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By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Justice Department official Ed Martin is facing legal disciplinary charges in Washington accusing him of leveraging his position to try to force Georgetown University's law school to halt its teaching of diversity, equity and inclusion, according to court documents filed on Tuesday.
The charges allege that a letter Martin sent vowing to sanction the school violated constitutional protections for free speech and due process, and as a result breached ethics rules requiring lawyers to support the U.S. Constitution.
Martin, the former interim U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., is now serving as the Justice Department's pardon attorney. He has faced scrutiny throughout his tenure in President Donald Trump's administration for publicizing investigations and targeting Trump's political adversaries.
A Justice Department spokesperson on Tuesday accused the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which is responsible for investigating and prosecuting attorney discipline cases in Washington, of political bias.
"The D.C. 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 spokesperson said.
The charges were filed days after the Justice Department under Trump proposed a new rule to constrain ethics investigations by states or the District of Columbia into DOJ lawyers.
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If Martin is found to have committed misconduct, he could face sanctions up to the suspension or revocation of his law license. He will have an opportunity to formally respond to the charges within 20 days.
ACCUSED OF COERCION, IMPROPER COMMUNICATION
The allegations stem from a February 2025 letter Martin wrote, while serving as interim U.S. Attorney, to the dean of Georgetown Law Center accusing the school of teaching unspecified "DEI" ideology. Martin vowed in the letter that his office would not hire anyone affiliated with the law school "until this is resolved."
"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 complaint against Martin said.
The complaint from Hamilton "Phil" Fox, the head of the D.C. office of disciplinary counsel, also charged Martin with improperly seeking to communicate directly with the chief judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals, which oversees the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and is responsible for determining any final sanction.
Martin left his post as interim U.S. Attorney in Washington after failing to garner enough support in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate to serve in the role permanently.
He was then put in charge of a Justice Department effort to investigate alleged improper uses of the legal system against Trump and his allies during the Biden administration.
He was stripped of that role in recent months after the Justice Department began scrutinizing his actions conducting mortgage fraud investigations against some of Trump's perceived political enemies.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by David Bario and Bill Berkrot)