cst.brightspotcdn.com/58/76/38fc5d...

Signature block for Chicago Civil Chief Thomas Walsh and Suzanne Drouet, deputy counsel for the Justice Department.

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UPDATE: Judge April Perry denies the government's bid to keep all of this under seal — including the attorney's signature block. "The government has also publicly disclosed … that there is an OPR investigation in this case."

MINUTE entry before the Honorable April M. Perry: The Government's motion to seal 275 is denied. As already noted, the grand jury transcripts in this matter have already been made public - without any opposition from the Government. The Government has also publicly disclosed - in both court filings and open court - the fact that there is an OPR investigation in this case involving the prosecutors who were in the grand jury. See, e.g., Doc. 247 at 48-49. In addition to those two matters, the Government has also asked to seal the "Legal Principles" section of its motion, which sets forth basic principles of law, and the signature block of one of its attorneys. There is a presumption that materials that underpin a judicial decision are open to public inspection unless they meet very specific criteria. See Baxter Intern., Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories, 297 F.3d 544, 545 (7th Cir. 2002). No such criteria are present here. The Clerk of Court is directed to unseal 272 . Mailed notice. (jcc,) (Entered: 10/09/2026)

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"Testimony from witnesses may be requested at a later time."

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FWIW, the publicly named attorney (Walsh) does not appear to have filed an appearance in the case.

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Among other things, Perry asks for "the October 14, 2025 email sent to U.S. Attorney Boutros attaching the October 9, 2025 Grand Jury transcript and any replies to or forwards of that email." She also wants metadata.

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Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 15h

JUST IN: U.S. District Judge April Perry lays out her demands for federal prosecutors in Chicago as she decides how to proceed in the "Broadview Six" litigation:

MINUTE entry before the Honorable April M. Perry: Consistent with the Government's agreement that the Court would ask for evidence to aid it in making findings of fact regarding potential sanctions or criminal contempt, the Court requests that the Government produce by 10/30/2026 the following documents for ex parte in camera review: (1) all communications between September 26, 2025 and March 30, 2026 from, to, or with anyone outside of the Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney's Office (other than the local FBI investigators assigned to the case) regarding any investigatory or charging decisions for this case; and (2) the October 14, 2025 email sent to U.S. Attorney Boutros attaching the October 9, 2025 Grand Jury transcript and any replies to or forwards of that email. All electronic documents should be provided in native format with attachments preserved. If an email is part of an email chain, all versions of that chain must be produced, along with their attachments. Electronic records must be produced with all associated metadata (for both emails and attachments) including read receipts, delivery status, and message tracking logs. Any claims of privilege may be made in a privilege log accompanied by a legal memorandum explaining what privilege is claimed and how it applies in the context of a sanctions / contempt inquiry by the Court. At a minimum, any privilege log must identify the author, recipient, all parties who received copies of the document, the date of the document, subject, and a short summary of the document sufficient for the Court to evaluate any claim of privilege. To the extent there were oral, rather than written, communications that would be responsive to the Court's requests, the Government is asked to provide the following: (1) the people present for such communication; (2) the date, time, and length of the conversation; and (3) a certification that there was no recording or transcription made of the communication. If the communication …

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This would seem to be it (though it's also redacted): cst.brightspotcdn.com/b0/4c/dd2034...

Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 17h

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And here cst.brightspotcdn.com/b0/4c/dd2034...

Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 17h

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The filings are here: cst.brightspotcdn.com/46/26/956a07...

Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 17h

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Good morning. Federal prosecutors in Chicago filed partially redacted documents overnight in the "Broadview Six" case. The redactions appear to include the signature block (including the name) of one of the attorneys representing the United States government:

A partially redacted motion to seal a petition for order authorizing disclosure. One signature block on the document belongs to Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Walsh. The other signature block is redacted.

The concluding page of a document in which "the United States respectfully requests that the court authorizes the disclosure of the unredacted Oct. 9, 16, 23 transcripts and related exhibits." The rest of the sentence is redacted.

One signature block belongs to Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Walsh. The other is redacted.

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Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

“Somebody needs to do something." Marimar Martinez's attorneys insist they have the evidence to charge Border Patrol agent Charles Exum with wrongdoing in her October 2025 shooting in Chicago. From @chicago.suntimes.com on her new lawsuit: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

chicago.suntimes.com

Chicago woman shot by Border Patrol sues feds — and keeps pushing for criminal charges

Marimar Martinez was labeled a "domestic terrorist" and criminally charged after she was shot by agent Charles Exum last year. Since her exoneration, she has fought the Trump administration's aggressi...

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Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

JUST IN: Images from the reconstruction of Marimar Martinez's October 2025 shooting in Chicago by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum:

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Jon Seidel @jonseidel.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

NEW: Marimar Martinez of Chicago has officially filed her lawsuit against the federal government over her shooting by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum. Read the complaint here: cst.brightspotcdn.com/3e/79/71b60d...

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Yeah, it began with the prosecution of the six. Then only four faced trial. And then this week, the judge basically said they're all out of it completely.

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And to be clear, she left the office before the transcripts were redacted.

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There’s plenty more, but that’s a quick summary.

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Basically, six protesters were charged with felony conspiracy last fall. Questions were raised because most had tied to Democratic politics. Then, right before trial, a judge discovered apparent misconduct by prosecutors in the grand jury. Charges were dropped and now the feds are in the hot seat.

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Looks like they first made the request here, in their consolidated brief on Aug. 4: cst.brightspotcdn.com/98/58/82c837...

