Considering Ed Martin’s recent tenure as the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., it seemed hard to believe he could become more contentious. Yet
a new Washington Post report
worsens the situation even further for the
hyper-partisan
Trump loyalist and former “
Stop the Steal
” organizer.
The reason why a narrative like this is so compelling is because it actually consists of three interwoven issues.
The initial point is that Martin consented to make over 150 appearances on Russian propaganda channels.
The second point concerns statements made by Martin during his televised segments: It seems the GOP attorney possessed an uncanny ability to provide insights that mirrored the Kremlin’s rhetoric. For instance, he informed one broadcaster that there was “no proof” of a significant Russian military presence along Ukraine’s frontiers just days prior to Russia crossing these boundaries and initiating conflict within Ukraine.
However, equally crucial, if not even more significant, is the third issue: When nominated for the position of U.S. attorney—one of the country’s most critical roles in prosecution—Martin had to reveal all such media engagements to the Senate Judiciary Committee. According to The Washington Post’s account, this disclosure didn’t happen right away. It should be noted that this information hasn’t been confirmed separately by WARINFO or NBC News.
“Martin’s office did not initially respond last week to questions about his appearances on RT and Sputnik, including why he did not disclose them to the Senate or whether he was compensated for them,” the Post added. The report went on to note that his spokesperson said Martin sent senators “a supplemental letter” disclosing the appearances he failed to mention earlier.
On Monday, a team consisting of ex-prosecutors from the Jan. 6 cases along with conservative lawyers
requested a disciplinary panel to look into Martin’s case
, arguing that Trump’s right-wing nominee — who has no prosecutorial experience — has a “fundamental misunderstanding of the role of a federal prosecutor.” The letter, addressed to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel at the U.S. District Court of Appeals, said Martin’s actions “threaten to undermine the integrity of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the legal profession in the District of Columbia.”
Two days later, Martin’s nomination suddenly looks even worse.
For those unfamiliar with the Missouri Republican, Martin’s “greatest hits” package features misguided and unnecessary fights with
the dean of Georgetown University’s law school
, Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer
, former President
Joe Biden
and Democratic Reps.
Robert Garcia
of California and
Eugene Vindman
During his short time in office, Martin has also:
-
demoted multiple senior officials
associated with January 6th insurrection cases; -
compared one of the accusations brought against those charged with crimes related to January 6th
into the incarceration of Japanese Americans
during World War II; -
falsely
referred to himself as one of the president’s legal representatives
; -
commented on a civil case related to the White House
, which was completely unrelated to his office; -
intervened in
a dubious Environmental Protection Agency investigation
; -
made a dubious decision in a
case involving Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida
; -
launched
the wildly unnecessary “Operation Whirlwind”
; -
also launched
The excessively pointless “Project 1512” endeavor
; -
also launched
an excessively redundant “voting transparency” division
; -
made a creepy public vow to wield his prosecutorial powers
versus those who stand in Elon Musk’s path
; -
engaged in
brazen conflict of interest
In a January 6 case, where he essentially argued both sides of a criminal matter; -
and kicked off
a radically unnecessary investigation into Jack Smith
and a law firm that gave the former special counsel pro bono legal services.
In
a piece for New York magazine
, Elie Honig recently described the lawyer as Trump’s “dangerous and ridiculous prosecutor.” Martin seems to be going out of his way to prove his many critics right.
What’s more,
The New York Times reported
that Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked the D.C. Bar’s disciplinary counsel to investigate Martin, arguing that the Trump-appointed Republican has “abused” his prosecutorial powers.
The Senate hasn’t set up a date for Martin’s confirmation hearing, which makes the timeline all the more significant. Should he fail to get confirmed by May 20th, his temporary position will end, forcing him to step down from his role at the U.S attorney’s office. Stay tuned.
This post updates our
related earlier coverage
.
This piece was initially published on
WARINFO
