A corrupt ‘progressive reformer’ goes down in flames

Back in 2021, President Joe Biden fought hard to win Senate confirmation for Rachael Rollins to become the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts. Rollins was the district attorney of Suffolk County, which includes Boston, and she had become notorious by pledging not to prosecute many crimes. Early in her term, she published the “Rollins Memo” that listed 15 crimes in which the “default is to decline prosecuting” — that is, in which her office would not allow its attorneys to prosecute unless a supervisor gave special permission.

Here is the list: 1) Trespassing, 2) shoplifting, 3) larceny under $250, 4) disorderly conduct, 5) disturbing the peace, 6) receiving stolen property, 7) minor driving offenses, including operating with a suspended or revoked license, 8) breaking and entering into vacant property, 9) wanton or malicious destruction of property, 10) threats excluding domestic violence, 11) minors in possession of alcohol, 12) drug possession, 13) drug possession with intent to distribute, 14) resisting arrest when the only charge is resisting arrest, and 15) resisting arrest if other charges are on the list of nonprosecutable offenses.

It was a recipe for urban disorder, all done in the name of criminal justice reform and addressing “structural racism” in the criminal justice system. But supporters, and many in the media, praised the “historic” nature of Rollins’s arrival as district attorney. She was, the stories noted, the first black woman to serve in the job. Coming in, she promised to “move now to make sure that overwhelmingly black and brown men aren’t disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system.” The no-prosecute crime list was part of that effort.

The results were predictable. “In 2020, the first full year in which her policies were in force, Boston’s violent crime rate surged, drug overdoses in Suffolk County rose, and murders skyrocketed by 38%,” wrote Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who led GOP opposition to Rollins’s nomination in the Senate.

Her final confirmation vote was a 50-50 party-line tie. Harris then broke the tie for confirmation, and Rollins became U.S. Attorney on a 51-50 vote.

Republicans warned Democrats that they were buying trouble. “This is a vote you are going to regret,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said to Democrats. Now, Cruz’s words have come true.

On May 19, after just one year and four months in office, Rollins resigned when two investigations, one by the Justice Department Office of Inspector General and the other by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, outlined extensive misconduct. Basically, the reports showed that Rollins abused her power for political purposes in the supposedly nonpolitical position of U.S. attorney.

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