ED MARTIN 2

ESTB 2 25

tillis vs kirk

SEE GOP STEAL ELECTION PETERS MACHINES BS

SEE LAWFARE TRUMP2 MISSOURI

EASTMAN PARDON SCOTUS?

moved to weaponiz BS outfit DOJ

SEE GOP STEAL ELECTION GREGG P UFO WAFFLE HOUSE

see gondor pardon // CORRUPT // FAscism

doge coup musk fascism press suppression

MIZZOU AG NETWORK ALBUS PIT BULL FULTON?

KRAKEN

PULTE MORTGAGE FRAUD BS

side lined on pardons? nyt 7 26

ARTL 3 MIKE DAVIS

CNP

JOK EPOCH GAETZ VDARE AND WACKOS

PAleo cath?ATTACK POPE FRANCIS

hijacked phyllis corpse? see this f guy

ALICIA LONG BONDI BRO DC BAR COUP

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HE QUIT DOJ JOB TO DO ELECTION FUCKERY ?

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DOCKET

...Among the people now going to bat for Eastman are Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), and a coalition of former Trump attorneys who helped his 2020 election subversion effort: anti-voting lawyer Cleta Mitchell, former One America News Network reporter Christina Bobb, recently departed U.S. Department of Justice pardon attorney Ed Martin, lawyers Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, and others.

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mma

Election denial movement sets stage for chaos on Election Day and its aftermath

So-called election integrity activists are calling for Trump to declare martial law, mandate hand-counting of ballots, seize voting machines, and refuse to certify elections at a whim

Written by John Knefel & Sophie Lawton

Published 10/20/26 2:17 PM EDT

Updated 10/20/26 4:58 PM EDT

The election denial movement has spent months trying and largely failing to subvert the midterms, and now some of its major figures are articulating their plans to attempt to disrupt the vote on Election Day and sow chaos in the weeks and months that follow.

Their proposals include calling for President Donald Trump to declare martial law, sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the military to polling places, forcing officials to count ballots by hand, demanding the federal government seize voting machines, and working to stop the certification of some elections.

The main figures pushing at least one or more of the above measures include former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters, her lawyer Peter Ticktin, and conservative lawyer Cleta Mitchell, among other election denial and right-wing media figures.

These developments follow months of activity from right-wing media operatives who have pushed for the implementation of various anti-voting rights measures, many of which have been thwarted, have stalled, or never came to fruition. A MAGA media effort to convince Trump to declare a national emergency seems to be dead in the water.

Even as many of these pre-Election Day efforts have faltered, new conspiracy theories continue to emerge. Mitchell, who aided Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, has claimed without evidence that left-wing organizations are illegally harvesting ballots from nursing homes, for example.

But as the election draws near, some figures have set their sights on the day itself and what comes after.

Pushing for chaos on Election Day

Noncitizen voting is a vanishingly rare occurrence

Right-wing media figures in the election denial movement are pushing to make Election Day confusing and chaotic on the pretext of preventing noncitizen voting — a vanishingly rare occurrence.

Forcing hand-counts

Tina Peters, a hero to election deniers, and her lawyer Peter Ticktin, a personal friend of Trump’s, have been pressing Trump to attempt to force officials to hand-count ballots, sometimes instead of machines and sometimes in addition to them.

In July, Peters released a “100-Day Risk Mitigation Election Plan” that would require officials to “apply the ‘Bank-Teller Method’: independently hand-count every ballot for federal contests before certification and reconcile that count with the tabulator result.”

Then in August, Peters claimed the administration already had the “authority” to “issue immediate cybersecurity guidance and assistance to transition all counties to hand mark paper ballots,” and that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had the duty to interfere in how states use voting machines.

Peters has also allegedly met with Trump on at least two occasions since her release from prison on election-related charges — once on June 30 and again on October 5.

Ticktin, meanwhile, has taken a slightly different approach recently, acknowledging that eliminating machines at this point is not feasible. On September 29, Ticktin said, “We could still have an order that requires — not hand-counting and get rid of the machines, because there’s no time for that — but let the machines do the count, but before the count — but then let us commandeer and get the ballots. If we have the ballots, we can count them ourselves.” He added that “it would be done after the election, but before certification."

Video

Citation

From the September 29, 2026, edition of Alex Jones Live's The Alex Jones Show

Ed Martin is another proponent of this unnecessary and counterproductive measure. On Bannon’s War Room episode on October 6, Martin claimed that any election officials who want to “switch out your state and stop using the Chinese compromised machines, you can do it, and you can just ask [Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne] Mullin for the money and he can help you pay for more people, pay for hand-marked paper ballots and counters and everything else.” He also noted that “Tina Peters met with Trump” recently.

Cleta Mitchell has long been on crusade to limit the use of voting machines, and, like Peters, has demanded that Lutnick interfere in state election processes based on an incorrect interpretation of an obscure federal regulation. Mitchell said that Lutnick should order “mandatory, pre-certification manual confirmation hand counts of ballots in 5% of the precincts and central count for each jurisdiction in the country.”

Stationing ICE and other federal officers or the military at polling places

Calls for ICE or other federal officers at polling places aren’t new — Steve Bannon has been making the demand since at least August 2025 and has continued to do so throughout the midterm election cycle — but they have become more widespread. As recently as August, Bannon said: “I think ICE agents belong at polling places."

Mike Davis, a frequent guest of Bannon’s, said on September 1: “I would have ICE agents and other federal law enforcement at every polling place across America. And that should only scare away noncitizens.”

YouTube streamer Tim Pool said in July that “at the bare minimum, we expect something like we will have federal law enforcement agency at polling locations in states that do not cooperate” with the Department of Homeland Security.

Jerome Corsi, former employee of Alex Jones, took an even more extreme line in calling for Trump to send the military to polling sites under the guise of a national emergency. “Donald Trump can take control of the elections,” Corsi said on September 12. “He can have the military or National Guard go in and make sure the elections are done legitimately.” Corsi claims to have been involved in drafting a proposed “national emergency” order.

Several other right-wing pundits have endorsed the idea of having ICE at polling places over the course of the year as well, including The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro, MAGA influencer Benny Johnson, Fox News’ Jesse Watters.

The right-wing media figures plotting to sow doubt and contest results after the midterms

Declaring martial law and involving the military in recounts

Ticktin is the most vocal election denial activist to suggest that Trump invoke martial law after the midterms.

On September 19, Ticktin said during an appearance on Real America’s Voice, “Either we’re going to fix this thing before this election or we’re probably going to see martial law after this election.”

Then during an appearance on The Alex Jones Show on September 29, Ticktin said that if the election is “stolen from us because of their machines,” then Trump will “have to declare martial law.”

“I didn’t say declare martial law for the elections,” he added, “I’m saying in the event that the elections are stolen, what other options are there?”

Video

Citation

From the September 29, 2026, edition of Alex Jones Live's The Alex Jones Show

A few other prominent figures in the election denial movement have also called for Trump to declare martial law. These voices include MAGA “prophet” Julie Green and Douglas Frank, one of Ticktin’s fellow travellers.

On September 15, Green claimed that an impending declaration of martial law would lead to the mass arrests of politicians, judges, and lawyers. “It’s not just an election. There has to be a political reset,” Green said, “During the martial law it will not just be politicians tried for treason. So will judges, AGs, lawyer, prosecutors, who are against this nation."

On August 22, Frank said of Trump, “I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he declares martial law and we have the National Guard come out and we have to redo the election.”

MAGA fantasies about involving the military after the election extend beyond these calls for martial law as well. Where Corsi wanted the military to take over election systems, others in the movement have called on the military to intervene in the counting or recounting of votes.

Seizing machines or ballots

Beyond suggesting the president declare martial law, Ticktin has concocted a plan for the government to seize ballots or election machines in order to “count them ourselves” and prevent supposed fraud. Ticktin predicted on Alex Jones’ show that Trump would “seize the machines” in order to protect himself from prosecution by the Democrats if they win the House and Senate.

QAnon influencer and election denier Juan O. Savin said in an interview streamed on Rumble that any election machines with foreign components could “be seized as evidence and investigated and canceled.” Savin pushed for Trump to delay the election, but argued, “If you need the public to turn their brains on and become engaged, don't pause it then. Let it run the distance and then go seize those machines” after the election is over.

Right-wing media figures have previously supported the seizing of election materials, such as when the FBI raided election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, and when Sheriff Chad Bianco seized 650,000 ballots in Riverside County, California. Real America's Voice host Wayne Allyn Root said of Bianco’s efforts, “I guarantee you he was going to find that all or most of them are filled with fraud and filled with illegal aliens,” and called the court’s order to return the ballots “a disgrace."

Trump himself has reportedly said that he “regretted not ordering the National Guard to seize voting machines in swing states after his loss in the 2020 election,” according to The New York Times.

Pushing for Trump to delay the election

Juan O. Savin is not the only figure who has suggested Trump delay the elections in order to investigate voting machines or other election infrastructure. In an interview with David Nino Rodriguez on Rumble, former Overstock.com CEO turned election conspiracy theorist Patrick Byrne called on Trump to “delay things."

Byrne's plan includes Trump putting former U.S. Agency for International Development employee Tim Meisburger in charge of elections countrywide and making it a one-day affair in which “you have to show an ID” and “there's no technology used.” He further suggested Trump “delays them and then puts this guy in charge of the election. And he could do a national security order, do something like that, and we could have an election like they run it in Burma.”

Video

Citation

From an October 15, 2026, stream by David Nino Rodriguez uploaded to Insights 21 channel on Rumble

Demanding Trump or other officials not certify elections

In an early October interview, Juan O. Savin claimed Trump has indicated “that we're going to fight hard to not allow them to certify the election after the election for reasons that we raise between now and Election Day,” citing voting machines with foreign-made parts as the “reason."

Video

Citation

From an October 6, 2026, stream on YouTube by Michael Jaco

Later in the interview Savin referenced Byrne's conspiracy theories on election machines (Byrne suggested Trump seize the machines following the 2020 election) and asked, “How can you certify a vote that was done with uncertifiable — uncertified machines?” Savin then reiterated, “So what's Trump going to do? He can't certify the election. He lets it go forward, and let's have the food fight after the fact."

What comes next when “the core belief of the MAGA movement is we won the 2020 election.”

The election denial movement has not accomplished many of the key goals it’s set for itself. The SAVE America Act has no apparent path to become law. Trump has yet to issue a national emergency declaration or an executive order to take control of state election systems. The administration’s many efforts to uncover supposedly widespread noncitizen voting haven’t produced any tangible evidence of its existence.

These are real losses, but Trump and his media allies remain dedicated to subverting elections in the United States. As Bannon recently said to CBS News, “The core belief of the MAGA movement is we won the 2020 election." That load-bearing lie continues to animate Trump’s movement, and there is no reason to believe that it will be any different on Election Day or in the days after.

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MMA

Guests on Steve Bannon’s podcast call for Commerce Secretary Lutnick to intervene in state elections

Guests Cleta Mitchell and Ed Martin, two lawyers involved in the election denial movement, argued that voting machines are not secure. Mitchell is already pointing at Georgia, a major hub of election denial in recent years.

Written by John Knefel

Published 10/07/26

Two guests on former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast are calling for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to intervene in state election systems on the grounds that voting machines are not secure.

Cleta Mitchell and Ed Martin are both lawyers who have been involved in election denial efforts. Mitchell was on the January 2021 call when President Donald Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” votes for him to overturn the election. Martin is a former Trump Department of Justice official who claims to have worked on a “path” to get former Colorado county clerk and prominent election denial activist Tina Peters out of state prison.

Mitchell singled out Georgia’s election systems in her commentary, building on conspiracy theories that Trump concocted about vote tampering in that state following his loss in 2020. Trump’s administration has continued to pursue some of those theories, including federal agents seizing thousands of ballots and other voting records from Fulton County in January.

Appearing on Bannon’s October 6 show, Mitchell argued that the U.S. commerce secretary should intervene in state election administration, with Mitchell arguing that a 2019 national emergency declaration issued by Trump gives Lutnick “not only the authority but the duty to act” and calling for him “to order that the software in the Dominion systems in Georgia be replaced and upgraded.”

On October 1, Georgia State Election Board Executive Director James Mills sent letters to the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security asking the administration to make changes to the state’s voting machines just weeks before the upcoming midterm elections. (Mills has generally pursued aims that align with Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution explained that “there’s no indication the state’s voting machines have been tampered with during an election,” and a privacy concern raised in the letters “does not alter election results.” The only Democrat on the election board told the paper that Mills’ letters were “clearly a bad-faith attempt to set up a contest to election results that Republicans do not like.”

