Ed Martin faces disciplinary probe over letter to Georgetown

U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin is facing disciplinary action after he sent a letter to Georgetown University threatening legal action if it did not end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.

The Tuesday filing also indicates Martin repeatedly sought to evade action from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, sidestepping its letters and seeking intervention from a judge even after she rebuffed him. He also tried to get the head of that office suspended.

The move is the latest admonishment for Martin, a one-time U.S. attorney nominee who failed to advance in the Senate amid a string of controversies and who was more recently removed from his post as head of the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group.

Martin last February sent a letter to the school saying he would not hire any interns or attorneys from Georgetown, later escalating that threat by saying failure to respond would “bear directly” on its nonprofit status.

“Mr. Martin knew or should have known that, as a government official, his conduct violated the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States,” wrote Hamilton Fox, the disciplinary counsel for D.C., who has a quasi-prosecutorial role in overseeing attorney conduct.

“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,’” he added, noting that Martin never defined the term in his correspondence to the university.

The letter ignites professional conduct hearings for Martin that could ultimately result in sanctions or the loss of his law license.

The Justice Department suggested the move was politically motivated.

“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,” a spokesperson for the department said in a statement.

However, the letter from Fox indicates multiple efforts to contact Martin ahead of launching the proceedings.

As early as March of last year, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel acted on a complaint made about Martin’s conduct, asking him to respond in writing the following month.

Instead, Martin wrote a letter to the judges of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over bar issues, and also alerted the White House.

“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.’ He copied the White House Counsel ‘for informational purposes because of the importance of getting this issue addressed,’” Fox explained.

Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby declined the meeting and alerted Fox’s office to the request.

Shortly thereafter, Martin asked Blackburne-Rigsby to suspend Fox and investigate him.

Fox noted that conduct, too, violates D.C.’s Rules of Professional Conduct, as attorneys are prohibited from communicating with a judge about their disciplinary matters.

Martin has also faced internal pushback over other actions he’s taken, including his efforts to investigate mortgage fraud.

The Justice Department took the remarkable step of launching a grand jury in Maryland to evaluate whether Martin improperly deputized figures outside DOJ to help with probes into Trump foes Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D). 

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