Former government lawyer disbarred after child porn conviction

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The Maryland Supreme Court on Monday disbarred David Andrew Edelstein of Bethesda, a former lawyer for the U.S. Government Accountability Office who pleaded guilty in December 2023 to two charges related to child pornography.

Edelstein agreed to a deal with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, which had originally charged him with two felonies and 10 misdemeanors; he pleaded guilty to the two felonies and prosecutors dropped the misdemeanor charges.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but appears not to have had to go to jail after his guilty plea. All but two days of that sentence were suspended, and he received credit for two days of time served. He also received five years of probation and has to be registered as a Tier II sex offender for 25 years.

Edelstein consented to his disbarment. He and the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission filed a joint notice of disbarment by consent on Friday. The joint notice states that his consent was “freely and voluntarily rendered,” and that he is “fully aware of the implications and effects of submitting his consent to disbarment.”

He was fired from his job at the GAO after he was arrested in July 2023, Law360 reported.

Edelstein’s criminal defense attorney, Kush Arora of Price Benowitz, declined to comment, referring a reporter to the record in Maryland Judiciary Case Search.

George Mahaffey, counsel at Goodell Devries, who represented Edelstein in his disbarment case, did not respond to a request for comment on Monday. Neither did Maryland Bar Counsel Tom DeGonia.

The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office declined to comment.

This story has been updated.