With allegations of misconduct and a “credibility crisis” swirling around Chicago U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros’ office, a judge on Wednesday said she’d hold a hearing over claims of grand jury improprieties by a veteran prosecutor — and she gave Boutros’ team one way out.U.S. District Ju dge Sharon Johnson Coleman did not say exactly how the feds could avoid the June 17 hearing featuring witness testimony. But it would likely require the permanent dismissal of charges in a high-profile case involving a former Loretto Hospital executive.“I’m a lifelong prosecutor,” Coleman told lawyers on Wednesday. “Federal and state level. I know this circle. I know this sphere. And so the court wants to do right by this.”The judge even told defense attorneys to think about whom they’d want to call to the stand. The potential candidates could include Boutros himself.Claims of grand jury misconduct by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg first surfaced in the tainted “Broadview Six” conspiracy case, brought last fall against six Operation Midway Blitz protesters. The case collapsed May 21 amid claims of wrongdoing by prosecutors. Related Loretto exec’s fraud case now in jeopardy as ‘Broadview 6’ prosecutor faces scrutiny over alleged misconduct U.S. District Judge April Perry allowed the release of grand jury transcripts in that case Tuesday, revealing details of Mecklenburg’s apparent misconduct. But the damage has spread elsewhere in the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, especially to other cases handled by Mecklenburg.Those cases are now largely being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur, a well-regarded veteran of the Chicago U.S. attorney’s office. U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland told MacArthur during a hearing Tuesday, “I couldn’t respect anybody more.”But Rowland still told MacArthur that Boutros and his leadership team had “created a credibility crisis.” The judge ordered grand jury transcripts turned over in a fraud case once handled by Mecklenburg. And Wednesday, Judge Coleman told MacArthur and others, “I need testimony.” Mahmood Sami Khan outside the Dirksen Federal Courthouse Wednesday.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times The case before Coleman revolves around an alleged plot to scam the federal government out of hundreds of millions of dollars in reimbursements for fake COVID-19 tests. Though the most high-profile of the defendants is former Loretto chief financial officer Anosh Ahmed, he is unlikely to reap any benefit that may come from Coleman’s remarks Wednesday.That’s because Ahmed has yet to return to the United States to face the charges. Coleman told his lawyer Wednesday that “your client’s put you on a different track.”More likely to benefit are two of Ahmed’s co-defendants, Mahmood Sami Khan and Suhaib Ahmad Chaudhry, who worked for Ahmed. Their lawyers have also accused Mecklenburg of misconduct before a grand jury similar to what happened in the “Broadview Six” case. Related Former Loretto Hospital executive accused in $293 million fake COVID-testing scheme The allegations there include Mecklenburg improperly putting her credibility on the line to support criminal charges, wrongly dismissing grand jurors from the proceedings and having conversations with grand jurors outside the grand jury room.Defense attorneys for Khan and Chaudhry also accused Mecklenburg of “inflammatory characterizations of the defendants, including name-calling and folk-wisdom metaphors.” U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman.U.S. District court records Khan defense attorney Gabrielle Sansonetti told Coleman that, 90 minutes before a Wednesday afternoon hearing, she and her co-counsel received a call from prosecutors that could resolve the case for their clients. Sansonetti made clear that no agreement had been reached. But Coleman seemed unimpressed by any potential deal.“This court needs the assistance of an evidentiary hearing,” Coleman said. “I believe that’s important here.”The judge also told MacArthur there are “a lot of people in your sphere that I’m assuming are going to be asked to come testify, and you may want to avoid that.” The judge didn’t say out loud how MacArthur could avoid it, but she said MacArthur knows what to do.When the discussion turned to a date for the hearing, Sansonetti speculated it was unlikely to take place next week. Coleman shot back, “why wouldn’t it be next week?”“I’m not going to wait,” Coleman said. “I’m not waiting two weeks. No.” Related Transcripts reveal tension, improprieties during ‘Broadview 6’ grand jury hearings Finally, as Wednesday’s hearing drew to a close, the judge prompted MacArthur to make a routine motion. It’s known as “excluding time,” and it stops the speedy trial clock if granted.MacArthur made the motion. Once she did so, the judge invoked some traditional language.“It’s in the what?” Coleman asked. “Interest of justice? Oh yeah. Alright.”Then the judge turned to Sansonetti: “What do you say?”“I actually don’t know how to respond to that, for the first time ever,” Sansonetti told her.Eventually, Sansonetti objected. The judge denied MacArthur’s motion.Then, she told the prosecutor it’s “very doubtful” she’ll grant it in the case again. ...read more read less