FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Ed Martin, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, has mostly been in the news lately for palling around with white supremacists. But he has also spent his career, including his current tenure as D.C.’s interim 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) 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.”
News broke on Thursday that President Donald Trump will pull Martin’s nomination for the permanent U.S. attorney post, but Trump said he still plans to find a place for Martin at the Department of Justice.
Emily Peterson-Cassin, director of corporate power at Demand Progress, said, “Ed Martin is a grave threat to civil liberties and the rule of law, so any news indicating that he will no longer be President Trump’s legal point man in D.C. is good news for the nation. But this threat is far from over. Martin’s long, documented history of shamelessly playing politics with the rule of law should disqualify him from working anywhere in government, let alone the Justice Department. We call on President Trump to keep Martin far away from any position of power, especially one that requires sound legal judgment, and nominate someone for U.S. attorney for D.C. that actually respects the rule of law and Americans’ constitutional rights.”
Freedom of the Press Foundation Director of Advocacy Seth Stern said, “Martin’s antics, including his 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 from practicing law, full stop. We’re relieved that he won’t get the U.S. attorney job, but he should not be able to work for the government in any capacity, or to trade on his shameful interim tenure to find a cushy law firm job and further damage the legal profession.”
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 long-standing 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.
You can read the complaint here. Please contact us if you would like further comment, or contact Eric Naing from Demand Progress at [email protected]
