We learned this afternoon that several Democratic members of the US Senate filed a Request for Disciplinary Investigation with the DC Office of Disciplinary Counsel against Interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin.
ethicking.com
Thoughts on legal ethics and law practice. Licensed in Wisconsin and Illinois, opinionated everywhere.
Thoughts on legal ethics and law practice. Licensed in Wisconsin and Illinois, opinionated everywhere.
All in Everything on Fire
Setting The Rule Of Law On Fire, Just To Watch It Burn
So I’ve added a tag to my blog, “Everything on Fire.” It may be partially self-explanatory, but I am adding it to blog entries that discuss the contempt for the rule of law held by the current federal administration, among others. I’ve gone back and tagged a few prior entries as well. I am not sure these entries will always have a specific legal ethics bent (they will, at least, touch on lawyers and law practice), but the rule of law is important and this is my blog and at least in this virtual space, I can do what I want.
Today’s entry concerns the president doing what he wants, except instead of his blog, it’s the whole country, and he’s doing a lot of things he’s not supposed to be doing. This month, he has taking retributive action against his perceived rivals, including lawyers who have sparred with him and his administration (current and past).A couple of weeks ago, he at least purported to revoke the security clearances of lawyers Mark Zaid and Norm Eisen, without any real justification or due process.
Bondi Blues
Earlier this week, and mostly along party lines, the Senate confirmed Pam Bondi to serve as the United State Attorney General.
You will note that this job is not called “Attorney General of the President,” and at least for now, the Department of Justice’s website includes this definition:
The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the Office of the Attorney General which evolved over the years into the head of the Department of Justice and chief law enforcement officer of the Federal Government. The Attorney General represents the United States in legal matters generally and gives advice and opinions to the President and to the heads of the executive departments of the Government when so requested. In matters of exceptional gravity or importance the Attorney General appears in person before the Supreme Court. Since the 1870 Act that established the Department of Justice as an executive department of the government of the United States, the Attorney General has guided the world's largest law office and the central agency for enforcement of federal laws.
Shortly after she was confirmed, Bondi issued a memo in which she seems to have announced that the Department of Justice is actually there to represent the President and his interests.
You Get A Conflict! And You Get A Conflict! Everybody Gets a Conflict!
Edward Martin, interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia, was present outside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and later defended three people charged with crimes related to the insurrection. The case against one of his clients, Joseph Padilla, was still ongoing when Trump took office and pardoned nearly everyone involved in the riots.