WASHINGTON — The Division of Justice is suing the DC Bar for participating in a “blatantly partisan” effort to disbar and self-discipline present and former Trump administration attorneys, together with former official Jeffrey Clark.
Affiliate Legal professional Basic Stanley Woodward filed a criticism in federal court docket Wednesday alleging that the DC Workplace of Disciplinary Counsel and the DC Court docket of Appeals Board on Skilled Duty had been “punishing” Clark and “[w]eaponizing state bar self-discipline” towards others.
“To allow these proceedings is to permit state bar authorities to regulate the Govt Department. That isn’t the regulation,” Woodward wrote within the 25-page criticism.
The DOJ has requested the DC court docket to nullify the bar’s findings of fault towards Clark, concern an injunction towards the disciplinary board and pay federal attorneys’ charges.
“President Trump promised to place an finish to the weaponization of the authorized course of, and immediately’s lawsuit towards the D.C. Bar makes good on that promise,” Woodward added in a press release.
“The DC Bar will not be permitted to probe delicate Govt Department deliberations and goal Govt Department officers with whom they occur to politically disagree, and federal attorneys will as soon as once more be free to share their candid authorized recommendation with their bosses and colleagues.”
Appearing Legal professional Basic Todd Blanche additionally stated in a press release: “As our criticism and historical past clarify, the DC Bar has lengthy acted as a blatantly partisan arm of leftist causes. No extra.”
Clark served as assistant legal professional common on the DOJ in 2020 and offered recommendation to President Trump within the wake of the 2020 election on methods to probe doubtlessly fraudulent votes — for which the DC bar later initiated disciplinary proceedings to strip him of his regulation license.
The suggestions in a December 2020 letter from Clark included launching state-level investigations into election fraud.
A committee of the DC Bar’s Board of Skilled Duty, in an August 2024 preliminary ruling, urged that Clark’s regulation license ought to be suspended for 2 years.
That discovering was appealed to the DC Court docket of Appeals, which has but to concern a ruling.
Three former US attorneys common — together with Trump’s ex-AG Invoice Barr — submitted an amicus transient in September 2025, first reported by The Publish, noting that Clark’s authorized recommendations had been “by no means supposed to be launched publicly” and punishing him for these would “set a harmful precedent.”
In a Might 4 publish on X, Clark indicated that the DC Bar’s method used towards him may very well be weaponized towards different DOJ officers, comparable to Blanche.
Members of the DC Bar named within the DOJ’s submitting included Hamilton Fox and Jack Metzler, the latter of whom “posted dozens of ideological messages demonstrating his and the Workplace of Disciplinary Counsel’s bias and poor judgment,” Woodward wrote.
Amongst these had been statements claiming it was “unethical to interact with anti-vaxxers and individuals who declare there’s a debate about birthright citizenship,” each of which have been points taken up by Trump’s DOJ, the submitting famous.
Former interim DC US Legal professional Ed Martin, who now oversees pardons on the DOJ, has additionally been focused by the DC Bar for merely sending a letter to Georgetown College Regulation College for selling Variety, Fairness, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in its coursework.
Reps for the DC Bar didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
