Massachusetts US attorney accused of multiple ethics violations

That was among a litany of ethics violations detailed by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz in a scathing 161-page investigative report released a day after Rollins, appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden as the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts, announced she would resign by Friday. The report described a host of ethics issues, from Rollins improperly attending a Democratic fundraising event with U.S. first lady Jill Biden in her capacity as a prosecutor to accusations that she "knowingly and willfully made a false statement" during her interview with Horowitz's office.

Rachael Rollins, the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, improperly used her U.S. Justice Department position to try to influence the outcome of a local district attorney election by leaking negative and non-public information about a political rival, the department's internal watchdog said on Wednesday. That was among a litany of ethics violations detailed by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz in a scathing 161-page investigative report released a day after Rollins, appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden as the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts, announced she would resign by Friday.

The report described a host of ethics issues, from Rollins improperly attending a Democratic fundraising event with U.S. first lady Jill Biden in her capacity as a prosecutor to accusations that she "knowingly and willfully made a false statement" during her interview with Horowitz's office. Separately, the independent U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) released its own report, finding that Rollins had "willfully violated" the Hatch Act - a law that limits the political activities of federal employees. OSC characterized the case as "one of the most egregious Hatch Act violations" it had ever investigated.

Rollins, the first Black woman to serve as the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts, is a prominent figure in the "progressive prosecutor" movement that supports policies designed to eliminate racial disparities in the justice system. The reports describe her interactions with Ricardo Arroyo, a progressive-leaning Democrat who in 2022 ran in the party's primary election for the Suffolk County District Attorney job vacated by Rollins when she became U.S. attorney. Arroyo's rival, moderate Democrat Kevin Hayden, won the primary and is the current county DA.

Justice Department and OSC investigators unearthed text messages showing that behind the scenes Rollins was trying to help Arroyo win the election. "No mercy. Finish him," Rollins wrote in one July 2022 text.

The investigators found that Rollins planted negative information about Hayden in Boston Globe articles about his handling of a police misconduct probe that began during her tenure, and then used those stories to help spur a Justice Department investigation. Rollins later leaked to the Boston Herald a sensitive non-public Justice Department memo that determined she would be recused from working on any Hayden-related investigation.

"By leaking non-public DOJ (Department of Justice) information for the purpose of damaging Mr. Hayden's campaign, Ms. Rollins violated the Hatch Act prohibition against using her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the results of an election," the OSC found. When Rollins was interviewed about her interactions with the media on the Hayden investigation, the inspector general said she "lacked candor" and "falsely testified under oath" by initially denying she was the source of leaks.

In a letter contained in the OSC report, Rollins' attorney Michael Bromwich called it "deeply unfair" to publish private text messages sent by Rollins and noted that Arroyo was not interviewed during the investigation. Regarding her presence at the fundraising event, Bromwich said Rollins had sought and received Justice Department approval to attend. Rollins "was there for the sole purpose of a brief meet-and-greet with the First Lady. Ms. Rollins pledged no money, encouraged no one else to pledge money or make cash contributions, stayed for no speeches, and left immediately after she shook hands with the First Lady," Bromwich wrote.

Rollins is one of the 93 U.S. attorneys appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve as the lead federal prosecutors in various regions around the country. The investigations into Rollins were launched at the urging of Republican U.S. Senator Tom Cotton. Rollins was narrowly confirmed by the Senate over Republican opposition in December 2021 after Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote.