WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The office that enforces ethics standards for attorneys in the nation’s capital has accused Justice Department official of professional misconduct for a threatening letter that he sent to last year, when Martin was the top federal prosecutor for Washington, D.C.
Martin was the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia when he warned the Georgetown dean that his office wouldn’t hire the private school鈥檚 students if it didn’t eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, according to ethics charges filed last Friday by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
Martin, an ardent Trump loyalist who is now the Justice Department鈥檚 pardon attorney, is accused of violating his oath of office and the Constitution’s rights to free speech and due process. Disciplinary Counsel Hamilton Fox, who filed the ethics charges against Martin, is asking a panel of D.C. Court of Appeals officials to decide if any discipline is warranted.
Martin and an attorney representing him in the matter didn鈥檛 immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Martin has 20 days to formally respond in writing.
After Martin learned of the accusations against him last year, he sent a letter addressed to D.C. Court of Appeals judges in which he complained about Fox’s 鈥渦neven behavior鈥� and requested a 鈥渇ace-to-face meeting with all of you to discuss this matter and find a way forward,鈥� according to Fox’s filing.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche against Martin as the product of “a blatantly Democrat-run political organization.鈥� A Justice Department statement said the complaint fits a “partisan organization鈥檚 agenda鈥� to punish Trump administration officials while ignoring ethical lapses by government attorneys who worked under Democratic presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
鈥淟et us not forget that DC-barred members of Biden鈥檚 special counsel were found to have acted against President Trump without legal authority and in clear violation of the Constitution, yet the bar did nothing,” the department’s statement said.
Martin was a conservative activist with no prosecutorial experience when President Donald Trump picked him last January to lead the nation’s largest U.S. Attorney’s office. Martin was a leading figure in Trump’s 鈥淪top the Steal鈥� movement after the 2020 presidential election.
In a letter to Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor last February, Martin said a whistleblower informed him that Georgetown Law School 鈥渃ontinues to promote and teach DEI.鈥� The letter dovetailed with an executive order that Trump signed to call for ending DEI programs in the federal government.
鈥淭his is unacceptable,鈥� Martin wrote, warning the dean that his office wouldn鈥檛 consider any Georgetown law students for jobs, summer internships or fellowships until his 鈥渓etter of inquiry鈥� was resolved.
In response, Treanor told Martin that the First Amendment prohibits the government from dictating what Georgetown鈥檚 faculty teaches or how to teach it.
鈥淕iven the First Amendment鈥檚 protection of a university鈥檚 freedom to determine its own curriculum and how to deliver it, the constitutional violation behind this threat is clear, as is the attack on the University鈥檚 mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution,鈥� Treanor wrote.
Trump to keep the job on a more permanent basis after a said he could not support Martin for the job due to his for Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Last May, Trump picked Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to replace Martin as U.S. Attorney. Martin remains the Justice Department鈥檚 pardon attorney but was recently removed as head of its 鈥淲eaponization Working Group,鈥� which is tasked with scrutinizing the federal prosecutions of Trump.
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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
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