After failing to secure confirmation as the top US attorney in Washington, DC, Ed Martin is now actively serving in multiple new roles inside the Justice Department that give him even more power to punish President Donald Trump’s adversaries and reward his supporters.
After the Senate torpedoed his nomination, Trump tapped Martin to serve as the director of the department’s Weaponization Working Group, which focuses on investigating officials who prosecuted Trump and to serve as the department’s lead pardon attorney, a historically nonpartisan position.
In his first few weeks on the job, Martin has already sent letters, made calls, and even visited some individuals he believes may have relevant information for his investigations into the alleged politicization of the department, according to a source familiar with this work.
On her first day in office, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo laying out how the weaponization group would focus on examining the state and federal investigations into Trump as well as the prosecutions related to the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, and other conservative causes.
Martin, the source said, is breathing new life into the effort as he takes control of the project, which has expanded to include subjects such as pardons issued by former President Joe Biden. Trump has remained fixated on the investigations he has faced and having an ally like Martin in these jobs gives him new ways to retaliate.
Martin recently sent a letter to the National Archives requesting information about White House operations under the Biden administration, the source said. He is also seeking information related to Operation Crossfire Hurricane, the code name for the investigation into links between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.
He has not sent letters to any individuals informing them they are the target of an investigation, according to the source.
Martin’s multi-hyphenate role is unusual, even for an administration that wants to upend all the usual ways of doing business at the Justice Department.
“I worked at headquarters for years. Trust me that the jobs we are talking about here are all very senior and remarkably difficult. Installing one person with limited relevant experience to do three of them at once suggests that actually doing the hard work isn’t a priority here — this is all about settling scores and nothing else,” former Obama Justice Department official and CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams said on Martin’s new roles.
During his time as interim US attorney, Martin also sought information on similar subjects, but since taking up his new position at the Justice Department, he has continued this outreach for investigations that will now consume much of his time and have the backing of the attorney general.
Martin has already signaled that even if his investigation does not result in criminal charges, he will try to “shame” individuals.
“There are some really bad actors, some people that did some really bad things to the American people. And if they can be charged, we’ll charge them. But if they can’t be charged, we will name them,” Martin told reporters at a news conference this month. “And we will name them, and in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed.”
Historically, the Justice Department has had a strict policy of not releasing details from investigations where charges were not filed. A high-profile exception to that was former FBI Director James Comey’s remarks on the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.
“This Department of Justice believes that ending the weaponization of government and restoring one tier of justice for all Americans are critical missions which Ed Martin is fighting every day to achieve,” a Justice Department spokesperson said of Martin’s role.
Failed US attorney nomination
Martin’s ascension to this new roles has raised concerns because of how he used his power as US attorney.
One of his very first actions within hours of being installed into the position was dismissing all pending January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot cases and demoting at least eight senior federal prosecutors who worked on them.
He also publicly defended Elon Musk, Trump’s head of the “Department of Government Efficiency.” Martin posted a letter online that he had written to Musk, vowing that anyone who threatened or interfered with DOGE’s missions would be investigated.
“Martin is President Trump’s favorite US Attorney,” one source familiar with his nomination process previously told CNN.
When it came time for his confirmation, however, he was unable to garner enough support from Republican senators, even after Trump personally made calls on his behalf. That prompted Trump to pull his nomination and reassign him to the Justice Department main office in roles that did not require confirmation.
Pardon attorney
As pardon attorney – Martin oversees an office and staff that are focused on vetting pardon requests that have come flooding in since his appointment.
He has also received requests from big firm lawyers, lobbyists, and grassroots individuals seeking to secure clemency for specific individuals, according to the source.
Historically, the pardon attorney is a nonpartisan position that reviews clemency applications and makes recommendations to the White House as to who should received pardons or commutations.
“The framers left no guardrails on the president’s pardon power, and for decades, it’s really gotten out of control. Nonpartisan career attorneys in the office of the pardon attorney have been the one speedbump getting in the way of presidents’ worst impulses,” Williams said. “Installing someone with no experience in clemency issues and an unabashed grudge-holding streak will be disastrous for the department.”
President Trump has historically made many clemency decisions on his own, but Martin’s arrival in the job presents an opportunity to reward his allies for what Trump alleges is a politicization of the criminal justice system with a whole office dedicated to vetting requests.
Martin has already reviewed dozens of files on requests for commutations, according to a source.
The pardon office usually employs a staff of roughly 35, but that number is down after a slew of recent departures. Martin intends to oversee a traditional paperwork process where everyone will be encouraged to submit a pardon application, according to a source familiar with his plans. If the initial application meets the threshold for consideration – there will then be another layer of review which includes background research to help inform a recommendation.
Martin recently received a visit from his longtime colleague Peter Ticktin, a Florida attorney working pardon recommendations for January 6 rioters, including one for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes. Martin accepted the documents but had not personally reviewed them as of Tuesday.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
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