WASHINGTON (AP) — Georgetown Law School's dean on Thursday rebuffed an unusual warning from the top federal prosecutor for Washington, D.C., that his office won't hire the private school's students if it doesn't eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Dean William Treanor told acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin that the First Amendment prohibits the government from dictating what Georgetown's faculty teach or how to teach it.
“Given the First Amendment’s protection of a university’s freedom to determine its own curriculum and how to deliver it, the constitutional violation behind this threat is clear, as is the attack on the University’s mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution,” Treanor wrote in a letter addressed to Martin.
Martin's exchange with the dean isn't the first time that the conservative activist has used his office as a platform for parroting the political priorities of the Republican president who gave him the job in January.
Martin, who refers to himself as one of President Donald Trump's attorneys, roiled his office by firing and demoting attorneys who prosecuted Trump supporters for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Martin promoted Trump's baseless claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election and represented Jan. 6 riot defendants before taking office.
His “letter of inquiry” to Georgetown also dovetails with Trump's agenda. On his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order ending DEI programs in the federal government.
In a letter dated Feb. 17 but emailed to the dean on March 3, Martin said a whistleblower informed him that Georgetown Law School "continues to promote and teach DEI."
“This is unacceptable,” he wrote.
Martin warned the dean that his office wouldn't consider any Georgetown law students for jobs, summer internships or fellowships until his “letter of inquiry” about DEI programs is resolved.
Treanor said Georgetown was “founded on the principle that serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical, and spiritual understanding.”
“Your letter challenges Georgetown’s ability to define our mission as an educational institution,” he wrote.
Treanor closed the letter by writing, “We look forward to your confirming that any Georgetown-affiliated candidates for employment with your office will receive full and fair consideration.”
Also on Thursday, Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in Washington to investigate their "grave concern" that Martin may have engaged in professional misconduct since taking office. In a letter to the office, the senators accused Martin of repeatedly abusing his position, including by "using the threat of prosecution to intimidate government employees and chill the speech of private citizens."
“Mr. Martin’s conduct not only speaks to his fitness as a lawyer; his activities are part of a broader course of conduct by President Trump and his allies to undermine the traditional independence of Department of Justice investigations and prosecutions and the rule of law,” the senators wrote.
A spokesperson for Martin's office wouldn't comment on the Georgetown letters and didn't respond to a separate request for comment on the senators' letter.