Biden judge rejects DOJ bid to halt probe of prosecutors in botched ICE protest case

A federal judge investigating whether prosecutors misled her court in the "Broadview Six" case against anti-ICE protesters canceled a hearing requested by the Justice Department to clarify her authority to conduct the inquiry.U.S.District Judge April Perry, a Biden appointee, has ordered four federal prosecutors, including Chicago's U.S.

attorney, to testify under oath as she considers possible sanctions or criminal contempt proceedings."Ultimately, the Government’s professed lack of clarity about the Court’s inherent authority to ask lawyers who have made misstatements to or misled the Court to explain their actions is immaterial," Perry wrote Wednesday, canceling the Nov.17 hearing.The Justice Department dropped the criminal case against the six protesters in May amid allegations of misconduct involving former federal prosecutor Sheri Mecklenburg, who later resigned.

But Perry's investigation into the prosecutors' conduct has continued.DOJ MOVES TO BOOT FEDERAL JUDGES FROM IMMIGRATION CASES OVER NYT INTERVIEWAssociate Attorney General Stanley Woodward asked Judge April Perry to clarify her authority to investigate alleged prosecutorial misconduct.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; U.S.

Department of Justice)Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the Justice Department's third-ranking official, argued in a filing that requiring prosecutors to testify would put them in a "Catch-22.""They can testify and risk prosecution, or they can assert their rights under the Fifth Amendment and risk antagonizing the court, while it may also be considering non-contempt sanctions," Woodward wrote.Perry rejected the government's argument, writing that "the Government does not represent at least 3/4 of the individuals who have been asked to testify, two of whom have expressed their willingness to do so."Perry has ordered U.S.Attorney Andrew Boutros and three assistant U.S.

attorneys in the Northern District of Illinois — William Hogan, Matthew Skiba and Andres Almendarez �...