Video

Citation

From the October 6, 2026, edition of Real America's Voice's War Room

CLETA MITCHELL (GUEST): Well I think that one of the things that's really important is that a lot of people have said, well, the president needs to declare a national emergency for elections. Well, guess what? He already did. He did that in May of 2019. He declared that there was an emergency because foreign-owned -- it's called information and communications technology and services, and that includes election infrastructure -- manufactured in whole or in part or controlled by companies that are foreign adversaries, which includes China. And there's not a voting system in America today, an electronic voting system in America today that is not manufactured in whole or in part in China.

So the president in May of 2019 issued this emergency -- relying on the National Emergencies Act of 1976 issued an executive order ordering the Department of Commerce to promulgate regulations, which they did. The Department of Commerce regulations took effect in February of 2024, and they are the law.

And it gives Howard Lutnick, as secretary, not only the authority but the duty to act. And so here are some of the things that Secretary Lutnick can do today. And that he needs to do today.

He needs to order that the software in the Dominion systems in Georgia be replaced and upgraded, as all the other jurisdictions have done since 2022 when it was determined by Dr. Halderman that Dominion systems have nine vulnerabilities. The software was upgraded. It was to correct all of those vulnerabilities. And guess what? Georgia has yet to install the upgrades to guard against the vulnerabilities.

Secretary Lutnick should oversee that today.

...

The other thing he needs to do is, the Department of Homeland Security sent him, along with a letter that Ed is referring to -- the Department of Homeland Security doesn't have authority to mandate that states get rid of these vulnerable voting systems. But the Department of Homeland Security has created this fund -- they've created grant-funds through FEMA, they've written a mitigation plan.

All Secretary Lutnick has to do is take it and implement it. He has the authority to mandate it.

Martin similarly claimed that “Lutnick has a chance to step up and also be a player” in efforts “for states to change their election systems,” warning of “a red-hot crisis” and “a five-alarm fire” for the upcoming midterms.

Video

Citation

From the October 6, 2026, edition of Real America's Voice's War Room

ED MARTIN (GUEST): You mentioned the breaking news. There's a letter that came out a month ago and it didn't get much attention until yesterday when I was looking at it closely and I put it up. And it's a legal finding from Secretary Mullin of the DHS, a legal finding -- it's not Ed Martin's opinion, it's not Bannon's opinion, it's not Cleta's opinion, it's not a filing in a court -- it's a DHS finding that machines for election are using foreign parts and they cannot be secured.

And so much so that the letter from Mullin says, I've got a special fund -- it's a billion dollars, I went and found out, one billion with a B, dollars for states to change their election systems to protect themselves. So look, I think this is a red-hot crisis. I mentioned in an interview yesterday that Tina Peters was meeting with President Trump, and that happened. And I haven't talked to her since the meeting, but I know they didn't meet about the Colorado prison system.

We know we've got a five-alarm fire coming in less than four weeks, and all hands on deck.

...

I think Lutnick has a chance to step up and also be a player because of how the law is, but states are going to have to protect themselves too.

Questions about the security of Georgia’s elections have been a concern in the lead-up to the midterms. Local news station WTVM recently covered a town hall convened by former secretary of state chief operating officer Gabe Sterling to give Georgians confidence in the existing systems.

“Voting in this state, in your home county, and across the nation is safe, is run by professionals, they have redundancies, tons of safeguards, and it really is a secure, secure election,” said Sterling, who previously refuted Trump’s election conspiracy theories in 2020.

Georgia Public Radio also covered the subject, quoting an election system expert who agreed that the changes were not necessary and could be detrimental to a free and fair election.

Ben Adita, the executive director of Voting Works, a nonprofit that sells open-source voting systems, testified in front of the board Thursday. During the meeting, he told the committee that Raffensperger has already taken steps to mitigate the privacy flaw, and warned about changes close to the election.

"The proposal to upgrade software with two weeks to go is really fraught and risky," Adita said. "The proposal to alter the vote casting process statewide is fraught whether you have two weeks — or two or six months, frankly — of lead time."

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Frank Yemi @ AlterNet: Trump meets with convicted election fraudster to discuss ‘the plans'

President Donald Trump met in the Oval Office with former Colorado election clerk Tina Peters, who is a convicted election fraudster, to discuss election integrity and “the plans” for the midterm elections, according to former Justice Department official Ed Martin.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Ed Martin, a loyal White House ally who held multiple Justice Department posts despite unconventional tactics that sometimes rankled his superiors, is leaving President Donald Trump’s administration, the Republican president said Friday.

Trump said in a social media post that Martin is leaving his role as the Justice Department’s pardon attorney to “fight Legal Battles” surrounding this year’s midterm elections and the 2028 presidential election.

“I know he will do an outstanding job, ensure Free, Fair, and Honest Elections, and strongly advance our Constitutional Rights,” Trump wrote.

Martin has been a controversial Trump administration figure since his appointment last year as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, where he oversaw the dismissal of Jan. 6 cases after Trump’s sweeping pardons. Trump later pulled Martin’s nomination for the job over bipartisan concerns about his lack of prosecutorial experience and support for rioters who violently attacked the Capitol.

He then moved to Justice Department headquarters as pardon attorney and director of a group tasked with scrutinizing actions by President Joe Biden’s administration that Republicans say unfairly targeted conservatives. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi also named him a special attorney to help conduct mortgage fraud investigations into Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

He often raised eyebrows during his tenure. In one instance, while conducting his mortgage fraud investigation into James, he sent her a letter urging her to resign from office “as an act of good faith.” He also posed for photos outside her Brooklyn home.

The Justice Department’s case against James was dismissed after the judge found that another prosecutor who brought the charges was illegally appointed.

Martin was later sidelined amid clashes with Justice Department leadership and was removed as head of the “Weaponization Working Group,” though he kept his title as pardon attorney.

In a social media post Friday, Attorney General Todd Blanche called Martin a “patriot who loves this nation.” Martin didn’t immediately respond to a message Friday, but on his X account he reposted Trump’s announcement with the message: “Proud to serve. Fight Fight Fight.”

Before his nomination as D.C. U.S. attorney, Martin was a leader of Trump’s “Stop the Steal” movement. He spoke at a rally in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol and later served on the board of a nonprofit that raised money to support Capitol riot defendants and their families.

Trump’s post is the latest sign of his obsession with voting in the upcoming midterm elections, which will determine control of the U.S. House and Senate for the final two years of his presidency.

His administration has fixated on messaging around noncitizen voting, a rare problem that Trump falsely insists is a widespread source of fraud. His Department of Justice has been trying to gather detailed state voter data to hunt for noncitizens, and he has been pushing Congress to pass a bill that would require documentary proof of citizenship to vote in time for the November elections.

The FBI has obtained voting records or election equipment from the most populous counties in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia and Michigan without saying what it was searching for. Trump also has issued two executive orders seeking to take control of certain election operations, even though the Constitution grants states and Congress the authority to determine election rules.

Democratic state officials have been raising alarms about the possibility of the administration deploying federal immigration agents to polling places or ordering the military to voting locations or election offices, although administration officials have said they have no such plans.

ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

Richer covers the Justice Department and federal courts. She joined The AP in 2013 and is based in Washington.

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RWW

08/27/2026

Kyle Mantyla

Public Advocate praises Ed Martin's "mission of mercy" as the Trump administration's pardon attorney: "Under his guidance, President Trump has pardoned hundreds of victims of the Biden administration's weaponization of the justice system against Trump and anyone who supported him. The devout Catholic restored their reputations and their dignity in his short 15-month tenure that he calls 'Trump's year of mercy.'"

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PKO 8 26

President Donald Trump announced Friday that Ed Martin, his controversial pardon attorney, is leaving the Justice Department to take on outside legal work for the upcoming midterm and presidential elections.

“Ed Martin has been with me from the very beginning, and done an incredible job as an Attorney, Director of the Weaponization Working Group, and the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia,” Trump said on Truth Social. The president added that he believes Martin will “ensure Free, Fair, and Honest Elections, and strongly advance our Constitutional Rights.”

Martin, a conservative activist and lawyer from Missouri, represented Jan. 6 defendants before joining Trump’s administration. He has advocated conspiracy theories about the attack and the results of the 2020 presidential election.

He served as the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia at the beginning of Trump’s second term but failed to be confirmed to the role after support among Republicans faltered. Trump withdrew his nomination in May 2025.

He was then tapped to serve as the pardon attorney and led the DOJ’s “Weaponization Working Group,” carrying out Trump’s retribution campaign against his perceived political enemies, until he was removed as head of the task force in February.

In response to Trump’s announcement of his departure from the administration, Martin said Friday on social media, “Proud to serve. Fight Fight Fight.”

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RWW

David Gilbert @ Wired: Waffle House Teleporter Gregg Phillips Is Still on the Trump Administration’s Payroll

In June, a FEMA official infamous for claiming to have teleported to a Waffle House was reportedly ousted. He’s still employed by the government, though—and meeting with a Trump fixer.

Gregg Phillips, an election denier who once claimed he teleported to a Waffle House, says he is still working in the Trump administration, after he was reportedly removed from his influential role overseeing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s emergency response efforts in June.

While it remains unclear what Phillips has been working on in the administration since stepping away as head of the Office of Response and Recovery, on Sunday he wrote on Truth Social, “I have been in the admin since last year. I’ll be leaving soon to rejoin the fight.”

One day later, he was pictured at a Department of Justice building alongside Ed Martin, the former US pardon attorney who President Donald Trump last week announced would be departing the administration to “fight legal battles for the upcoming midterm election.”

“Enjoyed the visit with our friend Ed Martin today in DC,” Phillips wrote on Truth Social. “Haters are gonna hate this.”

Martin and the Department of Justice did not respond to WIRED’s requests for comment about Phillips’ role in the administration. Phillips declined to comment.

A FEMA spokesperson directed WIRED to a statement it issued in June saying Phillips was “taking leave for personal reasons.” When asked if Phillips was still employed by the agency and still on leave, the agency didn’t respond.

Phillips is on administrative leave, according to the White House, which also confirmed that Martin is still working in the administration until September 4. Federal employees on administrative leave are entitled to full pay and benefits.

Phillips has long promoted baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud, claiming in 2016 that more than 3 million noncitizens voted in the presidential election, robbing Trump of winning the popular vote. Days after taking office in 2017, Trump promoted Phillips’ false claims. In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, Phillips gained further notoriety when the group he was involved with, True the Vote, provided the data that underpinned the debunked film 2000 Mules, which falsely alleged that a network of individuals was paid to illegally collect and deposit ballots in drop boxes.

A 2022 investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting found that True the Vote has raised millions of dollars from donors by repeatedly promising to uncover evidence of election fraud but has failed to do so. Much of that money, CIR reported, went to companies controlled by Phillips and in loans to True the Vote’s founder, Catherine Engelbrecht.

Phillips was appointed last December to head up FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery despite having no past experience working in emergency response. In June, following his departure, the agency thanked Phillips for his “service, dedication, and leadership,” adding that “he has played a pivotal role in stabilizing the Office of Response and Recovery and advancing key reforms to strengthen our mission delivery.”

Three sources at FEMA, who were granted anonymity due to fears of recrimination by the administration, tell WIRED that Phillips has not been seen at FEMA’s headquarters since June.

When Phillips posted on Truth Social this week about his decision to “rejoin the fight” he was once again discussing “illegals on the voter rolls” and the work he and Engelbrecht had done almost a decade ago to address the perceived issue—which is so rare that even a third-party analysis of a database maintained by the right-wing Heritage Foundation shows it contains fewer than 100 examples. When asked if Phillips’ comment meant he would be working with True the Vote again, Engelbrecht said, “I’m sure Gregg will be involved in a number of projects in the future, and we at TTV think very highly of him, but in an effort to set the record straight, he is not part of the True the Vote team. He previously assisted TTV as a contractor on research projects from 2020–2023.”

When asked about Phillips’ role as a board member of True the Vote, as revealed by the CIR report, Engelbrecht did not respond.

WIRED recently revealed that ahead of the midterms, True the Vote will release another documentary, entitled Trapped, which again makes allegations about widespread and systemic voter fraud.

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newsweek jennica

As news of her doxxing spread, prominent conservative figures and MAGA-aligned influencers voiced their support for Pounds on X.

U.S. Interim Attorney Ed Martin offered legal assistance, urging her to contact his office.

Billionaire Nicole Shanahan, who has been linked to Musk in recent months, defended Pounds, writing: "They only come after you when you're a threat to the system. Keep going—you're doing incredible work."

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk also weighed in, telling Pounds: "We 100% got your back. Thank you for all that you do. Onward!!"

What People Are Saying

U.S. Interim Attorney Ed Martin, on X: "We are here for you, Jennica, just like you are here for America when we need you most. It is wrong and illegal to threaten anyone, and we will not tolerate a threat to a federal worker."

Larry Schweikart, historian and retired professor, on X: "I know Jennica. She and her mother came to PHX and stayed all evening for the 2020 election coverage. Remarkable talent."

Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, said on Face the Nation: "You've got Elon Musk taking a chainsaw to the federal government and important services, and there's no Article 4 in the Constitution that gives Elon Musk that authority...The actions he's taking are illegal, and we need to shut down this illegal operation."

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nom pulled bc of Tillis; now pardons? kardashian pal?

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When rapper Boosie Badazz — a.k.a. Torence Ivy Hatch Jr. — announced he was suing a lobbying firm that he paid to get him pardoned by President Donald Trump for alleged unlawful firearm possession, the music star did more than air his own grievances. According to a recent report, Hatch also shed light on how Trump has systematically used his pardoning authority to enrich his allies and consolidate his power.

“$600,000: That's the amount rapper Boosie Badazz reportedly paid a Washington lobbying firm to secure a presidential pardon,” NPR's Ayesha Rascoe told NOTUS reporter Jasmine Wright in a Sunday interview. “The rapper, whose real name is Torrence Hatch, was looking to overturn a federal conviction over the unlawful possession of a firearm. But the pardon hasn't happened. Now Hatch is reportedly looking to recover half of what he paid through arbitration. The rapper's case represents a growing industry in Washington, D.C.: wealthy clients paying to try to secure clemency from President Trump.”

As Wright explained to Rascoe, “There was an impetus by folks around the President, and the President himself, to do more of these pardons,” with the Justice Department’s pardon attorney Ed Martin losing much of his authority to the president and his inner circle.

“I've talked to a lot of different pardon attorneys, pardon lobbyists, folks who are involved in this business, and they say that their number one piece of advice to their clients is, one, call who you know,” Wright said. “If you know anybody remotely close to the White House, let them know that you're looking for a pardon. And two, try to get in front of the President. I've talked to people who say they have advised their clients to go to Mar-a-Lago, the President's resort residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Any way that you can get your application — your reasons for why you deserve clemency — in front of the President, they say, is an easier way to get closer to a pardon.”

Regardless of the ethical controversies surrounding this process, Wright emphasized that it is also entirely legal.

“This is legal,” Wright told Rascoe. “To be fair, people have always paid attorneys and lobbyists for pardons. You're not paying for the individual pardon; you're paying the person to go advocate on your behalf to get you a pardon or commutation.”

She added, “What's happening now is that, because of the normal barriers that used to exist to obtaining a pardon, it is now easier for people with some sort of association — they don't have to have a law degree, they don't even have to be an actual registered lobbyist — to go advocate to the White House to get their clients pardoned. And so this has created and normalized a new economy in which people are paying up to $5 million in some cases to individual lawyers or lobbyists to advocate on their behalf in hopes of getting a pardon. Now, not everybody who is doing this is getting a pardon, as we can see from this case.”

Not all of Trump’s pardons occurred because of lobbying efforts. Trump also used his power to help roughly 1,500 rioters who helped him attempt to overthrow the government on Jan. 6, 2021 after he lost the 2020 presidential election. Ever since, many of the Jan. 6ers have gone on to engage in serious crimes.

"At least 12 of the pardoned rioters have since been charged with other serious crimes, including child molestation, assault, harassment, murder plots and charges related to a vicious dog attack," The New York Times editorial board wrote in June. "The outcome was predictable. Critics, including this board, had warned that Mr. Trump’s pardons would embolden the rioters by signaling that crime has no consequences. One does not have to be a criminologist to predict that people who commit a violent act and are absolved of any punishment might become repeat offenders."

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HUH?

MMA

April 20, 2026, edition of Infowars' The Alex Jones Show

ALEX JONES (HOST): So, last segment I was breaking down how the federal courts wouldn't let the Democrats criminally shut us down, so they have the state court order the electricity and internet shut off. They're already starting to turn it off. We may make it to April 30th, I'm not sure, but that's the date when we know after that things are shutting down.

...

So Trump knows it's Paul Weiss law firm that ran the lawsuits against him and against me. They did a $40 million settlement with him and admitted it was illegal. But remember six months ago, Todd Blanche killed the criminal investigation into what they were doing to me. He shut down Ed Martin.

So Trump has joined with the Democrats to shut us down. And I haven't really shot a report on this yet, but I'm going to do it the next few days, that has all the details and all the proof and the documents in it, and that the CIA, FBI ran all this, came out in court in our depositions, that Trump signed on to the deep state closing us and is bragging about it.

---

ggl 4 26

[### Trump's new pardon attorney personally reviewed ...

Politico

https://www.politico.com › news › 2025/05/27 › ed-ma...](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/27/ed-martin-stewart-rhodes-jan-6-pardon-00371222)

May 27, 2025 — In his first full week as the Justice Department's pardon attorney, Ed Martin personally reviewed a pardon application for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.Read more

[### Ranking Member Raskin Launches Probe Into Ed Martin's ... U.S. House Judiciary Committee Democrats | (.gov)

http://democrats-judiciary.house.gov › press-releases › ra...](http://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ranking-member-raskin-launches-probe-into-ed-martin-s-role-in-trump-s-corrupt-pardon-spree)

May 30, 2025 — Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) Pardon Attorney Ed Martin demanding answers.Read more

[### Trump's pardon attorney discussed pardoning final Jan. 6 ...

CBS News

https://www.cbsnews.com › Politics](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardon-attorney-discussed-pardoning-final-jan-6-stewart-rhodes/)

May 27, 2025 — 6 Capitol riot defendants who weren't given full clemency by President Trump, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, a lawyer told CBS ...Read more

[### Trump Pardon Attorney Reviewed Full Clemency Request ...

Yahoo News Canada

https://ca.news.yahoo.com › trump-pardon-attorney-rev...](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trump-pardon-attorney-reviewed-full-113400741.html)

May 28, 2025 — Ed Martin, President Donald Trump's new pardon attorney, has examined a recommendation for Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right Oath ...Read more

[### Trump's pardon attorney considers full clemency for Oath ...

The Independent

https://www.independent.co.uk › ... › US politics](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-pardons-stewart-rhodes-jan-6-ed-martin-b2759341.html)

May 28, 2025 — Ed Martin is reviewing requests to pardon far-right militia members charged with treason-related crimes.

[### Trump commuted the prison sentences of several Proud ...

Facebook · MySA

330+ reactions · 2 days ago](https://www.facebook.com/MySA/posts/trump-commuted-the-prison-sentences-of-several-proud-boys-and-oath-keepers-leade/1413311314167355/)

A lot of those criminals will be back in jail just watch. 2d · 18 likes.Read more

[### Trump's Pardon Attorney Mulls Clemency for Fake Electors ...

Mother Jones

DAN FRIEDMAN

https://www.motherjones.com › politics › 2025/06 › ed...](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/06/ed-martin-fake-electors-pardons-donald-trump/)

Jun 4, 2025 — Blocked from continuing as US attorney, Ed Martin charges ahead in new role.

The Trump administration’s new chief pardon attorney is considering a plan to grant clemency to dozens of so-called fake electors who aided Donald Trump in his scheme to overturn the 2020 election, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.

Ed Martin—the failed US attorney nominee whom Trump recently named to a different high-level role in the Justice Department—is working on a plan to recommend federal pardons for all these reputed Trump electors, despite the fact that none have been charged with federal crimes. The move would be part of the larger campaign to remove the stain of Trump’s attempt to steal the 2020 election, an effort that has included the president’s mass pardons of January 6 rioters.

The person familiar with the plan said these possible pardons have not yet been approved by the White House. But they are part of a swirl of activity by Martin, a formerfar-right activist and “Stop the Steal” organizer.

Less than three weeks into his new job, Martin has already played a role in 17 pardons and eight commutations signed by Trump. Among the recipients was a convicted tax cheat whose mother is a major Trump fundraiser, who attended a $1 million dinner with the president a few weeks earlier. Martin, meanwhile, has sat for a of interviews, mostly with right-wing venues, in which he has outlined plans to investigate matters such as the conduct of January 6 prosecutions, allegationsthat then-President Joe Biden improperly issued pardons using an autopen, unspecified claims about Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the prosecution of militia members convicted of plotting in 2020 to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Martin’s new influence is a turnabout from a few weeks ago, when the death of his nomination as US attorney for the District of Columbia—a job Martin had been performing on an acting basis since Trump’s inauguration—marked an embarrassing defeat for the president. Martin’s reputation had been damaged by scrutiny of his ties to an alleged Nazi sympathizer and his apparently false statements downplaying that relationship. Republican senators also appeared concerned about his threats to use prosecutorial power to punish universities, environmental groups, medical journals, Democratic lawmakers, and Trump critics.

Martin now appears even better positioned to wield DOJ power to advance Trump’s agenda and exact political retribution. That’s because Trump, after withdrawing Martin’s US attorney nomination, named him associate deputy attorney general, pardon attorney, and head of the so-called weaponization working group set up at the DOJ to target what the president claims were politicized prosecutions and other abuses during the Biden administration. None of these roles require Senate confirmation.

The elector scheme was a key component of Trump’s plan to overturn the 2020 presidential race. Citing bogus election fraud claims, Trump wanted Mike Pence—who, as vice president, oversaw Congress’ electoral vote certification—to reject the legitimate results in favor of pro-Trump slates of electors from seven key battleground states. As part of this plot, Trump backers in five of those states falsely claimed to be the legitimate electors. This has led to state criminal charges against against more than 40 people, including fake electors and other people involved in the effort. Most of those those cases are still pending. (In two other states Biden won—Pennsylvania and New Mexico—Trump supporters signed documents saying they would be the legitimate electors only if the election results were overturned; none of those individuals were charged with crimes.)

Federal pardons for fake electors would have no official bearing on the state criminal cases. But Martin hopes the pardons would serve a “symbolic” value in declaring the electors blameless and maybe even help sway courts, the source familiar with the plan said. The pardons would be in sync with Trump’s denial of wrongdoing in the federal case in which he was charged with crimes related to the fake electors plot. The Justice Department ended that case against Trump after he was reelected president in November.

The elector clemency effort would be part of an broader initiative to present Trump with the option of issuing numerous symbolic pardons, many of them posthumous, the source said. For example, Martin might urge Trump to pardon John F. Kennedy supporters who in 1960 signed paperwork saying they were Hawaii’s electors when a recount left the actual winner of the state uncertain. Kennedy ultimately won Hawaii, and the electors were accepted as the state’s legitimate slate. The Kennedy electors, of course, were never charged with state or federal crimes. Pardoning them now would be meaningless, except as a gesture to boost the claim by Trump supporters that the fake electors of 2020 similarly did nothing wrong.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Martin’s plan for fake electors, even dead ones, to receive largely symbolic pardons is an example of the publicity-heavy approach he is taking as he melds his pardon and weaponization jobs into a combined role of all-out partisan advocacy.

“We’ll be a little bit more outward-facing in terms of talking about what’s happening,” Martin said at a May press conference outlining his plans. “The law can be taken up, but the starting point is to make sure that the public sees that we’re doing it.”

This sounds like a plan to publicly launch investigations that please the president, even if few people in the task force’s crosshairs ultimately face charges—presumably because few have committed actual crimes. Such efforts would violate a DOJ tradition, and written rules, that say the department should pursue justice by prosecuting crimes in court rather than through public relations offensives.

But Martin appears unconcerned. “If they can be charged, we’ll charge them,” he said at the press conference. “But if they can’t be charged, we will name them…and in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed.”

To aid his probes, Martin is hoping to add to the weaponization team a handful of FBI whistleblowers who testified before Congress about what they said were problems with the bureau’s investigation of January 6 attackers. Martin seemingly alluded to this plan during a recent interview with conservative podcast host Breanna Morello, who specifically mentioned Steve Friend and Garret O’Boyle—FBI agents reprimanded after speaking out on the matter—as potential additions to the task force. “You’re gonna be happy, Breanna,” Martin responded. “And you’re gonna deserve a lot of credit…We gotta bring them in.”

Martin has said the weaponization group will investigate the DOJ’s use of a specific criminal statute against numerous January 6 rioters. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that this provision, which can carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, did not apply to most of those defendants. Martin has previously called for jailing whoever “ordered” the use of this obstruction statute, 18 USC 1512. While leading the DC US attorney’s office, he opened an internal investigation into his subordinates’ use of the statute in the Capitol riot prosecutions. He Tucker Carlson recently that the weaponization group will continue that effort, aiming to determine “who made the 1512 call.”

Martin is also reportedly personally reviewing a pardon request by Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers militia, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in 2022. Rhodes is one of 14 members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who received commutations, but not pardons, from Trump on January 20. Roughly 1,600 other January 6 convicts and defendants received full pardons at the time.

Martin has used his X feed to cheer on Trump’s pardons, and he has been notably vocal about his efforts to encourage Trump to use the pardon power to reward political allies. Last week, Trump pardoned Scott Jenkins, a Republican sheriff and Trump supporter from Virginia who was convicted in December of accepting bribes in exchange for giving law enforcement powers to a businessmen. Martin quickly made his own view clear. Although Jenkins’ prosecution had no obvious link to partisan politics, Martin celebrated it by posting: “No MAGA left behind.”

---

[### Capitol riot leaders Tarrio and Rhodes released from prison

BBC

https://www.bbc.com › news › articles](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g74l1xevpo)

Jan 21, 2025 — Former Proud Boys leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes have been released from prison.Read more

[### The Justice Department asked a federal appeals court ...

Facebook · PBS NewsHour

200+ reactions · 1 day ago](https://www.facebook.com/newshour/posts/the-justice-department-asked-a-federal-appeals-court-to-throw-out-the-seditious-/1421476499847592/)

The Justice Department asked a federal appeals court to throw out the seditious conspiracy convictions of a number of Proud Boys and Oath ...

---

FEB

Ed Martin removed as head of Justice Department's 'Weaponization Working Group'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative activist Ed Martin has been removed as head of the Justice Department group tasked with scrutinizing the federal prosecutions of President Donald Trump and is no longer working out of department headquarters, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Martin remains the department’s pardon attorney, but is now working out of a building across Washington that houses some Justice Department offices, the person said. Martin had previously been working on the fourth floor at Justice Department headquarters, which houses the deputy attorney general’s office.

It was not immediately clear why Martin was no longer in charge of the “Weaponization Working Group,” created on Attorney General Pam Bondi’s first day in office last year, but another person familiar with the matter said the group under his leadership was not making much progress. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an internal personnel matter.

Efforts to reach Martin by telephone and email weren’t immediately successful Monday.

Martin has been a leading figure in — and cheerleader for — Trump’s campaign to use the Justice Department to prosecute his political enemies, including former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. A judge dismissed the Comey and James prosecutions in November, concluding that the prosecutor who brought the charges at Trump ’s urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.

What we know about the relationship between Alex Jones and DOJ official Ed Martin

A new report highlighted Jones bragging about receiving sensitive information from Martin. Jones has said that he has known Martin for 20 years and repeatedly called for Martin to have more power.

Written by Gideon Taaffe, Noah Dowe, Reed McMaster, Pete Tsipis & Ben Van Bloem

Published 11/26/25

As conspiracy theorist Alex Jones deals with cascading legal issues stemming from his defamation of the families of Sandy Hook massacre victims, he has found an ally in the Trump administration in the form of Ed Martin, who serves as the director of the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group.

According to Jones, Martin – who is now facing internal scrutiny following potential misconduct in his investigations – met with Jones in September for “three hours plus.” Martin also reportedly sent a letter requesting information from one of the plaintiffs in Jones’ defamation trials. On his show, Jones has repeatedly touted Martin as an insider source for potential legal actions by the administration, using his supposed conversations with Martin to preview indictments and other legal actions for his audience.

Jones has also repeatedly attacked Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who “reportedly admonished” Martin for attempting to help Jones with his trials. Jones has called for Blanche to be removed and suggested his continued presence in the administration is “political suicide” for Trump.

## Martin’s actions in multiple roles have come under scrutiny from the Justice Department

- Ed Martin serves in the Trump administration in multiple roles, including as associate deputy attorney general, and he has played a role in the indictments of New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey. CNN, [10/30/25]

- According to The New Republic, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche encouraged a federal grand jury investigation into Martin over potential misconduct.The investigation, now under way, will consider whether “mortgage fraud charges against California Senator Adam Schiff and possibly New York Attorney General Letitia James were tainted by the methods of Martin and [Federal Housing Finance Director Bill] Pulte, who allegedly shared sensitive information with individuals who were not authorized to be part of the investigation.” ABC News reported that Martin may have “shared sensitive grand jury information about the James case with at least one unauthorized individual as well as worked with another person from outside the federal government to examine potential evidence in the Schiff and James probes.” ABC News, [11/20/25; The New Republic, 11/21/25]

## Alex Jones and Martin seem to have a longstanding relationship

- Infowars founder Alex Jones says he’s known Martin for 20 years, and The Bulwark reported that on his show, he previewed Martin’s strategy to go after Comey and James using “process crimes” and “grand juries.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [6/3/25; The Bulwark, 11/25/25]

- Martin also sent a letter with requests for information to an FBI agent who was awarded damages from defamatory claims Jones made about the Sandy Hook massacre.The Bulwark reported the letter was sent to the FBI agent the day after Alex Jones posted a picture of him and Martin on social media captioned “The Deep State is in DEEP SHIT!!!” Martin later withdrew his request after internal scrutiny from Blanche, who “reportedly admonished” Martin for sending the letter. The Bulwark, [11/25/25]

## Jones has repeatedly praised Martin and boasted about their relationship, even calling for him to be made attorney general or “anti-deep state czar”

- Jones said Republicans who voted against Martin’s confirmation as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia were “traitorous.”Jones accused the “deep state” of having “traitorous Republicans led by Sen. Thom Tillis.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [5/7/25]

- In May, Jones attacked Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) for “trying to block Trump from getting people in like Ed Martin” and announced that the Trump administration “created a special office” for Martin to go after “corruption in the deep state and weaponization.” “They've now created a special office, with power, to go anywhere [Martin] wants in the country after corruption in the deep state and weaponization,” Jones said. Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [5/18/25]

- On Bannon’sWar Room, Jones called on Trump to make Martin an “anti-deep state czar” and give Martin $20 billion to act “in a DOGE-like way, just go in, look at the files of all these globalists, all these deceivers, and just purge them.” Jones said Trump needs “a thousand Steve Bannons, a thousand Gen. Flynns, a thousand, you know, Ed Martins to put in all the key positions that don't play games.” Real America’s Voice, *War Room*, [5/22/25]

- In June, Jones boasted about knowing Martin for two decades as he brought up his new role in the DOJ.He stated, “I broke this two and a half weeks ago, and I told you that Ed Martin is now the head pardon lawyer in the Justice Department and the head of this new anti-corruption, anti-government weaponization against the American people task force with a billion dollars in funding. And he's staffing his crew at breakneck speed right now. And he is fearless, and I've known him for 20 years." Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [6/3/25]

- In July, Jones attributed “every major win” by the DOJ to Martin and suggested he should take over as attorney general if Pam Bondi ever leaves, calling him “the real deal.” He stated, “I'm just saying, constantly, every major win we have against the deep state, it turns out in the DOJ, it's Ed Martin. And I'll just say it: If Pam Bondi ever resigns or goes, Ed Martin should be the attorney general. And/or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. … I mean, I've known Ed Martin 20-plus years. … He is the real deal.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [7/25/25]

- Jones claimed Trump bringing in Martin showed Trump “was serious about taking down the deep state.” He said, “I have said that if Trump was serious about taking down the deep state, he would bring in Ed Martin, which he did. I've known 25 years as super smart and super courageous because it's dangerous taking people on, to say the least.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [8/19/25]

- In September, Jones posted a photo of himself with Martin, and said on his show that they met for “three hours plus” about “things being done to Infowars and the fake auction and the DOJ funding the attacks.” Jones also referenced instances where he “talked to [Martin] on the phone over the last few months” about “action” planned by the DOJ. Twitter/X, [9/12/25; Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 9/14/25]

- Jones later praised Martin’s “hard work” in investigating “how the DOJ funded” lawsuits and “ran propaganda” against Infowars. Jones stated, “That’s going to be interesting with Ed Martin’s task force. We appreciate his hard work. This is what his task force is against. Strikeforces. Government weaponization against citizens.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [9/24/25]
## Jones has seemingly gotten inside scoops on investigations into Democrats, including Letitia James and James Comey

- When Martin was appointed as special attorney for mortgage fraud, Jones bragged, “I told you Adam Schiff and Letitia James and Fani Willis will probably be the first indictments. … And I specifically told you, I just might have heard it would be Ed Martin.” Later in the show, Jones said, “Ed Martin is going to indict you. He was given over a billion dollars and 800 people. And for the last three months, he's been getting and vetting his 800 people. And now they coming after you like a pack of wild dogs.” CNN, [10/30/25; Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 8/8/25, 8/8/25]

- In August, Jones teased that Martin had given him “incredible information” from Jack Smith's emails about supposed mass trials following the January 6 Capitol riot. He claimed, “Pelosi had all the troops put around the Capitol. And as I broke exclusively, and I'm going to give you the details tomorrow, Ed Martin told me it's incredible information they got out of Jack Smith's emails, you know, the former U.N. war crimes prosecutor, that they were going to set up in D.C. giant Soviet or Nazi-style show trials, trying thousands of people at a time and not even giving them due process." Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [8/24/25]

- In a social media video, Jones said he had a 45-minute call with Martin, alleging that “the grand juries are open” and “they’ve already got a bunch of them, you know, clear-cut — on just clear-cut tax evasion.” Jones continued, “I’m going to go big with it in the morning, and say there, this, that, that, and I’m the source of it, and it’s directly to Ed Martin.” Twitter/X, [8/24/25]

- Jones teased that he was working with Martin on “how I was persecuted by the Democrats,” adding, “You’ll be hearing about that in the news very, very soon.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [9/20/25]

- In October, Jones celebrated the indictments of Letitia James and James Comey, adding that “a lot more is coming thanks to Ed Martin and other people’s work getting these log jams out of the way.”He continued, “But if Trump can't protect people like Mike Lindell or yours truly, what message does that send to everyone when we deliver to the Justice Department all the documents of how this was done?” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [10/14/25]

## Jones has repeatedly attacked Todd Blanche over “gunning for Ed Martin” and not allowing Martin to communicate with Jones

- In September, Jones said Blanche “killed” an “investigation into my persecution by the DOJ.” Apparently referring to Blanche, Jones complained, “I haven't addressed the DOJ launching an investigation into my persecution by the DOJ, which is what Ed Martin's job is, what Trump told him to do, and how the deputy director of the DOJ, the deputy AG, killed it and repudiated him for it.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [9/26/25]

- In October, Jones claimed a “DOJ source” told him Blanche is “gunning for Ed Martin” and declared, “Blanche needs to be removed. Ed Martin needs to be put in if you want to save the country.”Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [10/7/25]

- OnThe Tucker Carlson Show, Jones again claimed Blanche had forced Martin to end the investigation into Jones and “bragged about it all over the news.” Jones also claimed, “Todd Blanche, the deputy AG, calls up the news, chews out Ed Martin, says, End this investigation and pull this.” YouTube, *The Tucker Carlson Show*, [10/13/25]

- Amid reporting that Blanche was “encouraging” a grand jury investigation into Martin, Jones raged at Trump in November: “I am not going to aid you in your political suicide and my own destruction.”Addressing Trump, Jones said, “If you allow people like Todd Blanche to then persecute and prosecute your champions like Ed Martin and Pulte, I am not going to aid you in your political suicide and my own destruction.” He continued, “How you’re screwing this up, I have no idea.” The New Republic, [11/21/25; Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 11/22/25]

- Jones claimed Blanche “got so mad at” Martin over the Infowars investigation that “he’s not allowed to talk to me right now.”He added, “Martin said correctly when we met on the phone, yeah, they think I'm behind everything. It's crazy. I get the blame and the credit for everything. I'm just one guy.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [11/24/25]

- In a November 22 social media video, Jones said he spoke with Martin on the phone about Blanche.Jones said Martin gave “no comment,” but added, “I know Martin got told, you know, kill the investigations into what was done to Jones and, you know, don’t talk to Jones. And that’s from Blanche.” Twitter/X, [11/22/25]

---

// TODD BLANCHE GRAND JURY?

