The office that polices attorney misconduct in Washington, D.C., has filed ethics charges against Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin, after Martin last year sent a threatening letter to the Georgetown University Law Center that raised questions about its diversity and inclusion policies while he was serving as interim U.S. attorney, according to court filings made public Tuesday.
In a Feb. 17 letter to the law school, Martin told university officials that a whistleblower claimed Georgetown was teaching DEI and asked about the practice. Without waiting for a response, he told the school he was imposing sanctions by instructing his office staff not to employ any students from the school as fellows, interns or employees at the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C.
In response, the school's now-former dean, William Treanor, told Martin, who is a devout Catholic, that his letter represented "an attack on the University's mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution."
In filings made in the D.C. Court of Appeals' Board on Professional Responsibility dated Friday and made public on Tuesday, Disciplinary Counsel Hamilton "Phil" Fox III of the D.C. Bar alleged that Martin's conduct as a government official violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by making demands that the law school change what it teaches students and how it teaches them.
"Acting in his official capacity and speaking on behalf of the government, he used coercion to punish or suppress a disfavored viewpoint, the teaching and promotion of DEI," the court filing says. "He demanded that Georgetown Law relinquish its free speech and religious rights in order to obtain 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 attempt to target and punish those serving President Trump while refusing to investigate or act against actual ethical violations that were committed by Biden and Obama administration attorneys is a clear indication of this partisan organization's agenda," the statement said.
Ed Martin speaks at an event hosted by then-Rep. Matt Gaetz at the Capitol in Washington, June 13, 2023.
AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades
Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and an attorney for Martin could not be immediately reached.
Martin's brief tenure at the U.S. attorney's office was riddled with controversy, in large part over his prior involvement with advocating for the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
He started the role as President Trump took office and issued sweeping pardons to all of those who participated in the attack. He also presided over firings, demotions and violated Justice Department norms repeatedly by sending threatening letters to members of Congress and other institutions, including Georgetown.
After it became clear he could not win enough votes for confirmation in the Republican-controlled Senate, Martin was replaced as U.S. attorney by Jeanine Pirro and given other jobs at the department, including pardon attorney and chief of Attorney General Pam Bondi's Weaponization Working Group.
On his way out the door from the U.S. attorney's office, he announced to his entire staff that he was under investigation by the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel without elaborating on the details.
The complaint against Martin alludes to actions he took in connection with that incident. It noted that when the Office of Disciplinary Counsel initially received a complaint against him last April and asked for a formal response, Martin refused to engage and instead sent an ex-parte letter to the chief judge and the senior judges of the D.C. Court of Appeals.
"In that letter, he stated that he would not be responding to Disciplinary Counsel's inquiry, complained about Disciplinary Counsel's 'uneven behavior,' and requested a 'face-to-face meeting with all of you to discuss this matter and find a way forward,'" the complaint said, adding that Martin had also copied the White House counsel's office.
Although the chief judge told Martin it was improper to meet with him ex parte — that is, without the knowledge of the other party — and that he had to communicate with the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel through the usual legal process, he repeatedly contacted the judge to complain about the investigation, the complaint alleges.
In one letter, he wrote that the judge should "not only suspend Mr. Fox immediately to investigate his conduct" but should also move to "dismiss the case against me because of his prejudicial conduct."
Because of his communications with the judge and requests to dismiss the case, Martin is now also facing charges of improperly communicating ex parte with a judge during a proceeding, and engaging in conduct that seriously interferes with the administration of justice.
CBS News previously reported earlier this year that Martin has since been stripped of his title presiding over the Justice Department's Weaponization Working Group, but he remains on staff at department as its pardon attorney.
He also previously served as a special assistant U.S. attorney tasked with helping investigate allegations of mortgage fraud against public officials.
One of the targets, New York Attorney General Letitia James, was later charged by the Justice Department in a case that was dismissed after a federal judge determined the interim U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia who secured the indictment had been unlawfully appointed.
James' attorney, Abbe Lowell, has publicly accused Martin of misconduct in that case, after he was photographed standing outside one of her properties during the investigation and shared the images on social media.
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