US Attorney Rachael Rollins is out, resigning before a Justice Department watchdog report on an ethics investigation into her political fundraising appearances drops the hammer on her.
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins will resign following a monthslong investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general into her appearance at a political fundraiser and other potential ethics issues, her attorney said Tuesday.
The Justice Department’s watchdog has yet to release its report detailing the findings of its investigation, but an attorney for Rollins told The Associated Press that she will be submitting a letter of resignation to President Joe Biden by close of business Friday.
The resignation of a U.S. attorney amid ethics concerns is an exceedingly 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 following the turbulent four years of the Trump administration.
Rollins’ attorney said she has been “profoundly honored” to have serve as U.S. attorney and proud of her office’s work but “understands that her presence has become a distraction.” Attorney Michael Bromwich — a former Justice Department inspector general — said Rollins will make herself available to answer questions “after the dust settles and she resigns.”
“The work of the office and the Department of Justice is far too important to be overshadowed by anything else,” Bromwich said.
The Justice Department didn’t immediately comment Tuesday. The inspector general’s office declined to comment.
Rollins was a controversial pick to be Massachusetts’ top federal law enforcer and twice needed Vice President Kamala Harris to break a tie for her nomination to move forward in the Senate amid fierce opposition from Republicans, who painted her as a radical.
Before taking the high-profile U.S. attorney job, she was the top prosecutor for Suffolk County, which includes Boston. In her role there, sparred with Boston’s largest police union and pushed ambitious criminal justice changes, most notably a policy not to prosecute certain low-level crimes such as shoplifting.
She was the first woman of color to serve as a district attorney in Massachusetts and the first Black woman to become U.S. attorney for the state.
The Associated Press was the first to report in November that the inspector general’s office had opened an investigation into Rollins over her appearance last year at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser featuring first lady Jill Biden. The inspector general’s office generally investigates allegations of fraud, abuse or violation of other Justice Department policies.
People familiar with the investigation told the AP at the time that the probe had expanded into other areas, including Rollins’ use of her personal cellphone to conduct Justice Department business and a trip she took to California that was paid for by an outside group.
Calling Rollins's confirmation "controversial" is being generous. Senate Republicans wanted her gone from moment one, and now Rollins gave them the opening needed to take herself out of the game.
Not everyone is cut out to be a US attorney, it seems.
What really bothers me is that GOP Sen. Tom Cotton was right. Rollins was "uniquely unfit" for the position, not because of her criminal justice reform positions, but because she wasn't able to follow the goddamn rules.
Good riddance.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment