Lawyers Defending American Democracy (LDAD) and a coalition of distinguished legal scholars, former judges, and members of the bar have filed an ethics complaint with the District of Columbia Bar seeking an investigation into Drew C. Ensign, a senior Justice Department immigration official, for alleged professional misconduct in multiple high-profile federal immigration cases.
LDAD alleges that Ensign, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Immigration Litigation, violated his core ethical duties, including the duty of candor to the court, honesty, asserting non-frivolous claims, competence, fairness to opposing parties, supervisory responsibility, and promoting the administration of justice.
In joining as a signer to the ethics complaint, former federal prosecutor and Special White House Counsel Ty Cobb stated: “Government attorneys are not exempt from the ethical rules that govern the legal profession and, because of the oath they take, their obligations are even more sacred. Accountability is essential to maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice.”
LDAD’s complaint draws on publicly available court filings, judicial opinions, and other public records from several major immigration cases, including litigation involving Venezuelan migrants deported under the Alien Enemies Act, the deportation and detention of Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, and the attempted deportation of unaccompanied Guatemalan children.
Those records show that Ensign made, or oversaw attorneys who made, false or misleading representations to courts, failed to comply with discovery obligations and court orders, and bore supervisory responsibility for misconduct by subordinate attorneys.
The complaint highlights the ethical obligations of federal attorneys who, like all lawyers, serve both as advocates for their clients and as officers of the court and it raises concerns about whether those obligations were upheld in several closely watched cases.
Scott Harshbarger, chair of Lawyers Defending American Democracy and a former two-term Attorney General of Massachusetts, noted, “Every lawyer – including government lawyers – has a duty to tell the truth to the courts and uphold the integrity of the justice system. This complaint asks the D.C. Bar to investigate serious allegations that go to the heart of the rule of law.”
LDAD alleges that Ensign, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Immigration Litigation, violated his core ethical duties, including the duty of candor to the court, honesty, asserting non-frivolous claims, competence, fairness to opposing parties, supervisory responsibility, and promoting the administration of justice.
In joining as a signer to the ethics complaint, former federal prosecutor and Special White House Counsel Ty Cobb stated: “Government attorneys are not exempt from the ethical rules that govern the legal profession and, because of the oath they take, their obligations are even more sacred. Accountability is essential to maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice.”
LDAD’s complaint draws on publicly available court filings, judicial opinions, and other public records from several major immigration cases, including litigation involving Venezuelan migrants deported under the Alien Enemies Act, the deportation and detention of Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, and the attempted deportation of unaccompanied Guatemalan children.
Those records show that Ensign made, or oversaw attorneys who made, false or misleading representations to courts, failed to comply with discovery obligations and court orders, and bore supervisory responsibility for misconduct by subordinate attorneys.
The complaint highlights the ethical obligations of federal attorneys who, like all lawyers, serve both as advocates for their clients and as officers of the court and it raises concerns about whether those obligations were upheld in several closely watched cases.
Scott Harshbarger, chair of Lawyers Defending American Democracy and a former two-term Attorney General of Massachusetts, noted, “Every lawyer – including government lawyers – has a duty to tell the truth to the courts and uphold the integrity of the justice system. This complaint asks the D.C. Bar to investigate serious allegations that go to the heart of the rule of law.”
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