Rollins’s troubles blow back on Warren and Markey, who pushed her nomination - The Boston Globe (2024)

This week, the two senators expressed shock and disappointment at the reports released Wednesday, which detailed numerous ethical violations. But Markey highlighted the White House’s role in her final selection when asked about any lapses in reviewing her nomination, instead of his and Warren’s.

“We sent the names over to the White House for them to do the vetting, and so we were reliant upon that White House vetting,” Markey told the Globe Thursday. “It was determined by the process that she was qualified.”

Warren in a brief interview Wednesday reiterated the thrust of the joint statement the pair released after the report, saying she was “deeply concerned” by the summary of the findings and agreed with Rollins’s decision to step down.

But the path that led to Rollins’s nomination, confirmation, and resignation in disgrace is complicated, with unresolved questions about what was ignored or missed.

Republicans were quick to gloat that they had been on the right side of the bruising fight over her nomination, eager to tarnish Democrats’ judgment and progressive prosecutors as a whole with the findings.

“It shows that the Biden administration and Senate Democrats are not thoroughly vetting nominees, to have someone with a demonstrated history of ethical lapses and bad judgment, nominated for a position in federal law enforcement,” said Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, who vociferously opposed Rollins’s confirmation.

Cotton seized on the report, saying at a Judiciary Committee meeting Thursday that “my Republican colleagues and I warned that Rollins was dangerously unfit to serve as US attorney.”

Later Thursday, Democrats suffered another blow, when former New Hampshire attorney General Michael Delaney withdrew as a nominee for the Boston-based First Circuit Court of Appeals. He had been recommended to the White House and vigorously backed by home-state Democrats and New Hampshire Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan. But his nomination languished and ultimately failed amid scrutiny of his use of a controversial tactic representing St. Paul’s School, a private school in Concord, N.H., that critics said was intended to force the 15-year-old victim in a sexual assault lawsuit to reveal her identity. That tactic backfired when the victim, Chessy Prout, decided to go public and become a victims’ advocate. She fought his nomination.

Warren and Markey recommended Rollins to the White House for the position of US attorney in 2021, after they solicited applications on their websites and convened a bipartisan commission to review them. It is common practice for home-state senators to recommend candidates to the White House for US attorney and judicial openings.

The commission was headed by Nancy Gertner, a retired federal judge in Boston who had been nominated by then-president Clinton. She said the panel reviewed 21 applications and narrowed the pool to four for Warren and Markey to review, with a detailed memo about each one.

Warren and Markey had a more open selection process than past senators, who often recommended US attorney candidates who had political ties, Gertner wrote in a letter to the editor sent to the Globe Thursday and shared in response to an interview request. The past process “largely produced a long string of Massachusetts US attorneys who may well have been eminently qualified but were from the same background, of the same race, the same gender,” Gertner wrote.

“True, we must do better,” she wrote. “But it would be most regrettable if, as a result of this controversy, aspersions were cast on an open, independent merit selection process, especially one that encouraged diverse applicants.”

Rollins herself, however, was a high-profile politician who had ties to Warren and Markey. Warren endorsed Rollins in her 2018 run for Suffolk district attorney, helping her in a crowded primary field. Rollins endorsed Markey in his 2020 primary against Joseph P. Kennedy III, boosting Markey’s progressive credentials.

Markey said Rollins’s endorsem*nt of him was not a factor in his decision to recommend her.

“It was her qualifications as a district attorney for Suffolk County who had been doing an excellent job,” he said.

Warren and Markey relayed three names to the White House for consideration, with Rollins as their top choice given her position as Suffolk district attorney, Markey said.

“We obviously strongly believed in her qualifications,” Markey said Thursday. The FBI then conducted a background investigation before Biden made the choice, he said. A White House spokesman declined to comment on Rollins this week.

Rollins, who became the first Black woman to serve as Massachusetts’ US attorney, was a historic nominee and part of President Biden’s pledge to elevate more diverse nominees for US attorneys and judges, positions that have long been overwhelmingly white and male.

The White House announced Rollins’s pick in July 2021 along with seven other US attorney nominations and touted the historic firsts: four of them would be the first Black person to hold the position; two, including Rollins, would be the first Black woman, and one would be the first woman.

Rollins had been elected in 2018 as Suffolk district attorney, amid a nationwide call for more progressive prosecutors in a bid to dismantle what had come to be seen as over-criminalization and law enforcement tactics that disproportionately harmed minority and marginalized communities.

A source familiar with Rollins’s selection and confirmation process noted that as a historic elected official who regularly received heavy media coverage, Rollins was a clear choice for the position without obvious red flags in her background. Her nomination enjoyed the support of law enforcement and even former Republican governor Bill Weld, a former US attorney for Massachusetts himself.

Her confirmation process did highlight one incident that raised ethical concerns.

Katie Lawson of Dorchester filed a complaint with the Boston police alleging Rollins threatened her and inappropriately flashed her vehicle’s blue lights as they were both trying to exit the South Bay shopping center on Dec. 24, 2020. Rollins denied the allegations. She said Lawson was driving the wrong way and she thought she would hit her. When a local TV producer and photographer later went to Rollins’ house to ask about the incident, she berated them with some expletives in an incident captured on video.

Then-Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey and the state ethics commission cleared Rollins of any wrongdoing.

Republicans brought up the incident during Rollins’s confirmation hearing and Lawson e-mailed and called senators urging them to vote against her.

But Republican opposition to Rollins was largely focused on her progressivism. That proxy battle over criminal justice reform and crime continued even after she announced her resignation Wednesday, as Republicans weaved together their critiques of her progressive record with questions raised about the abuse of her office for political purposes.

“Ms. Rollins’s record was always extreme,” said Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the wake of the report, leveling common Republican attacks on progressive prosecutors, including the assertion that she “abolished” police through her policy of not prosecuting certain low-level crimes. “Her conduct in contravention of ethical standards and her rank partisanship, sadly, is not a surprise.”

Warren and Markey put out a joint statement Wednesday saying they found the Justice Department findings “deeply troubling” and supported Rollins’s resignation.

Historically, presidential administrations give considerable deference to senators on their choices for such positions, especially senators of the president’s own party. The Justice Department does a thorough background check and review of nominees, especially US attorneys, who become employees of the department when confirmed.

Ultimately, the decision of which candidates to nominate is the president’s.

Democrats on the Judiciary Committee noted how many other strong nominees they had confirmed over the last two years and rejected the notion that one individual’s transgressions should cast a pall on an entire movement or people of similar background.

“I think we should give equal attention to the 99.999 percent of other firsts and historical firsts to achieve different positions of leadership that are doing a great job in showing their tremendous talents, ability, and leadership,” California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla said.

Tal Kopan can be reached at tal.kopan@globe.com. Follow her @talkopan. Jim Puzzanghera can be reached at jim.puzzanghera@globe.com. Follow him @JimPuzzanghera.