The U.S. Department of Justice’s offices of Inspector General and the Office Special Counsel each issued scathing reports on U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins’ ethical breaches in office. Rollins has announced she will deliver her resignation to President Biden by Friday.
Here is a timeline of Rollins brief and troubled time in office.
President Biden announces nomination of then-Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins for U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts.
Vice President Kamala Harris casts tie-break vote for Senate confirmation of Rollins’ appointment to the post.
Rollins speaks with a youth basketball group at a Project Safe Neighborhoods outreach event in Springfield. Without informing her staff, she announces: “I’m going to see if I can get the championship team tickets to a Celtics game. My significant other works for the Celtics. We will see what we can do. Play a great game.”
A program specialist with her office told the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General investigators that she was immediately concerned that the promised tickets violated federal ethics rules and had contacted the U.S. Attorney’s office’s ethics advisor with those concerns. Finally, the Executive Office for United States Attorney’s General Counsel’s Office advises Rollins that she should be clear that any tickets offered would be provided “in her personal capacity only.”
Rollins texts a Celtics senior vice president and requests tickets for the teams: “There are about 10 kiddos on each team. And there will likely be a few chaperones for each team. 2–3 maybe.”
The Celtics ultimately provided the group with 30 tickets to a game against the Wizards on April 3, 2022. The youth players attend, with their chaperones. Rollins also attends, with a friend, with tickets provided by the Celtics.
Rollins traveled to an invitation-only summit in California participate in a panel discussion, without seeking ethics advice. The Los Angeles-based entertainment agency that hosted the event paid roughly $1,900 for the trip. After OIG questions for this, Rollins reimburses the agency but files to be reimbursed by DOJ.
Rollins is shown a copy of an invitation to Democratic Party fundraiser to be held at a private home in Andover. She is advised by a person in her office not to attend the fundraiser. An ethics advisor in the U.S. Attorney’s office tells Rollins that she could still meet with First Lady Jill Biden outside the venue but that she should not go in.
Day of fundraiser. Rollins takes a government vehicle to the event. When a Herald reporter approached her and asked whether her attendance at the fundraiser would violate the Hatch Act, Rollins provided a one-word answer before continuing into the house: “No.”
U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., sends a letter to DOJ Inspector General Horowitz demanding an investigation into Rollins attendance at the fundraiser, an action Cotton called a “blatant violation” of the Hatch Act, a federal prohibition on DOJ employees from using their positions to solicit donations for political parties.
Rollins attends another panel discussion, this time in New York City. She drives herself there, but a New York City agency affiliated with the event pays $686 for her accommodations. As in the L.A. incident, Rollins reimburses them but files to be reimbursed by the DOJ.
Rollins texts and speaks with Boston Globe staff about interim Suffolk DA and candidate for full-term Kevin Hayden’s “purported mismanagement of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office,” according to the OSC report.
The OSC launches a probe into Rollins’ possible ethics violations in connection with the Andover fundraiser, as the Herald reported.
Rollins texts Globe reporter with bullet points critical of Hayden.
The Globe publishes series of articles critical of Hayden and his handling of an investigation started under Rollins term as Suffolk DA, based on information provided by Rollins.
Arroyo texts Rollins that it would “be appropriate for you to at least comment” on the Globe article because “it seems potentially criminal and you have the public corruption unit.”
The Globe publishes another article about potential Hayden misconduct. Rollins first contacts the Executive Office for United States Attorneys about recusal from potential investigation of Hayden.
Primary Day. Shortly before midnight, Hayden declares victory in the DA race, saying he’s earned it after a brutally nasty and scandal-plagued race. Rollins texts Arroyo that “[Hayden] will regret the day he did this to you. Watch,” according to the OSC report.
The Herald publishes a story disclosing Rollins’ recusal from the Hayden investigation. Two days earlier, she had sent the Herald pictures of her recusal memo and added “Off the record. Not attributed to me. Prefer you say source within DOJ with information who preferred to stay anonymous for fear of discipline or something like that. Also you CANNOT leak the document.”
When the article came out, the OSC report states, she messaged her staff, “WTF!?! … How are they quoting things?” The report concludes that the messages “show that Ms. Rollins knew it was wrong to leak the memo and … that she had to feign outrage that it was made public.”
Herald reports DOJ watchdog is investigating Rollins after national reports surface.
Rollins announces through her attorney that she will be sending her resignation to President Biden by the end of the day Friday.
Both the OIG and OSC release scathing repots, concluding that Rollins had made significant ethical breaches.