AN 11 25

Alex Jones, the far-right conspiracy theorist and host of InfoWars, appears to have been given considerable insider information pertaining to President Donald Trump's campaign of legal revenge against his perceived enemies, based on a new analysis from The Bulwark, which called the situation "deeply troubling."

The efforts to bring lawsuits against prominent Democrats and opponents of the president, including former FBI head James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, have been ongoing for the past few months but have hit numerous snags in recent days. Among them, ABC News reported that the Department of Justice and the FBI are investigating whether the heads of the investigative efforts, Ed Martin and Bill Pulte, “enlisted individuals outside the Department of Justice to probe allegations of mortgage fraud." MS Now also reported that a federal grand jury is reviewing allegations that the two “illegally shared sensitive grand jury information with unauthorized people.”

Little is known about which individuals Martin and Pulte may have divulged sensitive legal information to, but an analysis of past posts and comments from Jones by the Bulwark suggests that he may have been one of them. As far back as August, just a few weeks prior to the indictment against Comey, Jones shared a video to X in which he claimed to have had long talks with “high-level DOJ sources” and was “authorized to tell you basically everything they told me except a few things,” mentioning grand jury investigations into James and Special Counsel Jack Smith, among other things.

“There are a whole bunch of grand juries open and I know where and a lot more,” Jones said in the August 23 post. “And I can tell you Trump is cracking the whip and pushing through the DOJ, any of the bureaucrats that are trying to block this and [Trump] is in daily communication with the patriots in there."

A day later, on August 24, Jones shared another video with the caption "MEGA-BOMBSHELL EXCLUSIVE!!!” in which he claimed to have had a 45-minute-long conversation with Martin specifically. Martin has a history withJones, appearing on InfoWars several times over the years.

“I’ve known Ed [for] twenty-five years and he’s one of the most stalwart, trustworthy people, everybody knows that,” Jones said. “He [Martin] has full discretion from the president to say whatever he wants, he decided to tell me."

Jones claimed that Martin had shared his strategy for pursuing prosecutions against top Democrats, including "about twenty" things that were "over-the-top, bombshell important.”

“They’ve got grand juries open in Virginia, Missouri, New York, and a bunch of other states,” Jones said. “And I don’t mean just one per state... I can tell you that there’s process crimes all over the place in this. So when you see people indicted for process crimes, that’s not because they’re limiting it, that’s to get them in the bear trap, and then to get them to roll over. They’re gonna get ’em any way they can."

While Jones named several figures who have since faced indictments, he also mentioned Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson as another target, citing allegations that he incited city residents against ICE officers. Later, on September 14, Jones shared a photo of himself with Martin with the included caption, “The Deep State is in DEEP S---!”

Assuming Jones is telling the truth, what else did Martin tell Jones about his investigations into top Democrats?" the Bulwark's analysis concluded. "We do not know. We do know that the relationship between Martin and Jones is deeply troubling, given Martin’s roles inside the DOJ. It shows that Martin is pursuing an extreme, sensationalist agenda—not justice."

:{:{---}:

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AN 11 25 TODD BLANCHE PO’D UNFORCED ERRORS?

Grand jury investigating Trump allies over 'tainted' probes of White House critics

Lesley Abravanel

---

TIME 11 25

GENERAL AMNESTY FOR CRIMES

TIME MAG 11 25

President Donald Trump has ordered “full, complete, and unconditional” pardons for over 70 of his political allies who backed alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to the Department of Justice’s Pardon Attorney, Ed Martin.

In a social media post published in the early hours of Monday morning, Martin shared a signed proclamation of the list of names, which contains high-profile figures such as Trump’s former personal lawyer and one-time Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, lawyers Sidney Powell and John Eastman, and more.

“Thank you, POTUS, for allowing me, as U.S. Pardon Attorney, to work with the White House, along with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy AG Todd Blanche, and Solicitor General John Sauer to achieve your intent,” Martin wrote, crediting the team who worked on the pardons. “Let their healing begin.”

You can see the full list, here:

IFrame Content

“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 presidential election and continues the process of national reconciliation,” reads the pardon signed by Trump on Nov. 7.

The pardon applies to those “for conduct relating to the advice, creation, organization, execution, submission, support, voting, activities in, or advocacy for or of any slate of presidential electors… in connection with the 2020 presidential election.”

In a statement to TIME on Monday morning, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said of the pardons: “These great Americans were persecuted and put through hell by the Biden Administration for challenging an election, which is the cornerstone of democracy.”

Giuliani was held in contempt of court in January for failing to cooperate in the handover of $11 million of personal assets to Georgia poll workers he had falsely accused of helping to steal the 2020 presidential election. Giuliani later reached a settlement in the dispute.

Trump, meanwhile, said in September that he would be awarding his former lawyer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, days after Giuliani was injured in a New Hampshire car crash.

Trump has repeatedly made false claims that he, not former President Joe Biden, won the 2020 election. Rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, amid the fraught rhetoric.

In January, Trump pardoned almost 1,600 people convicted for their involvement in the Capitol Riots on Jan. 6, 2021, including commuting the sentences of violent offenders from the riots, such as Proud Boys leader Enrique Torrio, who was serving a 22-year sentence.

Former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, called the pardon “an outrageous insult to our justice system and the heroes who suffered physical scars and emotional trauma as they protected the Capitol.”

===

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AN 11 25

President Donald Trump went on a Sunday night pardon spree, granting full clemency to at least 77 individuals involved in promoting alternate electors in battleground states after the 2020 election, including former Trump attorneys John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, according to Axios.

Announced by U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, the pardons cover potential federal offenses but exclude Trump himself and do not affect ongoing state prosecutions in Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan.

Others who received pardons include attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, attorney and Acting Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Clark, and attorney and former Trump strategic advisor Boris Epshteyn.

Legal experts describe the action as largely symbolic, given the absence of federal charges against the recipients, but critics excoriated the pardons on social media.

One wrote on X that this move means the country is "waving goodbye to democracy again."

Chef Courtney Brown wrote that"AmeriKKKa has lost its way! This is an absolute disgrace!"

"The fact that NO ONE will be held to account for conspiring to illegally keep Trump in office is one of the most distressing and infuriating consequences of the 2024 election," posted another critic on X.

An x user by the name of America First Democrat posted, "So basically no one who participated in efforts to illegally overturn the 2020 election can be held accountable? The lawlessness of this administration knows no bounds."

Retired Naval reservist and self-described "JFK Libertarian" David Rouse said, "This only reflects #Trump's total disdain for the #Constitution he swore to "protect, preserve, and defend". Pardoning his accomplices in an attempt to overthrow the 2020 fair election that he lost, makes a mockery of the #Rule_of_Law and endangers us all!"

Tech CEO Simon St-Onge wrote, "When people see injustices, criminals pardoned because they know the leader, they lose faith in the justice system, and take their own defence in to their own hands. That’s a premise for barbarism and violence, and war amongst citizens. We should never tolerate injustice, I pity America, the land of the free is no longer so. It will take years, to make it great again. The USA is alone now, with a few other countries lead by autocratic leaders, demented narcissistic men, like Trump and Putin, devoted to themselves, and themselves alone."

"It's about the political whims of Donald Trump," said MSNBC's justice and intelligence reporter Ken Dilanian.

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AN 9 25 FED BD?}:

Treasury secretary accused of same thing Trump wants to fire Fed official for

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AN 9 25

Under the direction of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating New York State Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud.

But Trump's critics argue that the probe is a baseless fishing expedition motivated by a desire for revenge against a political foe.

According to ABC News reporters Peter Charalambous, Katherine Faulders and Alexander Mallin, Trump's allies continue pushing for an indictment of James — but the investigation is turning up nothing substantial.

"After a five-month investigation and interviews with more than a dozen witnesses," the reporters explain in an article published on September 17, "federal prosecutors have so far uncovered no clear evidence that James knowingly made false statements to a financial institution to secure favorable terms on a mortgage for her Virginia home, according to multiple sources briefed on the investigation. Trump himself has pressured the Department of Justice leadership to investigate James more aggressively, and two officials — Ed Martin, the head of the DOJ's Weaponization Working Group, and Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency — have pushed the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to seek an indictment of James."

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The reporters add, "When federal prosecutors recently declined to indict James, Pulte encouraged Trump to fire Eric Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and replace him with a prosecutor who would be willing to bring charges against James, sources said. "

*Read the full ABC News article at this link.

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===

columbo coat pretty house BS

'Amateur hour': Trump official blasted over 'stunt' outside New York AG’s home

an 8 25

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yt 8 18 25?

see baily doj // kash

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an 8 25

During former President Joe Biden's four years in the White House, the word "institutionalist" was often used to describe then-U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. And that word was also applied to then-FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, who was a conservative Republican appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term but remained throughout Biden's presidency.

Democrat or Republican, Biden favored institutionalists for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI — not political figures or loyalists.

But Trump, during his second term, has filled DOJ with MAGA loyalists — including Edward R. Martin, appointed by Trump as an interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

In an article published on August 19, New York Times reporters Jonah E. Bromwich, Glenn Thrush, Alan Feuer and Michael S. Schmidt examine the ways in which, according to critics, Martin is violating DOJ norms by overtly politicizing it.

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"Days after Mr. Martin, a Trump-aligned activist, was tapped by the Justice Department to investigate the New York attorney general, Letitia James, he wrote a letter to her lawyer saying he would take it as an act of 'good faith' if she were to resign," the Times reporters explain. "Mr. Martin followed up this breach of prosecutorial protocol by showing up outside Ms. James' Brooklyn home, clad in a trench coat and posing for pictures for The New York Post…. The request that Ms. James resign is particularly unusual because it appears the Justice Department is trying to harness its criminal powers to accomplish one of Mr. Trump's political goals."

The journalists continue, "Mr. Martin's conduct is part of an emerging pattern from Mr. Trump's administration over the past two months in which top officials seek to use the federal government's vast intelligence gathering and law enforcement authority to cast the specter of criminality on Mr. Trump's enemies without demonstrating that they might have committed crimes that rise to the level of an indictment…. The behavior may ultimately be so outside the bounds that it could undermine any criminal case, according to legal experts."

Barbara McQuade, a University of Michigan law professor, former federal prosecutor, and legal analyst for MSNBC, fears that "public trust" in DOJ will be eroded "because people will see the department as yet one more weapon and tool of politics instead of the independent law enforcement agency it's supposed to be."

McQuade told the Times, "I'm tempted to describe their conduct as amateurish, but the consequences can be grave because they have enormous power at the Justice Department."

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raw msnbc

Ex-RNC spokesman laments MAGA's 'dark heart' over new DOJ advisor - Raw Story

a former Jan. 6 attacker was on trial for two felony counts and four misdemeanors when he was pardoned by President Donald Trump upon entering office. Now, that man, Jared L. Wise, is being named an adviser or counselor to Justice Department official Ed Martin.

Wise, who pleaded not guilty to his charges around Jan. 6, will be advising the so-called "weaponization working group," a program under Trump's Justice Department to target prosecutors and investigators who worked on Jan. 6 cases.

Speaking about the matter on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House" on Wednesday, former Republican National Committee spokesman Tim Miller called the new hiring part of the "dark hearts" of the MAGA movement.

ALSO READ:'I read summaries': GOP rep admits he's only skimmed bill he's voting on

Stand-in host Alicia Menendez called it "lionization" of the Jan. 6 attackers. "The placing, not just in the public domain, but in an actual position of power, a person who has undermined American democracy."

Miller noted that the "Back the blue element is very selective" when it comes to the conservative support of law enforcement.

"This is an appointed position, but, you know, across the country people that were there on January 6th or participating at various levels, you know, ran in Republican primaries for offices that were supported," he pointed out. A friend, he said, ran a campaign where the Jan. 6 participation "was a plus for them with the electorate, according to all their polling."

"So, I mean, this is kind of the dark heart of what we're seeing in the MAGA movement. So, it's not particularly surprising that some of these folks will have positions in the Trump administration," said Miller.

He also said that Wise isn't the only one, there are others in the Trump administration who are "horribly unqualified, who have been advanced horribly" due to their "extreme views."

Tim Heaphy, former lead investigator for the House Select Committee that investigated Jan. 6, called the matter "discouraging," but said that they'll never find the "weaponization" they seek because it wasn't there.

Instead, he explained, Wise was "charged and prosecuted for conduct, not his beliefs about the election."

Wise worked on the FBI's terrorism task force when he went to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

See the clip below or at the link here.

---}:

Stewart Rhodes Says Trump Must Pardon Him To Correct The 'False Narrative' About The Jan. 6 Insurrection | People For

mma

Stewart Rhodes Says Trump Must Pardon Him To Correct The 'False Narrative' About The Jan. 6 Insurrection

06/04/2025

Kyle Mantyla

:{A few weeks before the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Stewart Rhodes addressed a crowd of MAGA loyalists and far-right activists who had gathered for a rally on the National Mall. :{Rhodes, the founder of the anti-government extremist group the Oath Keepers, had a message for the president: "Show the world who the traitors are, and then use the Insurrection Act to drop the hammer on them.”}:

“He needs to know from you that you are with him, [and] that if he does not do it now while he is commander in chief, we’re going to have to do it ourselves later, in a much more desperate, much more bloody war,” Rhodes threatened.

Following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, Rhodes was eventually found guilty of seditious conspiracy for the role that he and his organization played in fomenting and carrying out the attack, for which he was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Upon his return to the Oval Office in 2025, President Donald Trump issued sweeping pardons for nearly every person who had been arrested, charged, or convicted for their roles in the insurrection, but Rhodes was among the few who only received a commutation of his sentence, meaning that he was released from prison but his criminal conviction remains on his record.

Since his release, Rhodes has been pushing to be granted a full pardon, which is reportedly being considered by Trump's far-right pardon attorney, Ed Martin....

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RWW ==>

After launching investigations, Ed Martin is suddenly facing an investigation of his own

The hyper-partisan “Stop the Steal” activist is confronting a disciplinary investigation that could threaten his law license.

May 15, 2025,

By Steve Benen

It’s been quite a week for Ed Martin. A week ago, the hyper-partisan lawyer whom Donald Trump appointed to serve as the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., received some unwelcome news: Martin’s prosecutorial nomination, the president grudgingly conceded, was dead. The bipartisan opposition to the “Stop the Steal” activist in the Senate was simply too much to overcome.

Soon after, however, Martin learned that he’d land on his feet: Trump said the Missouri Republican would lead the Justice Department’s new “Weaponization Working Group” — tackling a problem that only exists in the minds of Republican conspiracy theorists — and serve as the DOJ’s new pardon attorney, succeeding Elizabeth Oyer, who was fired in March allegedly after she refused to sign off on a plan to restore Mel Gibson’s gun rights.

A few days later, Martin announced at a press conference that he intended to use his new working group to “name” and “shame” individuals the Justice Department determines it is unable to charge with crimes. In other words, federal law enforcement officials might investigate suspects, only to discover that the suspects didn’t break any laws.

At that point, according to Martin, his working group will take steps to smear these Americans publicly anyway — which, as an NBC News report noted, “would amount to a major departure from longstanding Justice Department protocols.”

But if that weren’t quite enough, as NBC News also reported, Martin learned this past week that he’s facing an investigation of his own.

The incoming director of the Justice Department’s ‘Weaponization Working Group’ revealed Wednesday he was under investigation by D.C.’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, accusing the official in charge of investigating bar complaints of ‘weaponizing’ his role, according to an letter viewed by NBC News.

The disciplinary counsel’s probe didn’t come out of nowhere. On the contrary, in early March, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee formally requested that the group that governs the legal bar in the District of Columbia investigate Martin, insisting that he’d “abused” his prosecutorial powers — a claim rooted in extensive evidence.

They weren’t alone. In April, a group of former Jan. 6 prosecutors and conservative attorneys also sought a disciplinary investigation into Martin from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel at the U.S. District Court of Appeals, arguing the Republican activist had demonstrated a “fundamental misunderstanding of the role of a federal prosecutor.”

For his part, Martin condemned the investigation he’s facing in a going-away email to former colleagues in the U.S. attorney’s office, calling the probe “an outrage.” True to form, Martin proceeded to complain that Disciplinary Counsel Hamilton P. “Phil” Fox III, who serves as chief prosecutor for disciplinary matters for attorneys who are members of the D.C. Bar, was “weaponizing his role.”

Or put another way, when Martin is targeting his perceived political foes, he’s combatting “weaponization.” When Martin is being held accountable for his alleged abuses, he’s the victim of “weaponization.”

Time will tell what, if anything, comes of the investigation, but in a worst-case scenario, the disciplinary probe could result in Martin losing his law license in the nation’s capital.

---

===

// DEREK CHAUVIN PARDON TALK?

AN 5 25

At a swearing-in ceremony for Fox News' Jeanine Pirro — now an interim U.S. attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) District of Columbia office — on Wednesday, May 28, President Donald Trump said he is considering a federal pardon for the men prosecuted for a plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.

Trump told attendees, "I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job, I'll be honest with you. It looked to me like some people said some stupid things."

The next day on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade attacked Trump's possible pardons of Whitmer's would-be kidnappers as an VID

McQuade told "Morning Joe" hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and their colleague Jonathan Lemire, "Number one, he said he watched the trial. He most certainly didn't watch the trial, because federal court trials are not televised. So perhaps he watched some coverage of the trial, some additional facts. He said that they said some stupid things — maybe so, but in addition, there was evidence presented in that case that they created a fake shoot house. That they trained on extricating the governor from her shoot house and separating her from her security detail. And they surveilled the underside of a bridge that connects her home with the police department in an effort to avoid capture."

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The MSNBC legal analyst continued, "So those additional facts were not known. The other thing that I think is important to remember here is the reason the motive that these men had that was presented at trial was that they wanted to retaliate against her for her COVID shutdown orders. During that time, you may recall, Gov. Whitmer was in a very public feud with President Trump, who posted online, 'Liberate Michigan.'"

According to federal prosecutors, the militia members planned to kidnap Whitmer, put her on "trial" for COVID-19 restrictions, and execute her if found guilty.

McQuade drew a parallel between a possible pardon of Whitmer's would-be kidnappers and Trump's pardon of the far-right extremists who attacked the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.

The former DOJ proseuctor told Scarborough, Brzezinski and Lemire, "These men, like those January 6 defendants, were acting in support of Donald Trump's political cause. And so, the idea that they would be pardoned or have their sentences commuted really is a part with the January 6 defendants and seems like another effort to normalize political violence so long as you are on the side of President Trump."

Scarborough, a Never Trump conservative and former GOP congressman, interjected, "And again, with one of the few Democratic leaders who has stood beside President Trump at public ceremonies, certainly would be, again, not only disturbing for legal reasons, but for political reasons. Very curious."

*Watch the full video below or at this link.

---

REF

Barry Croft and Adam Fox, the men convicted of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the summer of 2020, could be on a list for potential presidential pardons, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s new pardon attorney.

The comments came from Ed Martin Jr., a conservative activist who had been nominated as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia before having his nomination withdrawn earlier this year. Martin is now a pardon attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Appearing on a conservative podcast last week, Martin said that the administration of President Donald Trump “can’t leave” Croft and Fox “behind.”

Martin also called Croft and Fox “victims” and likened their cases to the criminal charges that were brought against the January 6 Capitol insurrectionists, the Associated Press reported. Trump pardoned more than 1,500 defendants charged in the Capitol attack on his first day back in office.

A message seeking comment from Whitmer’s office was not immediately returned.

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Conservative activists and conspiracy theorists have long alluded to the plot against Whitmer as a federal government-led operation to entrap the participants, but numerous pieces of evidence shown in court detailed the breadth of Croft and Fox’s involvement in spearheading the plan and recruiting others to join in the plot – including eventually an informant working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Appeals court upholds convictions of 2 men in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

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Martin appears to be among those who viewed the prosecution of Croft and Fox as the weaponization of the federal government, a running theme in the Trump White House. Martin on the podcast vowed to take a hard look at their cases in his new role. Both Croft and Fox are serving nearly 20-year prison terms in a high security federal prison located in Colorado.

Several other men were charged with conspiracy to kidnap Whitmer but were either acquitted of or pleaded guilty to the crimes.

Croft and Fox attempted to appeal their convictions, but the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the federal district court’s decision.

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Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor for questions: info@michiganadvance.com.

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nbc

trump's pardons highlight Justice Department's pullback from public corruption cases

Former Virginia sheriff Scott Jenkins claimed he was being targeted because of his support for Donald Trump.

Scott Jenkins in Culpeper, Va., in 2020.Eeva Hambach / AFP via Getty Images file

May 28, 2025,

By Ryan J. Reilly

WASHINGTON — The government's evidence against Scott Jenkins was compelling, including undercover video and other corroboration showing Jenkins, then the sheriff of Culpeper County, Virginia, accepting over $75,000 in exchange for giving law enforcement authority to local businessmen, as well as two undercover FBI special agents.

Jenkins’ co-defendants all pleaded guilty, and jurors didn't take long to convict Jenkins last year, deliberating for around two hours before they found him guilty on all counts. When Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison in March, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia said he "violated his oath of office and the faith the citizens of Culpeper County placed in him when he engaged in a cash-for-badges scheme."

But on Monday, President Donald Trump announced he was pardoning Jenkins, calling him "a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice" who "doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail." It's part of a broader pattern for Trump, who in the first few months of his second term has pardoned at least four supportive former public officials who were convicted of financial improprieties.

Trump, who faced two separate federal criminal cases that were dropped after he was re-elected in November, has long argued that he was a victim of the weaponization of the Justice Department and the FBI, and he has been sympathetic to those who make similar claims, particularly those who are politically aligned with him.

:{In February, Trump pardoned Rod Blagojevich, the Democratic former governor of Illinois, whose sentence he had commuted in 2020, after he was convicted on corruption charges related to bribery.:{ (Blagojevich attended the 2024 Republican convention in support of Trump.)}: Trump pardoned Republicanformer Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey in March, just over two weeks into a 21-month sentence over a campaign finance-related fraud conviction.

(Fellow Tennessee Republicans implored Trump to pardon Kelsey, who thanked him upon his release from prison and said that “God used Donald Trump to save me.”) Last month, Trump pardoned Republican former Las Vegas City Council member Michele Fiore, who had been set to be sentenced this month after she was convicted on conspiracy and wire fraud charges related to misused fundraising. (Fiore had hitched her political career to Trump and benefited from his endorsement while she backed his false statements about voter fraud in the 2020 election.)}:

Those four figures and their pardons aren't the only evidence of a Justice Department de-emphasizing public corruption cases. In the early days of the administration, the Justice Department also dropped a campaign finance case against Republican former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, who had been set to go on trial next month.

The Trump administration also moved to drop the corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, which led several Justice Department officials to resign in protest.

The Adams and Jenkins cases, among others, are linked by the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section. The division, which focuses on bringing cases against public officials accused of breaking the law, has shrunk in both size and influence during the Trump administration. The FBI's Washington Field Office is shutting down a public corruption squad that was focused on federal corruption.

War in Ukraine Live updates: Trump responds to Elon Musk's criticism of deficit increase from GOP agenda bill

“It’s clear that this administration doesn’t believe that tamping down on public corruption is a priority,” said Stacey Young, a former Justice Department official who founded Justice Connection, a network of Justice Department alumni formed in response to the Trump administration's overhaul of the Justice Department. “Pardoning a sheriff who took cash for deputy badges is just the latest in a string of actions this president has taken to undermine any effort to hold officials accountable to the public they are sworn to serve.”

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.

'Make Virginia Great Again'

It's not clear how the Jenkins case first made its way on the White House's radar, but it found a backer in Ed Martin, the conservative activist whom Trump initially put in charge of the U.S. attorney's office in Washington before he recently named him the U.S. pardon attorney. Martin wrote on X that he was “thrilled” the Jenkins’ was the first pardon since he took the position: “Congratulations, Sheriff Jenkins: Do great things and make us proud.”

In a thread in which he thanked Trump for pardoning Jenkins, Martin — who is also director of the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group — wrote, “No MAGA left behind.”

Last week, Martin met with White House “pardon czar” Alice Marie Johnson, whose life sentence for a drug conviction Trump commuted during his first term. Trump later gave Johnson a full pardon.

In an interview with Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump that aired on Fox News this month, she would review the cases of people who spent too much time behind bars, as well as “the victims of lawfare, the same way our president was.”

A Justice Department official said that Martin was eager to get involved in the Jenkins case after meetings with the White House and that he concurred with and supported Trump's decision to issue a pardon.

Jenkins had argued that he was targeted because of his conservative politics, including his positions on immigration, guns and Covid lockdowns. In his own sentencing memo, Jenkins’ lawyers said he "adamantly maintains his innocence."

When Jenkins was under investigation, he and other sheriffs discussed the possibility of "flying to a secret location to view the Hunter Biden laptop, and then bringing charges against Hunter Biden based on any crimes depicted on it," his lawyers wrote in the sentencing memo.

The government said Jenkins perjured himself at trial, falsely testifying that co-defendant Rick Rahim had given him a "business investment" because Jenkins had copyrighted the logo "Make Virginia Great Again" and that they were investing in red shirts and hats. Discussions about "Make America Great Again" shirts didn't happen until after Rahim had made payments to Jenkins, which were intended to help him get his firearms rights restored, prosecutors argued.

Last week, prosecutors asked a judge to sentence Rahim, who pleaded guilty, to 27 months in prison, saying Jenkins made Rahim a "Helicopter Pilot" in exchange for bribes and pushed his petition for restoration of gun rights even though Rahim didn't live in the county.

Prosecutors said recordings captured Jenkins laying out the scheme in clear terms after he became frustrated that Rahim was pushing for more favors.

“I appreciate what support you give me, but you didn’t do it for nothin’. You got a felony record, a clean slate to carry — not only carry a gun,” Jenkins said in a recorded conversation in 2022, according to a court filing. “We followed it up with swearing you in. Name another sheriff in the whole State of Virginia that would do that.”

An attorney for Jenkins didn’t respond to a request for comment, and a message left at a phone number registered to Jenkins got no response.

Meanwhile, more pardons for Trump supporters may be in the pipeline.

On Tuesday, Trump called two of the children of reality television couple Todd and Julie Chrisley and told them their parents would receive pardons for bank fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy charges. One of their daughters, reality star Savannah Chrisley, spoke on their behalf at the Republican National Convention last year and more recently appeared on a Fox News segment with Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump.

"When I saw, obviously, what the president was going through, what I was going through, it was eerily similar," Savannah Chrisley said in the interview.

Martin recently met with attorney Peter Ticktin, who presented pardon applications for members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, as first reported by Politico. While most Jan. 6 defendants got full pardons, Trump initially commuted the sentences of some of the members of the two far-right groups, ending their prison sentences but maintaining the convictions and the collateral consequences — like deprivation of certain rights — that go along with them.

“There’s a good deal of reason to be hopeful,” Ticktin, who went to the New York Military Academy with Trump, told NBC News. “No promises were made as to what would be done; that’s not the way it works. We present it and then we hope for the best."

Ryan J. Reilly

Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.

---

OMFG

POLITICO

Amanda Friedman

05/28/2025

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is considering pardons for the people involved in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.

Trump insinuated that the trial had not been handled correctly by the legal system while taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office, describing it as potentially being a “railroad job.”

“I will look at it — take a look at it,” he said when asked if he is considering pardons. “It’s been brought to my attention, I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job, I’ll be honest with you. It looked to me like some people said some stupid things.”

“They were drinking and I think they said stupid things but I’ll take a look at that, and a lot of people are asking me that question from both sides actually,” he continued. “A lot of people think they got railroaded.”

The kidnapping plot against the Michigan Democrat rattled the final weeks of the 2020 election and marked an incident of anti-government extremism that prosecutors said was intended to ignite a civil war. The leaders, Barry Croft Jr. and Adam Fox, were convicted in 2022 of conspiring to abduct the Democratic governor from her vacation home.

Croft, a former truck driver from Delaware, also faced weapons charges and received a nearly 20-year prison sentence. Fox, from Grand Rapids, was sentenced to 16 years.

A spokesperson for Whitmer declined to comment on Trump’s remarks.

The president was not the first member of his administration to question the charges. Ed Martin, who was tapped to serve as the pardon attorney at the Justice Department after Trump pulled his nomination to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, compared Croft’s and Fox’s cases to the January 6 pardons last week.

“In my opinion these are victims just like January 6,” Martin said during an interview on “The Breanna Morello Show,” referencing the roughly 1,600 people either pardoned by Trump for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol or who saw their cases dropped.

Trump’s remarks also come as he builds a working relationship with Whitmer. The two have shared several cordial moments in recent months, with Whitmer defending her appearances alongside Trump as key to scoring major wins for her home state, while underscoring their sharp policy differences.

“This is one of those moments where as a public servant, you’re reminded your job is to put service above self, and that’s what it was all about,” she said in a recent “Pod Save America” interview.

*Zack Stanton contributed to this report.

---

msn no lnx

President Donald Trump has pardoned a sheriff from Virginia — who happens to be a stalwart MAGA supporter — after his conviction of accepting more than $75,000 in bribes.

Trump announced the pardon in a Truth Social post on Monday.

He declared that former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins would receive a "full and unconditional" pardon in the Memorial Day social media missive.

Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after he was convicted of conspiracy, honest services fraud, and bribery last December, according to the Daily Beast.

The president used some familiar terminology to describe Jenkins' experience with the U.S. justice system. Trump claimed the bribed sheriff had been "dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden” Department of Justice.

“This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail,” Trump wrote. “He is a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left ‘monsters,’ and left for dead.”

The president said instead of sitting in a cell, Jenkins will instead have a "wonderful and productive life."

Prior to losing an election in 2023 for the sheriff’s job, Jenkins had been Culpeper County's top law enforcement officer for more than a decade.

That long career fell apart after the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia brought allegations against Jenkins accusing him of taking tens of thousands of dollars worth of bribes in exchange for appointing businessmen from Northern Virginia as auxiliary sheriffs. The businessmen reportedly weren't interested in enforcing the law, but rather skirting traffic tickets and carrying concealed guns without the need for a permit, according to prosecutors.

Officials said that none of the men who paid for the positions were trained for the roles, or vetted, and none ever rendered any kind of law enforcement service to the sheriff's department.

“We hold our elected law enforcement officials to a higher standard of conduct, and this case proves that when those officials use their authority for unjust personal enrichment, the Department of Justice will hold them accountable,” Acting U.S. Attorney Zachary Lee said in March after Jenkins' conviction.

Jenkins has connections to the MAGA world through the Claremont Institute, a far-right think tank where he was one of eight sheriffs selected as fellows. The institute's membership includes a number of former Trump officials.

In April, Jenkins insisted if he could talk to someone in the Trump administration, he could get help in his case.

"I truly believe if I could get an hour of time with someone in the administration, and lay out some facts with my attorney” it could spare him prison, Jenkins said during a webinar hosted by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. "I believe wholeheartedly in the president. I believe if he heard the information, I know he would help if he knew my story."

It appears he was right.

The Independent stands for many things, often uniquely so. It stands independent of political party allegiance, and makes its own mind up on the issues of the day. The Independent has always been committed to challenge and debate. It launched in 1986 to create a new voice and in that time has run campaigns for issues ranging from the legalisation of marijuana to the Final Say Brexit petition.

claremont

Trump pardons MAGA sheriff who took more than ...}:

The Independent

https://www.the-independent.com › ... › US politics](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-pardons-maga-sheriff-bribes-b2758198.html)

2 days ago — Jenkins has connections to the MAGA world through the Claremont Institute, a far-right think tank where he was one of eight sheriffs selected as ...

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tenn star BS

Katelynn Richardson

Newly-appointed head of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Weaponization Working Group Ed Martin revealed Thursday that he may spend time looking into bar associations for targeting conservative attorneys.

Martin, who says he is being targeted by the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel, told the Daily Caller News Foundation he wants to expose the “weaponization of the bar associations against lawyers.”

“The bar associations exist with a sort of monopoly, but they also exist at the discretion of the courts,” he said, noting they mostly target conservatives. “I’ve seen the impact on the legal system, not only advocates like myself who are targeted, but rank and file prosecutors who are abused by the system because the left wants to have sort of lawlessness.”

James Phalen, executive attorney of the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility, told the DCNF that “any matters involving allegations of disciplinary misconduct are confidential unless and until Disciplinary Council brings charges.”

Disciplinary counsel Hamilton Fox also told the DCNF that investigations are confidential until formal charges are brought.

Martin revealed in a going-away email to staff that he was under an ethics investigation by the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Democratic lawmakers requested an investigation into Martin in March for allegedly abusing his position as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, accusing him of “dismissing charges against his own client and using the threat of prosecution to intimidate government employees and chill the speech of private citizens.” The office previously declined in February to address a prior complaint against Martin for dismissing charges against a Jan. 6 defendant he previously represented.

“Most bar associations, state and national, are 501(c)(3) organizations,” he told the DCNF, noting that status comes with certain benefits. “If they’re not living up to what they should be, they’ll have to face scrutiny. And also, part of it is just the name and shame.”

There are hundreds of bar associations in the United States.

Other conservative attorneys, like John Eastman in California, have faced disciplinary proceedings from the bar.

Martin said the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel is “completely hypocritical” about how it does its job.

“It’s one thing for liberals, another thing for conservatives, confidentiality for themselves, and yet, somebody like me, I had a complaint against me, they exposed my confidential, the confidentiality of the bar complaint, and exposed it to random people in my work environment.”

The DOJ implemented a policy in April placing restrictions on its attorneys participation in American Bar Association (ABA) events.

“The ABA is free to litigate in support of activist causes, including by inserting itself into pending litigation as an amicus curiae,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in the memo. “The Department of Justice must, consistent with the Constitution, be careful stewards of the public fisc, represent all Americans regardless of ideology or political preferences, and defend the policies chosen by America’s democratically elected leadership-as reflected in Congressionally enacted statutes and Presidential policy choices.”

A judge blocked the DOJ’s effort to cancel $3.2 million in grants to the ABA on Wednesday.

“Part of it is the monopoly that bar associations maintain over the practice of law may have to change,” Martin said.

Katelynn Richardson is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.

Photo “Ed Martin” by The Right Men’s Club.*

---

mma

DOJ’s “weaponization” plan B is to provide frothy content for right-wing conspiracy theorists

Written by Matt Gertz

Published 05/14/25

The Justice Department’s “Weaponization Working Group” is the fruit of a yearslong right-wing effort to portray federal law enforcement against Donald Trump and his allies as criminal in nature. But if that task force fails to bring charges against Trump’s purported enemies, its head, the right-wing activist Ed Martin, is promising to publicly “name” and “shame” those individuals — a clear violation of longstanding DOJ policy which would provide chum for MAGA media while turning its targets into hate objects.

“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,” said Martin, who recently stepped down as acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia when it became clear he could not secure Senate confirmation. “And we will name them, and in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed. And that’s a fact. That’s the way things work. And so that’s, that’s how I believe the job operates.”

Martin may not actually realize this — he’s a political hack who represented January 6 defendants rather than an experienced prosecutor — but that is not how the job is supposed to operate. Indeed, as NBC News’ Ryan J. Reilly notes: “During Trump's first tenure, the justification given for Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey was that Comey had given a press conference in which he released ‘derogatory information’ about then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016.”

Martin’s proposal to “name” and “shame” rather than prosecute Trump’s foes seems on the one hand like a significant retreat — a sign that he doesn’t think that the purported crimes he and his colleagues happily detailed in their books, podcasts, and Fox shows can pass muster with a federal judge.

As Trump sought to brand the federal law enforcement officials who investigated him and successfully prosecuted several of his top advisers as the real criminals, a right-wing media ecosystem emerged to support his claims and try to flesh them out. Many of the key players in that ecosystem have since been appointed to the top ranks of the FBI and DOJ, no doubt at least in part because of their willingness to suggest that a reckoning was coming.

For example:

Martin hosted a podcast and radio show in which he “amplified Trump’s claims … that prosecutors may have violated federal criminal conspiracy laws” and led discussions which “revolved around Trump’s desire for ‘retribution’ against current or former department prosecutors,” The Washington Post reported.

Fox host Jeanine Pirro, Martin’s replacement as interim U.S. attorney for D.C., called for a “cleansing” of the FBI and the Justice Department, which she said were full “of individuals who should not just be fired, but who need to be taken out in handcuffs.”

Dan Bongino, the deputy director of the FBI, is a former Fox host and podcaster who called for an investigation into “special tyrant” Jack Smith and described special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe as “an obvious frame job and set-up” by the corrupt deep state.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a 2023 interview that a second Trump term would target “the conspirators, not just in government but in the media” who had “helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.” The appendix of his 2023 book “names more than 50 current or former US officials that he claims are ‘members of the Executive Branch deep state,’ which he describes as a ‘dangerous threat to democracy,’” CNN reported.

