Records reveal disgraced former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins initially sought to downplay her attendance at the Democratic fundraiser that prompted a federal probe, telling her staff she had “prior approval” to meet with the ex-First Lady.

Rollins ultimately resigned from her role as the state’s top prosecutor after being scorched in two federal reports that declared she abused her position, including by violating the Hatch Act by attending a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Andover that was headlined by former first Lady Jill Biden.

Public records released by the Department of Justice this week after a Herald FOIA request show Rollins told her staff nothing would come out of an investigation into her July 2022 DNC fundraiser appearance, about a month after it was first reported by this publication.

“You may have seen reports that there is an investigation into my brief meeting with First Lady Jill Biden in July,” Rollins wrote in an email to staff in the U.S. Attorney’s office on Aug. 30, 2022. “Two quick points. I received prior approval to attend.

“And I have instructed anyone contacted as part of the investigation to promptly, truthfully, and completely cooperate with any inquiries,” Rollins added. “My only regret is that this might create a distraction from the exceptional work you each do for our Commonwealth every day.”

The records also include two media communications sent to the U.S. Attorney’s office by a Herald and Associated Press reporter, along with a Herald newsletter that includes an article from July 2022 about a letter sent to the Department of Justice by U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton after Rollins’ fundraiser attendance.

Cotton, in his letter, had demanded that the DOJ probe Rollins’ “blatant violation” of federal law, or the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activity of federal employees.

Immediately following that reference is an email from an Associated Press reporter that was sent to the U.S. Attorney’s office on Nov. 7, 2022.

“The AP is planning to report, through sources, that U.S. Attorney Rollins is the subject of a sweeping ethics investigation prompted by her appearance at the DNC fundraiser in Andover this summer,” the reporter wrote.

Rollins’ appearance was made public after she was questioned by a Herald reporter while walking into the fundraiser, about whether she thought her attendance was a violation of the Hatch Act.

Rollins gave a one-word answer.

“No,” she said, and continued to walk up to the private home, where the fundraiser was being held.

While the appearance prompted the probe, other revelations in the DOJ reports were arguably more damning for Rollins.

The reports stated that she leaked sensitive information to the media about now-Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden in an attempt to influence the outcome of the DA’s race in favor of his opponent, ex-Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo.

The DOJ also warned that Rollins faced further discipline if she did not promptly quit. She resigned in May 2023, after the reports were released.

Rollins bounced back and now has a six-figure job with Roxbury Community College. She is paid an annual salary of $109,852 as a program executive director. – Gayla Cawley

Don’t mess with longshoremen

The local chapter of the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) met Friday night in Florian Hall and it didn’t go unnoticed that the Herald wrote about their endorsement of mayoral candidate Josh Kraft and the other rag in town didn’t. It was Kraft’s first major endorsement, we noted.

The ILA’s Atlantic Coast District Vice President George McEvoy said in Dorchester that “when we endorsed Josh Kraft the Herald rated it the front page, the Boston Globe wouldn’t run it because they didn’t consider us a major union.” They are an 85,000-member, multi-coast union to be reckoned with.

It’s going to be an exciting race and endorsements are part of the story. We will continue to cover them leaving it up to the readers to call balls and strikes. (Yes, a reference to Big Papi endorsing Mayor Michelle Wu this week. We covered that, too.) – Joe Dwinell

$35M haul for arts

The Boston Arts Academy Foundation closed its six-year Building Our Future campaign with a staggering $35 million raised from 4,500 donors.

Wow!

All the proceeds go to Boston Arts Academy (BAA), an autonomous school within the Boston Public Schools. The campaign funded a state-of-the-art media production program, including a sound stage, recording studio, theater, and technical education curriculum. It took a lot of folks to pull this off for the students.

And, 97% of BAA graduates go to college. – Joe Dwinell