Over the past year or so, far-right activist Ed Martin has served in a variety of capacities on Donald Trump’s team, including a failed tenure as the director of the Justice Department’s “Weaponization Working Group” and his ongoing work as the president’s pardon attorney.
But to appreciate the Missouri Republican’s contributions, one has to look no further than Martin’s truly ridiculous work as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., which proved so controversial that GOP senators refused to confirm him to the post.
Over the course of roughly 16 weeks, Martin repeatedly proved his critics right, acting as a hyperpartisan prosecutor who appeared to abuse the powers of his office, including a weird fight exactly one year ago this week with the dean of Georgetown University’s law school.
While federal prosecutors tend to focus resources on matters of law enforcement (since that is their job), Martin decided to launch a bizarre attack on academic freedom, targeting a private Catholic institution for unexplained reasons, telling the law school dean that Georgetown graduates would be locked out of potential jobs in the U.S. attorney’s office if the university taught or used “diversity, equity and inclusion” — which went undefined in his letter.
One year later, MS NOW confirmed that Martin is facing an ethics investigation from the D.C. Bar over his wildly unnecessary campaign against Georgetown Law.
Bloomberg Law also reported on the developments:
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel — the enforcement arm for the local DC Bar — alleges that Martin violated ethics rules in early 2025 by making threats against Georgetown University Law Center. … According to a petition from the office, Martin violated the local rules for lawyers by demanding that Georgetown Law change what it teaches students. […]
The office also alleges that Martin attempted to interfere with its investigation of his conduct related to Georgetown Law.
Martin, a key figure in the “Stop the Steal” movement in 2020, hasn’t yet commented on the investigation, though it’s worth emphasizing that this is not his only ongoing headache. MS NOW also reported in the fall that a federal grand jury is investigating whether Martin illegally shared sensitive grand jury information while the administration targeted some of the president’s perceived political enemies.
Last month, Martin was demoted and sidelined within the administration, but if he thought that was the worst of his troubles, he’s now learning otherwise. Watch this space.








