Former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins faces public reprimand for ethics violations

The state board that oversees Massachusetts attorneys has voted to publicly reprimand former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins. She resigned as the state's top federal law enforcement official two years ago after the Justice Department accused her of abusing her authority and committing ethics violations.

Justice Department investigators called the ethics violations against Rollins "egregious." The investigators' reports said Rollins leaked privileged DOJ information about then-interim Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden when he was seeking election to the job. Rollins held the position before she left for the federal post. The reports say the leaks were to an attempt to help the campaign of Hayden's challenger, then-Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, the candidate Rollins backed to replace her.

The Board of Bar Overseers in Massachusetts found that Rollins disclosed privileged information to the media then lied about it to her Justice Department colleagues.

Rollins agreed to the public reprimand and admitted to improperly disclosing confidential information to a reporter. Her attorney, Jeffrey Robbins, said Rollins acknowledged that she misinterpreted a Justice Department manual about the rules regarding the release of that information.

"If you're an attorney and a prominent one, this is not pleasant at all," Robbins told WBUR. "But I think it's fair to say that she is pleased and grateful that the process has come to an end and particularly appreciative that the matter was handled as professionally and as carefully as the Board of Bar Overseers did."

Rollins had been known as one of the nation's prominent "progressive prosecutors," She was sworn into office in January 2022 after blistering Senate confirmation hearings, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie to confirm Rollins to the post. Rollins resigned 16 months later.

Rollins now works as executive director of a program at Roxbury Community College.