Meet Trump’s New Federal Prosecutor in Blue Massachusetts
"I’m a prosecutor, not a politician," insists longtime Cambridge resident Leah Belaire Foley.
Portrait by Ken Richardson / Backdrop: “The Boston Panels” (1998) by Ellsworth Kelly
Less than three months into her tenure as Massachusetts’ top federal prosecutor, newly minted U.S. Attorney Leah Belaire Foley (and No. 70 Most Influential Bostonian of 2025) isn’t playing around. The legal eagle, who’s called the People’s Republic of Cambridge home for two decades, has wasted no time establishing her agenda: drug pushers, sex traffickers, and immigration offenders beware. Now, in her first one-on-one interview since taking office this January, Foley reveals her four-year game plan, what it’s like being Trump’s pick in a deep-blue stronghold, and unexpectedly divulges a teenage Bourbon Street story you won’t find in her Department of Justice bio.
I don’t think I really do, and I think that’s what made me an effective prosecutor. I don’t really feel like you have to, especially when you work with victims of sex trafficking or drug trafficking. I think it’s good to be empathetic. I know what it does to communities and the people who become addicted to drugs. I believe that being a passionate prosecutor makes you a more effective one.
Have you always been a rule follower and a law-and-order person?
Yes.
So you’ve always followed the rules and colored within the lines?
No. I would be lying if I said that. I was “a precocious daughter,” as my mother would often say. I wanted to be playing football with the boys in the yard rather than playing with Barbies with my cousins. When I was seven years old, I wanted to play T-ball because my brother and all of his friends played. My dad took me to sign me up. We lived in a small town, and he was chatting with the person who was recording the names. The guy asked my dad, “Where’s your son?” And he said, “He’s not playing. My daughter is.” The guy stared at him for a couple of minutes and then signed me up, so I was the only girl on the boys’ T-ball team, because we didn’t have a girls’ T-ball team.
In your career as a prosecutor, do you feel like there’s anything you got wrong in retrospect?
No. I couldn’t say that. If you’re asking me if I charged something wrong or failed to charge something, nothing comes to mind. There was one particular trial that I did where the defendant was charged with trafficking fentanyl and causing the overdose death of a female. The jury found him guilty of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl but did not hold him accountable for her death. And I can say that I had many sleepless nights after that, trying to figure out if there was something we could’ve done differently to change that verdict.
In the first Trump administration, you were short-listed for the position you now have. What did it feel like not getting the job?
Well, no one likes losing, but it’s sort of a mixed blessing. I love my job, and it allowed me to work for another seven years on the important and righteous cases that I believe help protect the community and make the community stronger. I believe that made me an even wiser leader for this job, and, in retrospect, I have no regrets.
With respect to drug trafficking, what would you pinpoint as the biggest problem? I know it’s complex, but is there one thing that you can point to?
It’s not a simple problem, and it needs a multifaceted solution, but I believe it could start with holding countries like Mexico, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic accountable. Making them do their jobs. Holding China accountable for all of the fentanyl precursor they produce. If those countries worked harder at containing their criminal organizations, I think we’d see fewer drugs here. That said, if you don’t reduce the demand and have treatments to help a lot of people, then there’s nothing anyone on our side of the aisle can do that will move the needle.
In sex trafficking cases, do you sympathize with accomplices who are also often victims?
Oh, of course, and there are so many times that we discuss ahead of indictment whether to charge certain women who participated or conspired with a leader to either organize or recruit victims. It is very rare when we charge a woman who was once a victim, because we understand that a lot of times, they’re an accomplice under duress or because they have no other choice. We always take into consideration whether a person has also been victimized prior to committing a crime in deciding whether to charge that person or not.
Portrait by Ken Richardson
I’m a prosecutor, not a politician. I’ve lived in Cambridge for 20 years, so I’ve always kind of felt like I’m in the minority when it comes to my political views, but I also know from those 20 years that with some of my closest friends, we have very little commonality when it comes to politics. The same thing is true for this office. I don’t know what the politics are of most of my colleagues, because that’s not the job. It’s our passion for seeking justice and serving the people.
Any thoughts on former ICE director and current “border czar” Tom Homan’s warning to the Boston police chief that he’s “bringing hell”?
No. We work hand-in-hand with law enforcement across the commonwealth. I saw a brief snippet of it, but I don’t know what the context was or what provoked the comment. I do appreciate that he’s trying very hard to collaborate with everyone in law enforcement so that his agents can do their jobs effectively and safely.
What would you say is the single biggest problem right now in the criminal justice system?
Hmm…that’s kind of a loaded one. I just don’t really see my job as trying to identify what the problems are. I see my job as trying to pursue justice fairly and make sure that the perception of the public is that we pursue justice fairly and without bias. I think sometimes specific arrests or investigations can lead people to believe that law enforcement and prosecutors are part of the problem rather than the solution, and that is bothersome to me because I’ve worked so closely with federal and state law-enforcement officers over the years, and every single time, the day before they do a take-down, I pray that nothing happens to them.
The term of your predecessor Rachael Rollins ended with an ethics scandal. Do you feel like your office needs to make efforts to rebuild credibility and trust?
I think Josh Levy did a great job in rebuilding that credibility and trust, and I plan to continue down that same path.
Are there particular things you’re excited to implement?
Yes, you know, I think the priorities of the administration will benefit Massachusetts residents as a whole. We’re definitely going to be focusing on targeting predators on the streets, especially predators who victimize vulnerable members of our community. Drug trafficking and violent crime in certain areas of the state go hand-in-hand, and we’re definitely targeting those organizations. I believe it’s about making all communities safe in Massachusetts, not just the select ones that have the privilege of not living in high crime areas. I think it’s exciting when we work together with our state and local law-enforcement partners to focus on making all communities safer for everyone.
What’s the most illegal thing you’ve ever done?
Well, I grew up in Louisiana when the drinking age was 18, and I can guarantee you I was not 18 the first time I was on Bourbon Street. Also, anybody who knows me knows I drive very fast. I’m gonna have to knock on wood.
Foley at a US District Court media roundtable in February. / Photo by Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
The Varsity Blues scandal exposed corruption at elite colleges and universities. Do you think things like that, or white-collar crime in general, are as big a concern as street crime?
I do. I have two boys, one of whom just went through the college application process, and it’s infuriating to people to think that there’s a back door that’s only available to a select population. While I can’t say that financial crimes or fraud have the same impact on victims as violent crime, it has to do with making sure that everyone in America has faith in its institutions, knowing that my office and others are going to go after people who are victimizing others.
What trial from history would you most like to have witnessed or prosecuted?
I think the trials after World War II, in Nuremberg. You can listen to some of them, but I think it would’ve been an extraordinary opportunity to witness or participate in them. When you’re prosecuting predators and murderers, I think that’s where every prosecutor feels the most pride.
You live in a place where biotech and healthcare are two of the biggest industries. With fraud cases, how do you distinguish between aggressive business practices and actual criminal behavior in such complex industries?
They’re also some of the most regulated industries, so I think there are times you can start investigating when you think something is just not right, but it becomes clear whether it was an accounting error or someone intended to defraud people. Our success here in Massachusetts is a testament to the long and in-depth investigations that the healthcare fraud unit engages in. I think we can stand on our record.
Your job is clearly stressful. What do you do to decompress?
I love to garden and cook. I recently started making my own hot sauce, which I distribute throughout the office with warning labels on it because it’s extremely hot. I love watching football. I take my dog to the park. I love hanging out with my friends, and Irish bars are high on my list of favorite things to do.
Best perk of the job?
The parking space downstairs. [Laughs.] That, and the fact that for my entire career, I’ve been in one unit, but now I have the opportunity to learn about and assist prosecutions brought in by all the other different units. It’s amazing how much great work they’re doing. The incredible dedication that all the prosecutors in this office have for the cases they’re bringing is absolutely the best.
You have a very cool office in a really amazing location. When you leave, are you more likely to head to the Seaport or the Waterfront/North End?
I love the Seaport. There are lots of great places, and I have a lot of friends who work nearby. Especially for celebrating a trial victory, we usually go very close by. But if I don’t stick around here, there’s one place in Watertown that you’ll most likely be able to find me: Donohue’s Bar and Grill. During football season, the owner reserves a seat for me at the bar and puts the Saints game on.
What’s the main thing that people don’t understand but need to about the U.S. Attorney’s office or its function?
That we’re not a political office. We don’t operate to forward any agenda. The people in this office are here because they’re passionate about making sure that justice is sought and pursued. That’s our guiding principle.
What three attributes would you use to describe your leadership style?
I’m very direct. When people ask me a question, I answer it honestly. I’m also open to considering alternate viewpoints, and I believe I’m very approachable, even when people know that I’m going to disagree with them. They know they can still approach me and make a pitch and that I’ll value their input. The key to making sure that people get up and come to work every day because they love this job is that you give them discretion and value their opinions.
By the Numbers
Beyond a Reasonable Count
Five numbers you need to know about Massachusetts’ U.S. Attorney’s Office federal prosecutors.
60 million
Amount, in dollars, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts collected from the civil and criminal cases it prosecuted in fiscal year 2024.
2
Number of life sentences (plus five years) Whitey Bulger received in 2013.
30
Number of charges Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faced for the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.
51
Number of defendants who pleaded guilty or were convicted in the high-profile “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal of 2019, out of 55.
161
Number of pages in the Inspector General’s 2023 report detailing alleged misconduct by former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins.
This article was first published in the print edition of the April 2025 issue with the headline: “The Prosecutor Next Door.”
Previously
- They Tried to Silence Her COVID Origin Theory. Now Even the CIA Agrees with Alina Chan.
- This City Councilor Is Boston’s Brightest Rising Political Star
- The Interview: Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell
