Rachael Rollins, the disgraced former U.S. Attorney, has agreed to a public reprimand by the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers following an ethics scandal that compelled her to resign amid a federal investigation.
The board’s records indicate that Rollins admitted to improperly disclosing sensitive information from the Department of Justice. This disclosure involved details about a potential investigation into Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden during his election campaign.
The communication occurred just days after Hayden secured the primary victory against Rollins’ favored candidate, ex-City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo. Rollins had previously leaked this damaging information to both the Boston Globe and the Herald but was able to delay publication until after the primary election.
Documents signed on June 30, which were first reported by Reuters, reveal that Rollins accepted a public reprimand for her misconduct without the need for a formal hearing. Her attorney, Jeffrey Robbins, stated that it was “perplexing” that the Bar Overseers had not yet approved this recommendation.
Robbins expressed hope that the board would respect the recommendations from its own professionals, who had conducted thorough investigations during the disciplinary proceedings.
In response to inquiries, General Counsel Joseph Berman stated that the Board of Bar Overseers would not comment on the Rollins case. Meanwhile, the status of Rollins’ disciplinary proceedings still appeared as pending on the board’s official website.
Typically, bar discipline proceedings begin due to allegations of attorney misconduct, which can lead to various outcomes, including disbarment, suspension, or public reprimand. The agreed-upon public reprimand comes two years after Rollins’ resignation from her role as Massachusetts U.S. Attorney.
Rollins resigned in May 2023 after facing criticism from two federal reports that cited her as having abused her position. The reports specifically mentioned her involvement in leaking false information to manipulate the Suffolk District Attorney’s race in favor of her preferred candidate, Arroyo, who ultimately lost to Hayden in the primary.
The recently released documents illustrate how Rollins intended to undermine Hayden’s reputation by leaking sensitive DOJ information to the Herald concerning a possible criminal investigation related to Hayden’s management of a police misconduct case. At that time, Hayden had been appointed interim Suffolk DA following Rollins’ own appointment as U.S. Attorney, which had narrowly passed a Senate confirmation vote.
When Rollins disclosed the recusal memorandum to the Herald, she mistakenly believed she had the authority to share that information without needing prior approval, according to the board’s documentation.
Additionally, documents revealed that after the Herald published an article that referenced the leaked confidential document, Rollins sent a misleading text message to her DOJ peers to deflect suspicion away from herself regarding the source of the leak.
Similar instances of misconduct highlighted in the federal reports ultimately led to Rollins’ resignation. The reports emphasized how Rollins had leaked damaging pre-primary stories to the Boston Globe about Hayden. Although the Herald received the same information, it delayed its publication until after the primary election, as noted in the federal findings.
Both Department of Justice reports indicated that Rollins could face further federal disciplinary actions if she did not resign promptly. Her actions attracted scrutiny after appearing at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser that featured then-First Lady Jill Biden, raising potential violations of the Hatch Act, as first reported by the Herald.
These developments illustrate the serious implications of Rollins’ misconduct, culminating in her agreement to a public reprimand by the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers.
image source from：bostonherald
