CHICAGO — The deposition of Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino nearly ground to a halt last week as government lawyers repeatedly objected to questions by plaintiffs’ attorneys, including some about communications between Bovino and White House advisor Stephen Miller, court records obtained by the Tribune show.

The impasse prompted attorneys for both sides to go before U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis in the middle of Bovino’s sworn testimony on Thursday, where lawyers for the Justice Department complained that Bovino was being asked questions that were overbroad, poorly constructed and were not directly tied to the claims in the underlying lawsuit about the use of force by immigration agents during “Operation Midway Blitz.”

During the hearing, Justice Department attorney Sarmad Khojasteh piqued the frustration of the judge by repeatedly interrupting her and fumbling over the facts of the case. Kosjasteh, who joined the proceedings only recently, repeatedly referred to the Chicago immigration push as “Operation Midway Drift” and had to apologize for being new to the table.

“This is the problem when people come in, right, and we’ve got a revolving door of attorneys and they haven’t been here for the entire thing,” Ellis told Khojasteh, according to a transcript of the proceedings. “…They haven’t sat through people’s testimony, they haven’t sat through these hearings, and so now I’m having to explain myself multiple times. And I find it at this point extremely frustrating and a waste of time.”

As Ellis tried to explain that she agreed questions about how Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement targets certain people for immigration enforcement were “not relevant,” Khojasteh cut her off again, saying, “They have asked those questions today. I’m just letting you know,” according to the transcript.

“And if you interrupt me one more time,” Ellis responded. “It’s enough. It’s enough.”

Khojasteh also complained that he’d spent an entire day prepping Bovino on a particular set of issues, only to have plaintiffs’ attorneys confront him with a “grab bag of anything.”

“I mean, they asked today about communications with Stephen Miller,” Khojasteh told the judge. “They asked today about body cam from the Los Angeles (immigration operation)…I feel sand bagged right now.”

Miller is one of the most influential figures in President Donald Trump’s administration and is the chief architect of its hard-line immigration policies.

Ellis explained that certain questions about those topics were clearly relevant if given the proper context.

“For example, questions about communications with Mr. Miller may be perfectly within bounds if they talked about, ‘This is how I want this operation to go,'” Ellis said. “…If Mr. Miller said that to Mr. Bovino and that was in Mr. Bovino’s mind as to justify the force being used, they can ask about that.”

Ellis noted Bovino was identified in other court testimony as the overall leader of “Operation Midway Blitz,” making it fair game to ask him not only about his own actions, but ‘”what he is telling agents and officers is the appropriate use of force out in the field.”

“And if some of those officers have come from Los Angeles and the operation in Los Angeles, which he says they have, it is also appropriate and relevant for plaintiffs to be able to ask what he told those officers in Los Angeles,” Ellis said. “Is it consistent with what he has been telling them in Chicago?”

The arguments over Bovino’s deposition, which took place behind closed doors at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, came about halfway through the five-hour limit that Ellis had put on his questioning, according to the transcript. Lawyers were unable to finish before the courthouse closed for the day Thursday, and it was not immediately clear if the testimony was wrapped up before the weekend.

Bovino’s deposition came as allegations mounted that agents under his command are indiscriminately throwing tear gas in Chicago neighborhoods and using inappropriate force against residents and reporters during protests over the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration enforcement push.

Ellis issued a temporary restraining order last month restricting the use of tear gas and other “non-lethal” munitions, and requiring agents to wear body cameras and “conspicuous” identification on their uniforms when interacting with the public.

During a remarkable hourlong session with Bovino on the witness stand last week, Ellis also instructed the 30-year Border Patrol veteran to get his own body camera and send her every use-of-force report — and accompanying bodycam footage — filed since the operation began nearly two months ago.

She had also ordered Bovino to come to court each weekday for a daily use-of-force report directly to her. But the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with attorneys for the government last week that Ellis’ would set her up “as a supervisor of Chief Bovino’s activities, intruding into personnel management decisions of the Executive Branch,” which infringes on the separation of powers.

Meanwhile, Bovino’s deposition, which was videotaped, is under protective order. But portions of his sworn testimony will likely be made public at an injunction hearing on Wednesday, where Ellis is set to decide on more permanent restrictions on the use of force.

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