{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-demands-investigation-into-us-attorneys-apparent-violation-of-hatch-act", "Cotton Demands Investigation into U.S. Attorney\u2019s Apparent Violation of Hatch Act", "2022-07-15", "2022", "2022-07", "Republican", "Senate", "AR", "Tom Cotton", "C001095", "www.cotton.senate.gov", "cotton", "https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: James Arnold or Mary Collins Atkinson (202) 224-2353\n\nJuly 15, 2022\n\nCotton Demands Investigation into U.S. Attorney\u2019s Apparent Violation of Hatch Act\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today sent a letter to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz demanding an investigation into an apparent violation of the Hatch Act by Rachael Rollins, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.\n\nIn part, Cotton wrote, \u201cIt has been publicly reported that Ms. Rollins attended a high-dollar political fundraiser at a private home in Andover, Massachusetts yesterday. The fundraiser, which featured First Lady Jill Biden and began during typical business hours, was one that Ms. Rollins attended in her official capacity as United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. She reportedly even used a vehicle with government license plates to travel to and from the event.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Hatch Act expressly prohibits covered federal employees, such as Ms. Rollins, from using their official positions for partisan political purposes, including attending partisan political events in their official capacities. The Hatch Act is intended to prevent the use of official resources for partisan political purposes, but it is also intended to maintain a politically neutral workplace. This is especially true in the context of a United States Attorney, who is supposed to act as a nonpartisan law enforcement official rather than as a partisan politician. Given the apparent blatant violation in this case, I urge you to conduct an investigation into Ms. Rollins\u2019s conduct,\u201d Cotton continued.\n\nText of the letter may be found here and below.\n\nThe Honorable Michael Horowitz, Inspector General\n\nUnited States Department of Justice\n\nOffice of the Inspector General\n\n950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW\n\nWashington, DC 20530\n\nDear Inspector General Horowitz:\n\nI write regarding a potential Hatch Act violation by Rachael Rollins, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.\n\nIt has been publicly reported that Ms. Rollins attended a high-dollar political fundraiser at a private home in Andover, Massachusetts yesterday. The fundraiser, which featured First Lady Jill Biden and began during typical business hours, was one that Ms. Rollins attended in her official capacity as United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. She reportedly even used a vehicle with government license plates to travel to and from the event.\n\nThe Hatch Act expressly prohibits covered federal employees, such as Ms. Rollins, from using their official positions for partisan political purposes, including attending partisan political events in their official capacities. The Hatch Act is intended to prevent the use of official resources for partisan political purposes, but it is also intended to maintain a politically neutral workplace. This is especially true in the context of a United States Attorney, who is supposed to act as a nonpartisan law enforcement official rather than as a partisan politician. Given the apparent blatant violation in this case, I urge you to conduct an investigation into Ms. Rollins\u2019s conduct.\n\nThank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:49:02Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-demands-investigation-into-us-attorneys-apparent-violation-of-hatch-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2919490691274405, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}