A group of Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are requesting an investigation into Washington D.C. United States Attorney Ed Martin by the group that governs the region’s legal bar.
Ranking member Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) led a group of 10 Democrats on the committee in accusing Martin of abusing his position by using prosecution as an intimidation tactic toward government employees and limiting the speech of private citizens.
“Due to the serious nature of this misconduct, we request that the Office of Disciplinary Counsel open an investigation to determine whether Mr. Martin, who is a member of the D.C. Bar, violated applicable D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct and should be subject to disciplinary action,” the group wrote.
The group, which also includes Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Chris Coons (D-DE), among others, noted several instances in which Martin may have violated conduct rules. Several of those are posts from Martin’s X account.
In one post the Democrats cited from Feb. 3, Martin expressed his support for DOGE, addressing Elon Musk, and said, “we will pursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people.”
Another post cited from Feb. 7 also concerns Musk, appearing to be in response to his complaint that there are individuals or networks threatening government employees or property. Martin wrote, “if people are discovered to have broken the law or even acted simply unethically, we will investigate them and we will chase them to the end of the Earth to hold them accountable.”
The Senate Democrats also say a program called “Operation Whirlwind” is evidence that Martin violated conduct rules. The initiative, aimed at prosecuting threats to officials at all levels, led him to send letters to Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) regarding their past statements.
Martin referenced Garcia’s comments on CNN during a House subcommittee hearing on DOGE.
“What the American public wants is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight,” Garcia said. “This is an actual fight for democracy.”
Martin said the comment “sounds to some like a threat to Mr. Musk.” As for Schumer, he referred to statements he made in 2020 following an abortion rights decision when he said that Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh “have released the whirlwind, and … will pay the price.”
Schumer later expressed regret about his comments.
“I shouldn’t have used the words I did, but in no way was I making a threat. I never — never — would do such a thing,” he said in March 2020.
Senate Democrats believe Martin’s conduct would erode public confidence if no discipline is doled out.
“When a government lawyer, particularly one entrusted with a leadership role in the nation’s
foremost law enforcement agency, commits serious violations of professional conduct, it
undermines the integrity of our justice system and erodes public confidence in it,” the Democrats wrote. “Public confidence would be further eroded if such serious misconduct is met with no consequences.”
Martin has had an adversarial relationship with D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel head Hamilton P. “Phil” Fox for allegedly targeting individuals “based on a policy or political disagreement” and said the office has been used to target Trump allies with complaints akin to “political hit squads.”
Fox is the disciplinary head for a separate arm that handles punishment for the D.C. Bar.
“Five weeks ago U.S. Attorney Martin sent a letter to the D.C. Bar asking why Senator Durbin is allowed to abuse the Bar Complaint process. His questions remain unanswered and here we go again,” a source close to Martin told the Washington Post.
Martin is a controversial figure. He defended individuals involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol storming and has fired the prosecutors who litigated against them. He hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate yet and is likely to face an uphill battle there.
TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
In a sign of Martin’s views, he most recently told the dean of Georgetown law school that he wouldn’t hire from any schools with DEI programs.
“At this time, you should know that no applicant for our fellows program, our summer internship, or employment in our office who is a student or affiliated with a law school or university that continues to teach and utilize DEI will be considered,” he told the dean.
