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Georgetown law school dean clobbers Trump-loving US attorney's DEI griping | Opinion


The performative attorney, Ed Martin, emailed Georgetown Law School Dean William Treanor on Monday to whine about Republicans' favorite boogeyman: diversity, equity and inclusion.

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If Democratic lawmakers were smart ‒ something that seems debatable lately ‒ they’d pay attention to the way the dean of Georgetown University's law school just took a Trump-loving U.S. attorney to the legal woodshed.

The performative attorney, Ed Martin ‒ appointed by Donald Trump as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, despite not having any prosecutorial experience ‒ emailed Georgetown Law School Dean William Treanor on Monday to whine about Republicans’ favorite bogeyman: diversity, equity and inclusion.

Martin wrote: “It has come to my attention reliably that Georgetown Law School continues to teach and promote DEl. This is unacceptable.”

US attorney shouldn't be haranguing law school to score points

Good to see our tax dollars being put to good use by a guy who promoted the big lie that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and recently referred to federal prosecutors as "President Trumps’ lawyers,” showing ignorance of both the federal justice system (U.S. attorneys are not the president’s lawyers) and the correct way to use an apostrophe in a singular possessive noun.

MAGA Martin’s email continued: “At this time, you should know that no applicant for our fellows program, our summer internship, or employment in our office who is a student or affiliated with a law school or university that continues to teach and utilize DEl will be considered.”

OK, everybody give a big round of applause to Martin for being a super-tough little bootlicker.

Democratic senators file a complaint about Martin's behavior

His enthusiasm to impress Trump since he was appointed has been so extreme that on Thursday, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee filed a formal complaint against Martin with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel at the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

They claim, among other things, he dismissed charges against a Capitol riot defendant he previously represented and used “the threat of prosecution to intimidate government employees and chill the speech of private citizens.”

Cool.

It’s clear his “I won’t hire any of ur students on account of DEI or somethin’ ” email to Georgetown was another attempt to get a pat on the head from Trump.

But the law school’s dean wasn’t having any of Martin’s nonsense.

Georgetown Law School's dean pulled no punches responding

Treanor responded Thursday: “As a Catholic and Jesuit institution, Georgetown University was founded on the principle that serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical, and spiritual understanding. For us at Georgetown, this principle is a moral and educational imperative.”

So far that sounds a lot smarter than the thing Martin wrote.

Dean points out that the First Amendment is still a thing

Treanor continued to uncork a can of Jesuit whoop-ass:

“Your letter challenges Georgetown's ability to define our mission as an educational institution. It inquires about Georgetown Law's curriculum and classroom teaching, asks whether diversity, equity, and inclusion is part of the curriculum, and asserts that your office will not hire individuals from schools where you find the curriculum ‘unacceptable.’

“The First Amendment, however, guarantees that the government cannot direct what Georgetown and its faculty teach and how to teach it. The Supreme Court has continually affirmed that among the freedoms central to a university's First Amendment rights are its abilities to determine, on academic grounds, who may teach, what to teach, and how to teach it. ...

“This is a bedrock principle of constitutional law ‒ recognized not only by the courts, but by the administration in which you serve. The Department of Education confirmed last week that it cannot restrict First Amendment rights and that it is statutorily prohibited from ‘exercising control over the content of school curricula.’ ”

Oh, snap. The dean went full “you guys already said you can’t do the thing you’re trying to do” on Martin.

Georgetown Law School dean clearly knew how to face down a bully

Treanor added that “the constitutional violation behind this threat is clear, as is the attack on the University's mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution.”

The dean concluded: “We look forward to your confirming that any Georgetown-affiliated candidates for employment with your office will receive full and fair consideration.”

That, my friends, is how you stand up to a dummy who’s trying to impress another dummy by doing something dumb. You serve up their claptrap on a platter of rock-solid facts and tell them to eat up.

Democrats need to adopt the Georgetown dean's firm approach

Congressional Democrats have thus far reacted to Trump’s tornado of insanity with a mix of supine acquiescence and mildly agitated brow-furrowing.

Treanor, on the other hand, took a transparently unconstitutional and utterly bizarre "PLEASE LOVE ME, PAPA DONALD" move and swiftly, authoritatively and confidently kicked it down the nearest Georgetown sewer grate.  

Kudos to him. Democrats should pay heed.

When dealing with the spineless, it’s best to have a spine.

Follow Paste BN columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk