DOJ's Ed Martin faces ethics charges over threatening letter

The bureau that polices lawyer misconduct successful Washington, D.C., has filed morals charges against Justice Department pardon lawyer Ed Martin, aft Martin past twelvemonth sent a threatening missive to the Georgetown University Law Center that raised questions astir its diverseness and inclusion policies portion helium was serving arsenic interim U.S. attorney, according to tribunal filings made nationalist Tuesday.

In a Feb. 17 missive to the instrumentality school, Martin told assemblage officials that a whistleblower claimed Georgetown was teaching DEI and asked astir the practice. Without waiting for a response, helium told the schoolhouse helium was imposing sanctions by instructing his bureau unit not to employment immoderate students from the schoolhouse arsenic fellows, interns oregon employees astatine the U.S. attorney's bureau successful Washington, D.C.

In the filings, D.C. Disciplinary Counsel Hamilton "Phil" Fox of the D.C. Bar alleged that Martin's behaviour arsenic a authorities authoritative violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by making demands that the instrumentality schoolhouse alteration what it teaches students and however it teaches them.

"Acting successful his authoritative capableness and speaking connected behalf of the government, helium utilized coercion to punish oregon suppress a disfavored viewpoint, the teaching and promotion of DEI," the tribunal filing says. "He demanded that Georgetown Law relinquish its escaped code and spiritual rights successful bid to get a benefit, employment opportunities for its students."

In a statement, the Justice Department accused the D.C. Bar of being a partisan organization.

"The DC bar's effort to people and punish those serving President Trump portion refusing to analyse oregon enactment against existent ethical violations that were committed by Biden and Obama medication attorneys is simply a wide denotation of this partisan organization's agenda," the connection said.

Martin did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Martin's little tenure astatine the U.S. attorney's bureau was riddled with controversy, successful ample portion implicit his anterior engagement with advocating for the rioters who stormed the Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021.

He started the relation arsenic President Trump took bureau and issued sweeping pardons to each of those who participated successful the attack. He besides presided implicit firings, demotions and violated Justice Department norms repeatedly by sending threatening letters to members of Congress and different institutions, including Georgetown.

After it became wide helium could not triumph capable votes for confirmation successful the Republican-controlled Senate, Martin was replaced arsenic U.S. lawyer by Jeanine Pirro and fixed different jobs astatine the department, including pardon lawyer and main of Attorney General Pam Bondi's weaponization moving group.

On his mode retired the doorway from the U.S. attorney's office, helium announced to his full unit that helium was nether probe by the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel without elaborating connected the details.

Martin has since been stripped of his rubric presiding implicit the weaponization moving group, but helium remains connected unit astatine DOJ arsenic its pardon attorney.

In:

• United States Department of Justice