Trump pulls the nomination of Ed Martin for DC US Attorney after concerns of partisanship
FILE - Ed Martin speaks at an event hosted by Rep Matt Gaetz R-Fla at the Capitol in Washington June AP Photo Amanda Andrade-Rhoades File AP Amanda Andrade-Rhoades FILE - Ed Martin speaks at an event hosted by Rep Matt Gaetz R-Fla at the Capitol in Washington June AP Photo Amanda Andrade-Rhoades File AP Amanda Andrade-Rhoades WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump declared Thursday that he would pull his nomination of Ed Martin Jr to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation s capital bowing to bipartisan concerns about the conservative activist s modest legal experience divisive politics and advocacy for Jan rioters Instead the president explained Martin will be tapped as an associate deputy attorney general and pardon attorney putting him in the position of recommending pardons for a slew of defendants involved in the violent insurrection at the Capitol on Jan When he returned to office in January Trump granted sweeping pardons and commutations of all people charged with crimes in connection with the riot or vowed to dismiss their cases In his new role Martin will also be director of the weaponization working group at the Justice Department That group was created in February to investigate the work of former special counsel Jack Smith who led two federal prosecutions of Trump that were ultimately dismissed and other instances during the administration of former President Joe Biden that Republicans say unfairly targeted conservatives In these highly fundamental roles Ed will make sure we eventually investigate the Weaponization of our Governing body under the Biden Regime and provide much needed Justice for its casualties Trump wrote in a social media post Thursday evening On the social media platform X Martin posted Eagle Unleashed Trump abandoned his pick to lead the nation s largest U S Attorney s office two days after a key Republican senator explained he could not endorsement Martin for the job due to his defense of rioters who stormed the Capitol more than four years ago Later Thursday Trump reported that Fox News host Jeanine Pirro a former county prosecutor and elected judge will be the interim top federal prosecutor for Washington D C He s a terrific person and he wasn t getting the assistance from people that I thought Trump reported reporters in the Oval Office when requested about the status of Martin s confirmation He signaled he had little maximum to call on-the-fence senators to lobby them I can only lift that little phone so multiple times in a day Within minutes of Trump s announcement Martin jokingly posted a doctored image of himself on social media dressed in papal garments with the words Plot twist alluding to the current news that a new pope has been elected to lead the Catholic Church Martin has served as acting U S Attorney for the District of Columbia since Trump s first week in office But his hopes of keeping the job faded amid questions about his qualifications and background including his promotion for Jan rioters Martin has stirred up a chorus of critics during his brief but tumultuous tenure in office He fired and demoted subordinates who worked on politically sensitive cases He posted on social media about prospective targets of investigations And he forced the chief of the office s criminal division to resign after directing her to scrutinize the awarding of a executive contract during Democratic President Joe Biden s administration Martin s temporary appointment is due to expire on May North Carolina Republican Sen Thom Tillis revealed Tuesday that he wouldn t patronage Martin s nomination Tillis a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee disclosed his opposition stemmed from Martin s defense of rioters who breached the Capitol on Jan Other Republicans seemed likely to oppose Martin s nomination as well In response to a committee questionnaire Martin initially failed to disclose that he made over appearances on the Russian government-funded RT and Sputnik networks before he took office He later included them in a follow-up letter Dozens of former prosecutors from the office publicly opposed Martin s nomination In a letter to the committee more than office veterans described him as an affront to the singular pursuit of justice for which this Office has stood for more than two centuries Martin also had particular prominent supporters including Elon Musk Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump Jr His backers touted his record of fighting for conservative causes and his efforts to reduce violent crime in Washington Martin was a leading figure in Trump s Stop the Steal movement He spoke at a rally in Washington on the eve of the Capitol riot He represented three Jan defendants and served on the board of the nonprofit Patriot Freedom Project which reports raising over million to encouragement riot defendants In office Martin oversaw the dismissals of hundreds of Jan cases after Trump pardoned defendants commuted sentences or vowed to throw them out Martin also ordered an internal review of prosecutors use of a felony charge against hundreds of Capitol rioters directing employees to hand over files emails and other documents Martin s opponents also homed in on his community praise for a Capitol riot defendant Timothy Hale-Cusanelli who openly espoused white supremacist and antisemitic ideology and photographed himself sporting a Hitler mustache He referred to Hale-Cusanelli as a friend who is an extraordinary guy Martin recounted committee members that he condemns Hale-Cusanelli s hateful comments as abhorrent and deplorable He claimed he didn t learn about them until after he presented him with the award during an event at Trump s golf club in Bedminster New Jersey Martin practiced law in Missouri but never worked as a prosecutor or tried a affair before Trump appointed him in January Martin chaired the Missouri Republican Party before becoming president of conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly s Eagle Forum in April He co-authored a book about Trump with Schlafly who died in Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed reporting Source
