Here’s how U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins attempted to ‘sabotage’ Suffolk DA race, according to federal reports

In an “extraordinary” abuse of power, U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins attempted to sway last year’s Suffolk County District Attorney race, acting as a “de facto campaign advisor” to one candidate and leaking sensitive information about another, according to two bombshell reports released Wednesday.

The federal watchdog reports — one from the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, the other from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel — came one day after Rollins announced her resignation. 

Included in the documents are several text messages Rollins exchanged with Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, then a candidate in the race for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office — Rollins’s old stomping ground.  

“No mercy. Finish him,” she wrote in one of the texts, referring to Arroyo’s rival, then-Interim Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden. “Make sure you let me know about stuff that I can show up at. And we can ‘happen’ to be there together,” she wrote in another. 

While she described Arroyo as a “friend,” Rollins denied giving him campaign advice, telling the Office of the Inspector General she “was speaking to a friend who was trying to achieve a goal” and “wasn’t putting [her] finger on a scale.” 

Report: Rollins lied under oath about leaks

The inspector general’s report accused Rollins of attempting — unsuccessfully — to create the public impression that the DOJ was or would be investigating Hayden for public corruption, in part by leaking information to reporters.

The report also found that Rollins lied under oath about her role in the leaks, initially denying that she was the source during an interview with the Office of the Inspector General. 

In one message, Arroyo told Rollins that the announcement of an investigation into Hayden “[w]ould be the best thing I can have happen at this moment.” At the time, Arroyo was facing a forthcoming report in The Boston Globe detailing prior sexual assault allegations made against him when he was a teenager. 

Minutes later, Rollins replied: “Understood. Keep fighting and campaigning. I’m working on something.”

The inspector general report found that over the course of several weeks, Rollins allegedly provided negative information about Hayden to the Globe, tried to convince a subordinate to issue a letter that would have created the impression of a DOJ investigation into Hayden, then disclosed sensitive DOJ information directly to a Boston Herald reporter before the primary. 

When Arroyo eventually lost the race, Rollins messaged him: “They are not above the law. He will regret the day he did this to you. Watch.” 

In a statement provided to Boston.com via email, Hayden’s office said the inspector general report “presents a comprehensive review of the conduct of one individual and requires no additional comment from us. However, we do want to emphasize that the report in no way impacts the strong and professional relationship we enjoy with the Office of the United States Attorney in Boston.”

Hatch Act violation ‘one of the most egregious’

The Office of Special Counsel concluded that Rollins’s actions during the election constituted a violation of the Hatch Act, which limits certain political activities by federal employees. In fact, the report refers to Rollins’s attempted campaign “sabotage” as “one of the most egregious Hatch Act violations that OSC has investigated.”

“Ms. Rollins’s conduct in leaking non‐public DOJ information constitutes an extraordinary abuse of her authority and threatens to erode public confidence in the integrity of federal law enforcement actions,” Special Counsel Henry J. Kerner wrote in the report.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Arroyo said he’s talked to Rollins “a number of times about everything. I’ve talked to her about life, I’ve talked to her about family, I’ve talked to her about the campaign,” according to CBS Boston.

He added: “I’ll say that this particular campaign suffered from a number of illegal leaks from different directions.”

Arroyo did not respond to Boston.com’s request for comment.

In a statement posted to Twitter later on Wednesday, he wrote that he “find[s] this entire matter to be incredibly sad and unfortunate.”

“I was never contacted or notified about the Rollins investigations by the Inspector General or Special Counsel,” Arroyo wrote. “I have reviewed the reports released by their respective offices and neither of these reports allege any wrongdoing on my part. My focus remains on working for the residents of District 5.” 

Abby Patkin

Staff Writer

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.

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