U.S. District Judge April Perry rescheduled the hearing from Nov. 16 to Dec. 2 at the request of attorneys in the case and with the consent of the Justice Department, according to a docket entry Thursday. The delay offers short-term relief to U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros and the other prosecutors ordered to testify under oath, but it means the cloud of uncertainty will hang over them through the Thanksgiving holiday.

The hearing stems from Perry's investigation into whether prosecutors misled her during the "Broadview Six" case, which collapsed in May after she discovered alleged misconduct by Boutros' staff during grand jury proceedings. The case involved a protest outside an immigration holding facility in west suburban Broadview in September 2025, during the Trump administration's Operation Midway Blitz deportation campaign.

Perry has said her focus is on "lack of candor, concealment of material facts, or other misconduct that occurred before me." She ordered Boutros, Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Hogan, Matthew Skiba, and Andres Almendarez to testify. Hogan and Skiba had requested more time to prepare.

The delay follows a sharp exchange between Perry and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, the Justice Department's third-highest-ranking official, who recently took over the department's role in the litigation. In a court filing, Woodward questioned Perry's authority to hold what he called a "mini-trial" and argued that the prosecutors faced a "Catch-22": "They can testify and risk prosecution, or they can assert their rights under the Fifth Amendment and risk antagonizing the court."

Perry responded Wednesday that the government's "professed lack of clarity" was "immaterial," citing her "inherent authority" to question lawyers who may have misled her. She noted that Skiba and Almendarez have said they are willing to testify as ordered.

It was the second time in six weeks that a Justice Department official raised the possibility that federal prosecutors in Chicago might invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Boutros, the Chicago area's top federal law enforcement official, and the others could face sanctions or a criminal contempt finding if Perry concludes they lied to her during the failed prosecution.

The "Broadview Six" case began with protests against the immigration facility and ended in May when Perry found alleged misconduct in the grand jury process. The initial controversy centered on a veteran rank-and-file prosecutor, but Perry's inquiry has since expanded to potential misstatements made to her by the feds as the case unfolded.

The postponement means the legal fight over the prosecutors' testimony will now stretch into December, keeping the spotlight on the U.S. Attorney's office and its handling of a case that has already rocked Chicago's federal courthouse.