Ex-FBI Chief Sues DOJ Over Broadview Six Case
Douglas DePodesta alleges he was forced to resign and scapegoated for failed immigration prosecutions.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Ex-FBI Chief Sues DOJ Over Broadview Six Case
Photograph: CBS News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Douglas DePodesta, former head of the FBI Chicago field office, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois, and FBI director.
- DePodesta claims he was forced to resign and made a scapegoat for failed immigration prosecutions, citing the Broadview Six case.
- Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward has entered the Broadview Six case, and the Justice Department has declined to cooperate with Judge April Perry's investigation into alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
- The Justice Department has warned a judge that President Donald Trump has the power to stop any criminal contempt case against Chicago federal prosecutors.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 10 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 12 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
59/100
Hype
68/100
12 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 10 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Douglas DePodesta, who formerly led the FBI's Chicago field office, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois, and the FBI director. DePodesta alleges he was forced to resign and was scapegoated for immigration prosecutions that failed, specifically mentioning the Broadview Six case.
The Broadview Six case has seen the entry of Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the Justice Department's third-highest-ranking official. The Justice Department has stated it will not cooperate with an investigation into alleged prosecutorial misconduct being conducted by Judge April Perry. In a court filing, the Justice Department also warned Judge Perry that President Donald Trump possesses the authority to halt any criminal contempt proceedings against Chicago federal prosecutors.
Disagreement on the Justice Department's stance
Reports differ on the precise wording used by the Justice Department regarding its cooperation with Judge April Perry's inquiry. Some digests state the Justice Department "declined to cooperate" with her investigation into alleged prosecutorial misconduct, as reported by isba.org and USA news. Other digests report that the government "has not agreed to cooperate" with any investigation into wrongdoing, according to Lodinews.com, Hanford Sentinel, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Sun Times. Emptywheel reports that Stan Woodward "stomped into the Broadview 6 case to tell Judge April Perry to fuck off."
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated digests mention the specific allegations made by Douglas DePodesta regarding his reasons for resignation beyond his claim of being scapegoated for failed immigration prosecutions. No right-rated outlet ran this story.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 2 Nov 2026, 23:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports focused on the Justice Department's defiance of Judge April Perry's investigation and the potential implications for President Donald Trump. Lodinews.com and Chicago Sun Times highlighted that the Justice Department's No. 3 attorney filed a "defiant brief" stating the government "has not agreed to cooperate" with the investigation. Raw Story reported that "Serious threats: Trump pardons threatened in court as judge's DOJ probe explodes," detailing the Justice Department's warning to the judge that Trump could stop contempt cases. Emptywheel used the headline "Predictably, Stan Woodward Contemptuously Stomped into the Broadview 6 Case," and stated Woodward "told Judge April Perry to fuck off." Boing Boing's headline stated, "DOJ tells judge probing prosecutor misconduct that Trump can make it go away."
Centre
5 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports led with Douglas DePodesta's lawsuit and the Justice Department's actions regarding the Broadview Six case. CBS News reported that DePodesta "sues FBI, DOJ; says he was forced to resign over failed immigration prosecutions." The Hill's headline stated, "Ex-FBI leader in Chicago sues DOJ, Blanche, Patel over ‘politically motivated’ Broadview Six case." ABC 7 Chicago and Hanford Sentinel reported that the Justice Department "challenges judge's authority in Broadview Six misconduct inquiry." USA news and Chicago Tribune focused on the "Controversial DOJ boss takes reins in tainted ‘Broadview 6’ case, stymies judge’s inquiry."
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Ex-FBI Chief Sues DOJ Over Broadview Six Case?
- Of the 10 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 50% are rated left, 50% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 12. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Ex-FBI Chief Sues DOJ Over Broadview Six Case left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 10 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Ex-FBI Chief Sues DOJ Over Broadview Six Case biased?
- Ex-FBI Chief Sues DOJ Over Broadview Six Case is one event reported by 12 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Ex-FBI Chief Sues DOJ Over Broadview Six Case?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Ex-FBI Chief Sues DOJ Over Broadview Six Case?
- 12 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Who is suing the Justice Department?
- Douglas DePodesta, the former head of the FBI's Chicago field office, is suing the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois, and the FBI director. He alleges he was forced to resign and scapegoated for failed immigration prosecutions.
- What is the Broadview Six case?
- The Broadview Six case involves immigration prosecutions that DePodesta claims led to his forced resignation. The Justice Department's actions in this case, including the entry of Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, are under scrutiny by Judge April Perry for alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
- What is the Justice Department's stance on the judge's investigation?
- The Justice Department has declined to cooperate with Judge April Perry's investigation into alleged prosecutorial misconduct. They have also warned the judge that President Donald Trump has the power to stop any criminal contempt case against Chicago federal prosecutors.
Read it at the source
12 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- Controversial DOJ attorney takes over ‘Broadview Six’ case, tells judge they have not agreed to cooperate (opens Lodinews.com in a new tab)
Lodinews.com — is Lodinews.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- 'Serious threats': Trump pardons threatened in court as judge's DOJ probe explodes (opens Raw Story in a new tab)
- Controversial DOJ boss takes reins in tainted ‘Broadview 6’ case, stymies judge’s inquiry (opens Chicago Sun Times in a new tab)
Chicago Sun Times — is Chicago Sun Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Predictably, Stan Woodward Contemptuously Stomped into the Broadview 6 Case (opens emptywheel in a new tab)
emptywheel — is emptywheel biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- DOJ tells judge probing prosecutor misconduct that Trump can make it go away (opens Boing Boing in a new tab)
Boing Boing — is Boing Boing biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
5- Former FBI Chicago head Doug DePodesta sues FBI, DOJ; says he was forced to resign over failed immigration prosecutions (opens CBS News in a new tab)
- Ex-FBI leader in Chicago sues DOJ, Blanche, Patel over ‘politically motivated’ Broadview Six case (opens The Hill in a new tab)
- Justice Department challenges judge's authority in Broadview Six misconduct inquiry (opens ABC 7 Chicago in a new tab)
ABC 7 Chicago — is ABC 7 Chicago biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Controversial DOJ attorney takes over ‘Broadview Six’ case, tells judge they have not agreed to cooperate (opens Hanford Sentinel in a new tab)
Hanford Sentinel — is Hanford Sentinel biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Controversial DOJ attorney takes over ‘Broadview Six’ case, tells judge they have not agreed to cooperate (opens Chicago Tribune in a new tab)
Chicago Tribune — is Chicago Tribune biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
2How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
