Epstein investigator accused of rule breach in resignation fallout

A DOJ watchdog is targeting the ex-attorney general of Massachusetts by claiming her lack of ethics is what forced her to resign in the middle of a Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

The group claims that her backing a losing candidate while using “privileged” information from her job led to her resignation. The attacks come as she is accused of shoddy oversight concerning the Epstein case.

The Boston Herald reports, “The DOJ’s top watchdog highlights Rachael Rollins in a scathing report to Congress, saying the ex-U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts was an example of significant misconduct — citing her case in the same sentence as sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide.”

“Right off the top in his introduction, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz calls out Rollins’ resignation in May for an attempt to ‘influence’ the Suffolk DA’s race, ‘among other things,’ as a focus of his policing,” the news outlet added.

(Video Credit: WCVB Channel 5 Boston)

Horowitz also highlighted Rollins’ incompetent “supervision” of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

“The OIG’s Investigations Division closed 125 criminal or administrative misconduct cases, and its work resulted in 44 convictions or pleas and 84 terminations, administrative disciplinary actions, and resignations,” he noted after lambasting the former attorney general.

Horowitz put Rollins right at the top as an example in the IG’s section on “Investigative Highlights.” He listed her numerous ethical issues and alluded to her being corrupt.

“The OIG found that Rollins used her position as U.S Attorney and used non-public DOJ information available to her by virtue of her position as U.S. Attorney, in an effort to influence the outcome of an election, in violation of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, as well as Department policy and the obligations under the Ethics Agreement she signed after her nomination as U.S. Attorney,” the report asserted.

That was a reference by Horowitz to the race for Suffolk District Attorney, where Rollins backed Ricardo Arroyo who lost over the incumbent, DA Kevin Hayden. Doubling down on losing, Arroyo also lost his re-election bid for Boston City Council.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) also released its findings on Rollins shortly after Horowitz’s initial report came out, concluding that she had violated the Hatch Act, which restricts political activity by federal officials.

In a letter to President Biden, Henry Kerner, who is the special counsel, described her violations as among “the most egregious transgressions” he had ever investigated according to Newsweek.

He also said Rollins “willfully made a false statement of material fact” and “attended a partisan political fundraiser without approval from the Deputy Attorney General.”

“That July 2022 fundraiser in Andover was first reported by the Herald, where Rollins told a Herald reporter she wasn’t violating the federal Hatch Act just before walking inside to meet with First Lady Jill Biden and other top Democrats. It did violate the act,” the Boston Herald wrote.

“Her attendance was contrary to the ethics advice she received before the event,” Horowitz remarked.

“U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., sent a letter to Horowitz demanding an investigation into Rollins’s attendance at the fundraiser a day after setting in motion her ultimate downfall,” the Boston Herald continued.

In December of 2021, Rollins was named the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. Vice President Kamala Harris cast a tie-breaking vote to usher the leftist Democrat into office. She took office on January 10, 2022.

She has since been replaced by prosecutor Joshua Levy.

“In the end, it was her attempt to tip the scales of the DA race by leaking to the Boston Globe ahead of the primary that sealed her fate, ensuing DOJ reports state. The Herald received similar information but didn’t publish until after the primary, the report correctly points out,” the Boston Herald recounted.

Rollins was accused of sabotaging a rival campaign, lying under oath to investigators, taking part in partisan political races, receiving campaign funds after being elected, and asking the Celtics for free tickets among other things.

“The OIG remains committed to its mission to detect and deter waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct,” Horowitz told Congress in the semiannual report.

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