All articles tagged with #ed martin
Trump ally Ed Martin is leaving the Justice Department to focus on election-related legal battles ahead of the midterms; he previously led Stop the Steal and sat on a nonprofit board that aided Capitol riot defendants, signaling a sharpened political focus from a former DOJ official.
President Donald Trump announced that Ed Martin, a longtime ally who served as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. and later as pardon attorney, will leave the Justice Department to pursue “legal battles” ahead of the upcoming midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race; Martin formerly led a DOJ weaponization working group and defended Jan. 6 defendants, with praise from Attorney General Todd Blanche as his nomination faced stiff Senate scrutiny.
Trump says Ed Martin, a longtime ally who served as the DOJ's pardon attorney and interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, is leaving the department to take on outside election-related legal work for upcoming midterm and presidential elections. A controversial figure who backed election conspiracy theories and led Trump’s Weaponization Working Group before his removal, Martin’s departure follows his failed bid to be confirmed as D.C. U.S. attorney in 2025 and comes as Trump touts his role in defending elections.
A public feud erupted between Sen. Thom Tillis and pardon attorney Ed Martin after Tillis said he would oppose any Trump nominee who excused Jan. 6, a stance linked to derailing Martin’s bid to be U.S. attorney for D.C. Martin fired back with personal insults, accusing Tillis of memory issues, while Tillis asserted he’ll apply a ‘Jan. 6 litmus test’ to future nominees, illustrating how the Jan. 6 controversy continues to influence GOP personnel decisions amid broader political fighting.
The D.C. Bar has filed two ethics misconduct counts against Ed Martin, a senior DOJ official tied to the Trump administration, alleging he conducted an improper pressure campaign against Georgetown University Law Center after a February letter criticizing the school’s DEI programs. The complaint accuses him of violating his oath, engaging in unauthorized ex parte communications with a judge, and taking actions that could seriously interfere with the administration of justice. A potential sanction could be disbarment, though such proceedings are lengthy. The case grew from an ethics complaint by a retired judge and comes amid broader debates over using bar associations to scrutinize Trump-era officials; the DOJ has criticized the bar as politically motivated. Martin previously served as U.S. attorney for D.C. and later as the pardon attorney in the DOJ.
Former DOJ pardon attorney Ed Martin, a Trump ally and ex-head of the Justice Department’s weaponization working group, faces a two-count disciplinary complaint before the D.C. Bar for threats to Georgetown Law and for improper communications with a judge aimed at firing a bar official, a case that could take years and potentially impact his law license.
The D.C. Bar filed ethics charges against DOJ pardon attorney Ed Martin for a February letter to Georgetown Law that threatened sanctions over its DEI policies, alleging he used government power to punish a viewpoint and engaged in improper ex parte communications with a judge.
Ed Martin, a longtime Justice Department official aligned with the Trump administration, has been formally accused by Washington, DC’s disciplinary counsel of ethical violations related to a letter he sent to Georgetown Law criticizing its diversity initiatives and stating the DOJ would not hire graduates from the school. The complaint also alleges he improperly contacted judges directly, triggering a disciplinary process that could lead to sanctions or loss of his license. The case represents one of the first major bar-ethics actions against a high‑profile Trump-era official.
NBC News reports that Ed Martin is no longer the head of the DOJ’s weaponization working group, though he remains pardon attorney; leadership of the group is now unclear amid opposition to his appointment and new staffing, including Jeanine Pirro’s appointment as D.C. U.S. attorney, while the group continues reviewing cases related to Jack Smith, the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Bragg’s prosecutions, and other politically sensitive matters.
Top Justice Department officials demoted Ed Martin, removing him as chair of the Weaponization Working Group and relocating his office away from the attorney general. He will remain the pardon attorney but will not head high‑profile probes, pulling him from the core investigations he previously championed. The shift follows Senate concerns over his nomination and reflects a broader reallocation of DOJ power away from Martin toward other leaders in the department.
Ed Martin, the Trump-era head of the DOJ's Weaponization Working Group and former interim US attorney in DC, is expected to depart the Justice Department in coming weeks as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche curtails his power; he also served as pardon attorney, but his authority never fully materialized and his next move remains unclear.
Ed Martin, the new Justice Department pardon attorney, personally reviewed a pardon application for Stewart Rhodes, the Jan. 6 Capitol attack ringleader, amid a broader effort by conservative figures to seek clemency for Jan. 6 defendants. Martin, a controversial figure with ties to Jan. 6 defendants and a history of advocacy for their legal defense, is now serving as the first political appointee in this role, raising concerns about the politicization of the pardon process.