Boston, Mass. United States Attorney Rachael Rollins will resign following a months-long investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general into his appearance at a political fundraiser and other potential ethics issues, his attorney said Tuesday.
The Justice Department watchdog has yet to release its report detailing the findings of its investigation, but a lawyer for Rollins told The Associated Press that he will submit a letter of resignation to President Joe Biden by the close of business on Monday. Friday.
The resignation of a US attorney amid ethics concerns is an extremely rare phenomenon and is especially notable for a Justice Department that, under Attorney General Merrick Garland, has sought to restore a sense of normalcy and good governance after the turbulent four years of the Trump administration.
Rollins’ attorney said she has been «deeply honored» to have served as a federal prosecutor and proud of the work of her office, but «understands that her presence has become a distraction.» Attorney Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general, said Rollins will be available to answer questions «after the dust settles and she resigns.»
“The work of the office and the Department of Justice is too important to be overshadowed by anything else,” Bromwich said.
The Justice Department had no immediate comment Tuesday. The inspector general’s office declined to comment.
Rollins was a controversial choice to be Massachusetts’ top federal law enforcement officer and twice needed Vice President Kamala Harris to break a tie for her nomination to advance in the Senate amid fierce opposition from Republicans, who described her as a radical.
Before taking over as a high-profile federal prosecutor, she was the top prosecutor for Suffolk County, which includes Boston. In her role there, she sparred with Boston’s largest police union and pushed for ambitious changes in criminal justice, most notably a policy not to prosecute certain low-level crimes, like shoplifting.
She was the first woman of color to serve as a district attorney in Massachusetts and the first black woman. to become a US Attorney for the state
Massachusetts Democratic Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, who lobbied for Rollins’ nomination for the job, said in a joint statement that they will respect his decision to resign.
“Rachael Rollins has dedicated herself for years to the people of Massachusetts and to equal justice under the law,” they said.
The Associated Press was the first to report in November that the inspector general’s office had opened an investigation into Rollins for his appearance last year at a home in Andover, Massachusetts, for a Democratic National Committee fundraiser with first lady Jill Biden. That was according to two people briefed on the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.
The inspector general’s office generally investigates allegations of fraud, abuse, or violations of other Department of Justice policies.
People familiar with the investigation told the AP at the time that the investigation had expanded into other areas, including Rollins’ use of his personal cell phone to conduct Justice Department business and a trip he took to California that was paid for by an outside group.
Rollins said in a July tweet that he «had approval» to meet with the first lady and left the event early to speak at two community events. A person familiar with the discussions before that event told the AP that Rollins was given only limited permission to meet Jill Biden outside the house.
The US Office of Special Counsel, another federal watchdog agency, has also been investigating whether Rollins’ attendance at the fundraiser violated the Hatch Act, a law that limits political activity by government workers. The status of that investigation is unclear.
The inspector general’s office copied the phone contents of some employees in Rollins’ office as part of its investigation into the possible use of his personal phone for Justice Department business, a person familiar with the matter told the AP last year. past.
Investigators also examined a trip Rollins took to California that was paid for by an outside group, even though Justice Department employees are not supposed to accept travel payments. The trip was for CAA Amplify, the annual gathering of entertainment, business and political personalities run by one of Hollywood’s leading talent agencies, the Creative Artists Agency.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a fierce critic of Rollins who had tried to block his confirmation, urged the inspector general last year to investigate whether the federal prosecutor’s actions violated the Hatch Act.
Cotton said in a letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz earlier this month that a «whistleblower» recently alleged that Rollins had been «removing a significant amount of documents» from the US Attorney’s office and «continued to remove these documents even after receiving instructions to go through Department of Justice Leadership.”
Rollins’ attorney called the allegation «utterly absurd,» adding that Cotton’s time «would be better spent learning about the realities of running a law enforcement agency and fighting crime in our major cities.»
Cotton said in a statement Tuesday that he had «warned Democratic senators that Rachael Rollins was not only a pro-crime ideologue, but also had a history of poor judgment and ethical lapses.»