10 For the reasons discussed throughout, there is no prima facie showing of contempt. Should this Court disagree, Rule 42 instructs the contempt be investigated by an attorney for the Government. Fed. R. Crim. P. 42(a)(2). The Second Circuit has found it might permissible for another attorney to fill that role if that attorney is supervised by the Attorney General. United States v. Donzinger, 38 F.4th 290, 294 (2d Cir. 2022). To extent the Rule contemplates “another attorney” could be appointed to handle what is otherwise an exclusively Executive Branch function and report to another branch of Government, this raises separation of power concerns. See, e.g., Trump v. Slaughter, 609 U.S. ----, 2026 WL 1855612, at *18 (2026) (holding that head of the FTC is subject to removal by the President at will, because the FTC “unquestionably exercises executive power”); see also Donziger v. United States, 143 S. Ct. 868, 869–70 (2023) (Gorsuch, J.) (dissenting from denial of certiorari) (discussing separation of powers concerns with appointing “another attorney” under Rule 42, noting: “By interpreting Rule 42 as authorizing courts to make their own decision to initiate a prosecution—and even to override a contrary decision by the Executive Branch—the Second Circuit’s opinion not only arrogated a power to the Judiciary that belongs elsewhere. It allowed the district court to assume ‘dual position as accuser and decisionmaker’—a combination that violates the due process rights of the accused” [cleaned up]). Any such appointment would also raise myriad structural and fundamental concerns: which branch of Government pays for the other attorney and how much; would that attorney be able to use the Grand Jury; who would supervise that attorney’s work; and so on. The Government respectfully requests an opportunity to brief this critical issue and also address the constitutionality of the Court appointing “another attorney,” if it is contemplating doing so, especially in light of Slaugh…

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FYI: bsky.app/profile/jons...

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FYI, Perry's minute order is in: bsky.app/profile/jons...

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Rule 42. Criminal Contempt

Perry's order outlines a briefing schedule for the feds and law professor William Baude on the constitutionality of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 42, Criminal Contempt: www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp...

law.cornell.edu

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Judge April Perry is in with her summary of yesterday's "Broadview Six" proceedings. No further detail yet on her questions for the feds:

10/01/2026 270 MINUTE entry before the Honorable April M. Perry: Hearing held 10/1/2026 on the pending motions. For the reasons stated on the record in open court, Petition to Intervene filed by Sheri Mecklenburg 261 is granted and Ms. Mecklenburg may intervene to challenge the possible appointment a special prosecutor and any potential consideration of sanctions. Motions for an evidentiary hearing and discovery 226 and to appoint a special prosecutor 227 are denied in part, insofar as former defendants will not be provided with discovery or an adversarial hearing on the issue of sanctions or the appointment of a special prosecutor. The Court will, however, consider whether sanctions or a special prosecutor are warranted after having requested and reviewed additional evidence from the Government. The Government's request to brief the constitutionality of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 42 is granted. The Government's brief regarding the constitutionality of Rule 42 is to be filed by 11/2/2026. Given that this is no longer an adversarial proceeding, the Court appoints Professor William Baude to serve as amicus curiae and brief the opposing position to the Government's. The Clerk is directed to add Professor William Buade as Amicus party. Professor Baude's brief is to be filed by 12/2/2026. Motions for attorneys' fees and expenses 201 210 are granted. The parties are to meet and confer and determine if a settlement of this matter can be reached, if they would like the court's assistance in mediating the issue, or if they prefer a briefing schedule. A joint status report on the attorneys' fees motions is to be filed by 11/2/2026. Motion to conduct discovery in connection with the requests for attorneys' fees 206 is denied. Mailed notice. (jcc,) (Entered: 10/02/2026)

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A Matter of Distrust Today's @chicago.suntimes.com front page story on Judge April Perry's "under oath" fact-finding in the "Broadview Six" case. With @sophiesherry.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/1...

The front page of the Chicago Sun-Times on Oct. 2, 2026, featuring U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros and the headline "A Matter of Distrust."

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From May 2025 (before Boutros' appointment): chicago.suntimes.com/politics/202...

The court doesn’t have to choose Boutros. But whoever it picks could have the power to serve until the Senate confirms another presidentially nominated U.S. attorney, according to Lauren Mattioli, an assistant professor of political science at Boston University.

It’s unclear whether that person could be fired otherwise, even by the president. Mattioli says no. Other experts aren’t sure.

“The only thing that can stop a bench appointment is someone getting through the Senate,” Mattioli says.

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Andrew Boutros, Chicago's top federal prosecutor, is also a court-appointed U.S. attorney.

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Judge Reinstates Seattle’s Top Federal Prosecutor, Ousted by Trump (Gift Article)

From @nytimes.com: Judge Reinstates Seattle's Top Federal Prosecutor, Ousted by Trump "Judge Bastian … said in his ruling that 'the president cannot unilaterally fire a United States attorney appointed by the district court.'" www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/u...

nytimes.com

The Justice Department had fired Roger Rogoff as part of a larger maneuver to install its preferred judicial appointees and circumvent Senate confirmation.

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I ran into some confusion on this, so I’m waiting on clarity from Perry’s minute order. There could a separation-of-powers brief from the feds, in addition to their responses to Perry. Either way, the ex-defendants are out of the conversation. So Perry wants someone giving her the other side.

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I don't think it's a leap to say she's thinking about the higher courts. Whether that's why she enlisted Baude, unclear. But maybe?

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'Broadview Six' judge wants to put prosecutors under oath, keeps contempt charges on the table

When federal prosecutors assured Judge April Perry last spring they'd had no contact with top DOJ brass while pursuing the "Broadview Six," she took them at their word. Those days are over. From me and @sophiesherry.bsky.social on Perry's fact-finding effort: chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/1...

chicago.suntimes.com

U.S. District Judge April Perry on Thursday raised the specter of a "cover-up" and questioned whether federal prosecutors in Chicago talked to top officials in Washington about the politically charged...

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