The signatories of an ethics complaint against former Attorney General William Barr are urging a top D.C. Bar ethics official to overrule a decision by disciplinary counsel to not pursue their complaint, warning that not doing so could effectively provide immunity to lawyers working on national political issues, even if their conduct may violate ethics rules.

The letter to Matthew Kaiser, the chair of the Board on Professional Responsibility, comes after it was revealed that the Office of Disciplinary Counsel last year declined to open an investigation in response to the complaint against Barr. That complaint, filed by 27 attorneys including four former presidents of the DC Bar, alleged violations of ethics rules during four incidents that took place while Barr served as attorney general, including his handling of the Mueller report.