DOJ's Ed Martin faces ethics charges from disciplinary office over threatening letter to Georgetown University

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Source: CBS

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 filings made in the D.C. Court of Appeals' Board on Professional Responsibility dated Friday, 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."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doj-ed-martin-ethics-charges-disciplinary-office-georgetown-university/

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1. Trump ally and Justice Dept official Ed Martin is under ethics review

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2. this is a very, very stupid man

stupid fills all positions of power under trump

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3. MaddowBlog-Justice Department's Ed Martin faces disciplinary proceedings from the D.C. Bar

Last month, Martin was demoted and sidelined within the administration. If he thought that was the worst of his troubles, he’s now learning otherwise.

Last month, Ed Martin was demoted and sidelined within the administration.

But if he thought that was the worst of his troubles, he’s now learning otherwise.

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-03-10T17:23:22.930Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/justice-departments-ed-martin-faces-disciplinary-proceedings-from-the-d-c-bar

Over the past year or so, far-right activist Ed Martin has served in a variety of capacities on Donald Trump’s team, including a failed tenure as the director of the Justice Department’s “Weaponization Working Group” and his ongoing work as the president’s pardon attorney...

While federal prosecutors tend to focus resources on matters of law enforcement (since that is their job), Martin decided to launch a bizarre attack on academic freedom, targeting a private Catholic institution for unexplained reasons, telling the law school dean that Georgetown graduates would be locked out of potential jobs in the U.S. attorney’s office if the university taught or used “diversity, equity and inclusion” — which went undefined in his letter.

One year later, MS NOW confirmed that Martin is facing an ethics investigation from the D.C. Bar over his wildly unnecessary campaign against Georgetown Law.

Bloomberg Law also reported on the developments:

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel — the enforcement arm for the local DC Bar — alleges that Martin violated ethics rules in early 2025 by making threats against Georgetown University Law Center. … According to a petition from the office, Martin violated the local rules for lawyers by demanding that Georgetown Law change what it teaches students. […]

The office also alleges that Martin attempted to interfere with its investigation of his conduct related to Georgetown Law.

Martin, a key figure in the “Stop the Steal” movement in 2020, hasn’t yet commented on the investigation, though it’s worth emphasizing that this is not his only ongoing headache. MS NOW also reported in the fall that a federal grand jury is investigating whether Martin illegally shared sensitive grand jury information while the administration targeted some of the president’s perceived political enemies.

Last month, Martin was demoted and sidelined within the administration, but if he thought that was the worst of his troubles, he’s now learning otherwise. Watch this space.