WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors have filed a lawsuit accusing the District of Columbia Bar of politically motivated attacks on former Trump administration attorneys through its disciplinary proceedings.
Wednesday’s federal court filing directly confronts the authority of the organization responsible for regulating attorney conduct in Washington, where multiple high-profile cases involving Trump-connected lawyers are underway.
“The D.C. Bar will no longer be permitted to probe sensitive executive branch deliberations and target executive branch officials with whom they happen to politically disagree, and federal attorneys will once again be free to share their candid legal advice with their bosses and colleagues,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, a top Justice Department official, said in a statement.
The legal action was submitted in Washington’s federal courthouse. Representatives from the D.C. Bar’s Board on Professional Responsibility did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case primarily focuses on disciplinary proceedings involving Jeffrey Clark, a high-ranking attorney in the first Trump administration Justice Department who played a significant role in legal attempts to overturn the 2020 election results that President Donald Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Last year, a disciplinary board suggested Clark should lose his legal license, but the current lawsuit aims to halt those proceedings, describing them as “unlawful” and influenced by political considerations.
Clark, who has maintained his innocence, praised the lawsuit on X Wednesday night, stating, “This is an important step to vindicate the separation of powers.”
To support allegations of prejudice in the disciplinary system, the Justice Department claimed that bar officials showed greater leniency toward former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, who admitted guilt for altering an email during the probe into connections between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign, compared to their treatment of Clark.
The legal filing also defends Ed Martin, a strong Trump supporter who currently holds the position of Justice Department pardon attorney. In March, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel charged Martin with professional misconduct over a threatening communication he sent to Georgetown Law School’s dean while serving as the top federal prosecutor for Washington last year.
During his tenure as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Martin cautioned the Georgetown dean that his office would cease hiring graduates from the private institution unless it eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Last week, the Justice Department submitted what’s called a statement of interest supporting Martin, who had previously criticized “uneven behavior” in the disciplinary system.
