The Justice Department's third-highest-ranking official declined to hand over records requested by a federal judge investigating alleged prosecutorial misconduct in the Broadview 6 case. Oak Park Village Trustee Brian Straw and five other activists were defendants in the case.

Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. filed a 12-page brief Oct. 30 in U.S. District Court in Chicago declaring that "the United States has not agreed to provide any information" sought by Judge April Perry, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, in Perry's courtroom.

Woodward characterized Perry's earlier phrasings as "vague but serious threats" to prosecutors, according to the Wednesday Journal. He argued that the government needs "concrete notice of the factual basis for any investigation" before cooperating.

The filing landed on the same day Perry had set as a deadline for prosecutors to produce the records. Instead of complying, the two assistant U.S. attorneys handling the case, Nathaniel Whalen and Diane MacArthur, filed motions to withdraw, according to the Chicago Tribune. Woodward and his counsel, Henrique Carneiro, then entered their appearances and took over the case.

What Perry asked for

Following an Oct. 1 hearing, Perry issued an Oct. 9 minute entry asking the U.S. Attorney's office for "all communications between Sept. 26, 2025 and March 30, 2026 from, to, or with anyone outside of the Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney's Office … regarding any investigatory or charging decisions for this case," the Wednesday Journal reported. She also sought an Oct. 14, 2025, email sent to U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros that attached a grand jury transcript, along with any replies or forwards.

Perry said she wanted to review the materials privately in her chambers.

Woodward's brief argued that Perry's Oct. 9 entry used words like "ask" and "request," and therefore did not create "any obligation to produce any information," the Tribune reported.

He also argued that any attorney Perry appoints to investigate possible contempt charges must be supervised by the attorney general. Woodward wrote in his filing that "any wrongdoing would have taken place outside the court's observation," challenging Perry's authority to conduct fact-finding, according to the Wednesday Journal.

Woodward wrote that prosecutors are "currently in the untenable position of being subject to possible sanctions for purported wrongdoing without sufficiently concrete or formal notice of the alleged misconduct prompting the court's inquiry."

Background: the case's collapse

Straw and five other Chicago-area activists were arrested and charged roughly a year ago after a protest at the ICE detention facility in Broadview. The charges stemmed from allegations that the group blocked an ICE agent's vehicle on Sept. 26, 2025.

The case collapsed May 21, 2026, after Perry reviewed unredacted grand jury transcripts. Defense attorneys said prosecutors had improperly vouched for evidence during grand jury proceedings, communicated with grand jurors outside sessions and dismissed dissenting jurors, the Wednesday Journal reported.

Perry said at the time that her trust in prosecutors had been broken. "I have never seen the types of prosecutorial behavior before a grand jury that I saw in those transcripts," she said, according to the Wednesday Journal's May coverage.

The former defendants have asked Perry to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Boutros and other Justice Department officials for criminal contempt, the Sun-Times reported. Perry has left that possibility open.

What's next

The Nov. 5 hearing will address the numerous pending motions. Perry has said her inquiry focuses on "the lack of candor, concealment of material facts or other misconduct that occurred before me," according to the Tribune.

Woodward was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as associate attorney general in October 2025. He previously served as an assistant to President Donald Trump and as counselor to Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Wednesday Journal reported.