New U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts targets drug crime, immigration, "No one is immune from federal prosecution"
BOSTON - New U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah Foley described herself as a lifelong prosecutor with passion and experience in drug crimes and sex trafficking, in a media roundtable on Wednesday.
Foley was appointed to her position shortly after President Trump's inauguration by the then acting Attorney General. She has worked in the Massachusetts office since 2006.
The U.S. Attorney's Office oversees all federal prosecutions – and civil cases – for the District of Massachusetts.
Strong focus on immigration
In the current second Trump presidency, that means a strong focus on immigration, Foley told reporters.
"The focus right now from DOJ is to find and remove illegal immigrants in this country who have committed crimes. And I can just say that I believe that makes communities safer, and that people should not be scared," she told reporters. "Our priorities are to go after the most dangerous criminals on the streets who are selling fentanyl, and pumping methamphetamine and cocaine into communities."
"Our priorities are going to be aligned with the Department [of Justice's], and the president's," she said.
Foley reflected on a case she worked on recently, which involved over a year of wiretapping, ending in several indictments against 35 defendants. They were "being charged with very serious drug trafficking and firearm offenses… 26 of them were here illegally," she explained. "Those are the people that the Department of Justice is talking about."
When pushed on whether the DOJ would participate in so-called "rounding up" of undocumented immigrants, Foley stressed that the priority is identifying and prosecuting dangerous criminals. For her office, that means asking ICE to keep suspects in Massachusetts long enough for her office to convict them before they are deported.
"It's no fun when you do the investigation and you get the arrest and the investigation is completed and then you can't go forward because another agency has deported the person," she explained.
Directive to prosecute local government leaders
Foley was also pushed on whether she would take a directive from President Trump to prosecute local government leaders who don't comply with his mass deportation initiative. "We investigate crimes, and we follow the information where it leads us. No one is immune from federal prosecution," she said.
Foley was asked specifically whether she would investigate Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, both of whom have been criticized for their policies to not fully comply with federal authorities when it comes to deportation.
"I disagree with Mayor Wu and Governor Healey, that all resources should not be dedicated to making our communities safer," she said. "We are not targeting anyone," she explained. "Our priorities are not to just go try to find anyone who has a different opinion than us and target them for that…our office will not be used in any way to target certain people just because their opinions are different, or for any political motivations."
Karen Read case
In hyper local news, WBZ's Kristina Rex asked Foley about the Karen Read case.
The U.S. Attorney's office in Massachusetts has been involved in the case, as confirmed by numerous pieces of evidence from a federal investigation being admitted into Read's first criminal trial. In addition, multiple experts from the federal investigation testified.
Still, despite the confirmation of a federal investigation in state court, Foley said she could not comment on the investigation.
"I cannot confirm or deny any investigation. Our hearts break for O'Keefe's family. He was a member of the law enforcement community and… It's beyond sad. The tragedy of his death. But I can't confirm or deny any federal investigation," she said.
