Washington, D.C. — Ed Martin, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, has mostly been in the news for palling around with white supremacists lately. But he has also spent his career, including his current tenure as DC’s top prosecutor, making a mockery of the ethical and professional rules governing attorneys while threatening the rule of law in the nation’s capital and beyond.
That’s why on Wednesday, Demand Progress and Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) have filed a comprehensive complaint, more than 20 pages long, with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel for the District of Columbia Bar, laying out a myriad of actions and decisions that clash with the ethics rules governing attorneys by Martin, who calls his public office “President Trumps’ [sic] lawyers.”
Emily Peterson-Cassin, director of corporate power at Demand Progress, said, “Ed Martin’s long, documented history of clumsily playing politics with the rule of law should disqualify him from becoming the top prosecutor in the nation’s capital or anywhere else. Considering his shameless misbehavior, both early in his career and now as interim U.S. attorney, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see his conduct compromising the government’s own prosecutions or even leading to the spectacle of his disbarment.”
Freedom of the Press Foundation Director of Advocacy Seth Stern said “Martin’s habit of sending bogus letters and tweets to intimidate people exercising First Amendment rights, and his threats to target news outlets President Trump dislikes, should disqualify him not just from serving as U.S. Attorney but from practicing law. Even if he isn’t confirmed for the permanent U.S. attorney role, he should not be able to trade on his shameful interim tenure to find a cushy law firm job and further embarrass the legal profession and damage the rule of law.”
Martin’s shady behavior detailed in the complaint includes, among other things, frivolous threats against critics of Trump and Elon Musk, baseless partisan investigations into constitutionally protected statements by Democratic lawmakers and public threats, made without legal basis or probable cause, to investigate targets whom he acknowledges have committed no crime.
The complaint also discusses his lack of credibility and candor while under oath during the U.S. Senate confirmation process for his U.S. attorney nomination, which includes his misleading turnabout on his disturbing connections to Nazi sympathizers and his pattern of failing to disclose hundreds of appearances on far-right and Russian-controlled media outlets. It lays out Martin’s history of serious lapses in ethical and professional judgment outside the national spotlight, as an attorney and politician in Missouri, to show that Martin’s disregard for the integrity of his profession is a longstanding problem that is unlikely to change.
The complaint asks the Disciplinary Counsel to investigate Martin’s conduct and to impose sanctions up to and including disbarment. It also urges the D.C. Bar to act promptly given the ongoing serious threat Martin’s ability to practice law poses, not just to the legal profession but to our democracy.
For further comment, please contact Eric Naing at [email protected] or Stern at [email protected].