Escalation: DOJ Supports Martin Amid Lawsuit Against D.C. Bar

The Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit in Washington challenging the D.C. Bar’s disciplinary authority over Trump-era federal attorneys. It seeks to halt the disciplinary case against Jeffrey Clark and curb bar probes of executive branch deliberations as politicized.

The filing also backs Ed Martin, now the department’s pardon attorney. Disciplinary counsel charged him in March over a letter he sent as interim U.S. Attorney for D.C. warning Georgetown Law’s dean his office would not hire the school’s students if its DEI programs stayed in place.

The department argues D.C. disciplinary bodies lack authority to judge whether federal officials’ on-the-job acts comply with the Constitution or their oaths. It also points to disparate treatment, saying bar authorities went easier on former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith than on Clark.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources