DOJ Pardon Attorney Ed Martin Faces Ethics Charges Over Coercive Letter Targeting Georgetown Law's DEI Policies

The District of Columbia's attorney disciplinary office has filed formal ethics charges against Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin, stemming from a threatening letter he sent to Georgetown University Law Center in February while serving as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. In that letter, Martin cited an unverified whistleblower claim alleging Georgetown was teaching diversity, equity, and inclusion principles, and — without waiting for any response — unilaterally imposed sanctions by barring his office from hiring Georgetown students as fellows, interns, or employees. Georgetown's then-dean, William Treanor, fired back, characterizing Martin's letter as an assault on the university's identity as a Jesuit Catholic institution. Disciplinary Counsel Hamilton 'Phil' Fox III of the D.C. Bar formally alleged in filings before the D.C. Court of Appeals' Board on Professional Responsibility that Martin's conduct violated the First and Fifth Amendments, asserting he used governmental coercion to suppress a disfavored viewpoint and compelled Georgetown to surrender its free speech and religious rights as a condition for student employment access. The charges deepened further after Martin refused to engage with the disciplinary inquiry through proper legal channels, instead sending unsanctioned ex-parte letters directly to the chief judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals — communications that were explicitly deemed improper. He allegedly pressured the judge to suspend the disciplinary counsel and dismiss the case against him, resulting in additional charges of improper ex-parte judicial contact and conduct interfering with the administration of justice. The Justice Department dismissed the D.C. Bar's actions as partisan targeting of Trump administration officials. Martin, who previously advocated for January 6 Capitol rioters and has been linked to controversial investigations including one involving New York Attorney General Letitia James, has since been removed from leading the department's Weaponization Working Group but retains his role as pardon attorney.