The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts is set to resign after watchdog reports released on Wednesday found she violated longstanding Justice Department rules and possibly the law by trying to sway a local election, attending a Democratic fundraiser featuring first lady Jill Biden, and taking other politically motivated actions.

The ethical imbroglio surrounding Rachael Rollins, the U.S. attorney in Boston, is a blow to the White House, which fought to secure her confirmation over concerns from Republicans about what they described as Rollins’s lenient, soft-on-crime policies as a local district attorney. 

In a pair of searing reports, the Justice Department’s inspector general and another federal watchdog, the Office of Special Counsel, characterized Rollins’s 16-month tenure as a top federal prosecutor as roiled by unprofessionalism and misconduct. 

Rollins’s conduct “fell far short of the standards of professionalism and judgment that the Department should expect of any employee, much less a U.S. Attorney,” wrote Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s office, in a 161-page report.

Investigators said Rollins leaked nonpublic information to Boston newspapers to damage a candidate for the Suffolk County district attorney election, her former post, and buoy her preferred successor. Rollins then lied about that activity when questioned by investigators, the inspector general said. The office referred the false-statement allegations to the Justice Department in December, but prosecutors declined to pursue charges. Suffolk County’s territory includes Boston.

The watchdogs also said Rollins continued to accept contributions into the account she used to campaign for Suffolk County district attorney well after she was sworn in as Boston’s top federal prosecutor in January 2022, possibly violating the Hatch Act, which puts restraints on political activity by federal officials.

The inspector general referred its findings to the Office of Special Counsel, which has exclusive jurisdiction to investigate suspected Hatch Act violations. In a blistering report, that office said Rollins’s conduct amounted to an “extraordinary abuse of her power” and described her violations as “among the most egregious transgressions” of the Hatch Act that it had ever investigated.

Rollins, the first Black woman to serve as Boston’s U.S. attorney, will submit her resignation letter to President Biden by close of business on Friday, her attorney Michael R. Bromwich said, adding that she was proud of her office’s work on gun violence and civil rights during her 16 months of leadership. [MORE]