Department of Justice Oversight

An ethics complaint filed by the D.C. Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility alleges interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin used his office to pressure Georgetown Law—sending a letter demanding information about its DEI practices, threatening hiring sanctions, and engaging in unauthorized ex parte communications and alleged interference with the bar’s probe. The Justice Department called the complaint partisan, pointed to the disciplinary counsel’s past political donations and public criticism from DOJ officials, and Martin — who is also reportedly under a federal grand jury investigation into alleged improper disclosure of grand jury materials and has been demoted inside the Trump administration — has not publicly commented.