Pam Bondi, now the attorney general, said in an April 2023 Fox appearance following Trump’s fourth indictment: “The Department of Justice, the prosecutors will be prosecuted, the bad ones. The investigators will be investigated.”

Martin wouldn’t be the first federal prosecutor to discover that right-wing claims of crimes committed by Trump’s foes collapse under scrutiny. Trump’s media allies — Pirro in particular — said Hillary Clinton’s role role as secretary of state in the sale of a uranium company featured massive criminality and demanded an investigation. The Trump appointee who conducted that investigation apparently found there was nothing to it, closing the probe without charges.

But what Martin appears to be planning now is unsettling. His “name” and “shame” strategy amounts to a public declaration from the federal government that the targets of an otherwise unsuccessful investigation are nonetheless Bad People.

It is easy to predict the path that strategy might take based on what we’ve seen from this administration thus far. MAGA influencers could be called in to DOJ headquarters to receive exclusive access to reports that smear the president’s supposed foes. Pirro might give what amounts to a demagogic Fox monologue from behind a Justice Department lectern. Top federal law enforcement officials would fan out across right-wing outlets to smear the target of the failed probe. Trump himself would likely chime in from his social media accounts and in White House appearances. Perhaps a new executive order would be crafted seeking to damage the employer of an individual the government was unable to successfully charge with a crime. And the president’s media allies at Fox and elsewhere would devote themselves to regurgitating all of it to their audiences.

We’ve seen what can happen to those who come under sustained fire from Trump and his MAGA media allies — they become subject to harassment campaigns and death threats. Now those attacks will come with the imprimatur of the Justice Department.

### The Trumpist media is demanding politicized justice

06/14/23 1:24 PM EDT

### After Trump’s indictment, the “lock her up” brigade feigns horror over “political prosecution”

06/09/23 12:26 PM EDT

### Jeanine Pirro’s Fox producer thought she was “nuts.” Trump just named her DC’s top prosecutor.

05/08/25

:{:{---}:

MMA ODD TO ADMIT DEFEAT? SURE TO IMPLODE?

Charlie Kirk: “I did everything I could to make [Ed Martin] the permanent D.C. US attorney, but Thom Tillis from North Carolina had other plans”

05/15/25

---

RWW 05/09/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Steve Benen @ The Maddow Blog: Despite his radicalism, Ed Martin lands on his feet with new Justice Department job

After an indefensible tenure as an interim U.S. attorney, Ed Martin is receiving his reward: a powerful position in the Justice Department.

Charlie Nash @ Mediaite: Trump Appoints Fox News Host Jeanine Pirro as D.C. U.S. Attorney

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Fox News host Jeanine Pirro would be appointed as the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Travis Gettys @ Raw Story: 'Her detention cannot stand': Judge orders release of student arrested by Trump admin

A federal judge has ordered the immediate release Turkish doctoral student who has been held at an immigration detention center for more than six weeks.

Corbin Bolies @ The Daily Beast: Vance Makes Bonkers Defense of Trump’s Insistence That Kids Need Fewer Dolls

JD Vance on Thursday defended Donald Trump’s insistence that children should have fewer dolls, claiming families will be happier once they know there are more U.S.-made weapons should their kids go to war.

Chuck Tanner and Devin Burghart @ IREHR: MAGA Schemes for a Trump Third Term

Far-right groups like the Third Term Project and Republicans for National Renewal are concocting a multitude of ways to keep Donald Trump in power.

---

TILLIS NO --> THUGSWARM 525 incl kirk

'Crush him': Massive MAGA takedown of dissenting Republican predicted

---

https://davetroy.medium.com/the-big-history-behind-january-6th-part-6-the-big-bet-4e8ba00eeb2c

...The Base

The network behind January 6th had been coalescing in 2018–2019 in meetings of CNP and the Schlafly Eagles. On September 14, 2018 at the Schlafly Eagles annual conference in St. Louis, Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn was awarded the inaugural “Jack Singlaub Award.” Presented by Ed Martin of the Schlafly Eagles and also of Singlaub’s own group, America’s Future, Flynn graciously accepted the award. Many people involved in promoting aspects of the operation were present, including Jack Posobiec, Cassandra Fairbanks, Mike Cernovich, Jim Hoft, and of course, Michael Flynn, his brother Joe, and his son Michael.

---

The Big History Behind January 6th, Part 6: The Bet

https://davetroy.medium.com/?source=post_page---byline--4e8ba00eeb2c}:

Dave Troy (https://davetroy.medium.com/?source=post_page---byline--4e8ba00eeb2c---------------------------------------)

Mar 18, 2021

*This is Part 6 in a series. Listen to theaudio (https://soundcloud.com/david-troy-463230166/sets/big-history-behind-january-6th)version here.

Pandemic Panic

As early as February 2020, with the pandemic looming on the horizon as a huge potential liability for the Republicans, the Council for National Policy (CNP) identified three strategies that might help to avoid a loss—or at the very least muddy the waters. According to author Anne Nelson (https://washingtonspectator.org/nelson-cnp/):

The first involved expanding their use of data to juice Republican votes and suppress Democratic turnout. The second was to mobilize supporters in swing states to ignite Tea Party–like protests against the virus-related public safety lockdowns. The third was to deploy physicians with dubious credentials to dismiss the dangers of Covid-19 through a massive media blitz.

It wasn’t a great strategy, and they knew they had a weak hand. They figured that the only solution would be to somehow prevent certification of the vote, such that they could put results in play in at least a few states.

Anti-lockdown protests began in April, 2020 and continued through the summer. Dr. Judy Mikovits (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/08/plandemic-judy-mikovits-coronavirus/) in “Plandemic,” April 2020. (BBC; Mikki Willis, Washington Post)

In April 2020, shortly after Easter, and after just about a month of lockdowns, coordinated protests emerged in about eighteen states (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52359100). Filmmaker Mikki Willis, a propagandist who had also been present at Standing Rock, released the propaganda film Plandemic in April featuring discredited researcher Dr. Judy Mikovits.

Violence over the summer in response to the murder of George Floyd helped to crystallize “Antifa” as a rhetorical foil to any right-wing factions such as the Proud Boys, Three Percenters or Oath Keepers—despite the false equivalence. While there had been established white supremacist groups for many decades, anti-fascist groups had considerably less history and organizational heft. But this ersatz match-up between two opposing “sides” imparted a menacing atmosphere of conflict.

By the time people began to go to the polls in October, concerns about the integrity of the US Postal Service (vital for mail-in ballots) had reached a fever pitch, leaving many with feelings of uncertainty, and that “anything might happen.”

Meanwhile, leading CNP figures had begun to realize that they would need to deploy their full range of capabilities to retain control of power—or, crucially, to forcefully seize it in the event of an election loss. Advisors began exploring strategies they could use in the event of the loss of either the popular vote or the Electoral College, or both.

Also in February 2020, CNP member Lisa Nelson, the CEO of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), launched a strategic push to ensure state legislatures knew they would be part of any strategy to challenge the electoral vote, and that they planned to challenge individual secretaries of state and inquire “what really did happen that night?” (Ultimately, they set out to physically intervene in the states’ certification, and reportedly aimed to intercept the electoral ballots (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/06/electoral-college-ballots-saved-during-capitol-riots.html) themselves.)

The Base

The network behind January 6th had been coalescing in 2018–2019 in meetings of CNP and the Schlafly Eagles. On September 14, 2018 at the Schlafly Eagles annual conference in St. Louis, Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn was awarded the inaugural “Jack Singlaub Award (https://www.phyllisschlafly.com/press-releases/press-general-mike-flynn-to-receive-inaugural-si-1599/).” Presented by Ed Martin of the Schlafly Eagles and also of Singlaub’s own group, America’s Future, Flynn graciously accepted the award. Many people involved in promoting aspects of the operation were present, including Jack Posobiec, Cassandra Fairbanks, Mike Cernovich, Jim Hoft, and of course, Michael Flynn, his brother Joe, and his son Michael.

The 2018 Schlafly Eagle Forum Award Dinner, September 14, 2018. (Twitter)

In 2019, the same gathering included even more characters who would go on to become involved in the lead up to and events of January 6th, including Scott Presler, Ali Alexander, Brandon Straka (Walkaway), Jack Posobiec, Logan Cook (Carpe Donktum), and Tony “Spooky” Shaffer. Steve Bannon, who would later go on to say on January 5th, “All hell is going to break loose tomorrow (https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/18/politics/trump-bannon-stone-giuliani-capitol-riot-invs/index.html),” also spoke at the Schlafly Eagle Forum in 2019.

2019 Schlafly Eagle Forum, September 14, 2019. (Twitter)

Stop The Steal 2020

Jack Posobiec first signaled the intention to pursue a 2020 #StopTheSteal strategy via Twitter, on September 7, 2020.

Two months later, when the election was called for Joe Biden on Saturday, November 7, 2020 (a moment I remember well, as I was standing on the Ellipse at the White House that morning—the same site where the January 6th rally would be organized by CNP member Kylie Kremer just two months later), the CNP network and all its allies were fully activated. This was war.

Cohen-Watnick, Patel, Tata, and Ellis (New York Times)

The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/us/politics/trump-pentagon-intelligence-iran.html), November 11, 2020.

On November 10, Trump installed a clique of four loyalists (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/us/politics/trump-pentagon-intelligence-iran.html) at the Pentagon and NSA, several notches above their normal pay-grade. He placed Ezra Cohen-Watnick (https://threader.app/thread/1192234107008360448) (a former aide to Michael Flynn) as Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security; Anthony Tata as Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; Kash Patel as Chief of staff, Defense Department; and Michael Ellis as General Counsel at NSA (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/us/politics/a-trump-loyalist-is-installed-at-the-national-security-agency.html). This seemed to be a strategic move, but it wasn’t entirely clear why at the time.

Powell, Flynn, Trump Jr. in “The Plot Against the President.” (Amanda Milius, 2020)

Several co-conspirators, including Patel, Stone, Flynn attorney Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Jack Posobiec, and many others, also appeared in the propaganda film, “The Plot Against the President (https://www.amazon.com/Plot-Against-President-Devin-Nunes/dp/B08LMJ93LL),” available free on Amazon Prime. The film suggests that Trump was framed in an attempted deep state “coup” during the 2016 transition period—a projection (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_projection) of what was actually happening in 2020.

Parler, a conservative clone of Twitter (created in 2018, following the suggestion by Konstantin Malofeev (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/02/world-congress-families-russia-gay-rights/)), had seen a massive uptick in downloads in the days following the election and was being used to attract an audience for planned Stop The Steal rallies. On November 13, I exposed details (https://twitter.com/davetroy/status/1327253991936454663?s=20) that raised questions about Parler’s possible links to Russia and to Rebekah Mercer.

Rallies in DC on November 14 and December 12; Alexander and Jones at the Georgia capitol, November 18. (NPR, Reuters, @bgonthescene)

On November 14, the date of the first Stop The Steal Rally in Washington, the Wall Street Journal confirmed (https://www.wsj.com/articles/parler-backed-by-mercer-family-makes-play-for-conservatives-mad-at-facebook-twitter-11605382430) that Parler was owned by an opaque shell corporation said to be funded primarily by Rebekah Mercer. (In January, she would fire CEO John Matze (https://www.reuters.com/article/ctech-us-parler-ceo-idCAKBN2A33B0-OCATC), replacing him with CNP member and founder of Tea Party Patriots, Mark Meckler. Parler is now the subject of an inquiry by the House Oversight committee (https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/chairwoman-maloney-demands-docs-related-to-parler-s-financing-ties-to-foreign).)

Alexander and Alex Jones did a dry run at the Georgia capitol on November 18. A second stop the steal rally was organized for December 12. Jones, Flynn, Stone, and Alexander were speakers at all three main events on November 14, December 12, and January 5–6.

Michael Flynn was pardoned (https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/30/trump-flynn-pardon-reprieve-441527) by the president and by William Barr on November 30, 2020. He and his attorney Sidney Powell met with the president on December 18 (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fired-attorney-sidney-powell-back-advising-trump-chart/story?id=74823842) to convince him to declare martial law. White House Counsel Pat Cipillone is said to have talked him out of it.

The danger was palpable. On Sunday, January 3, anticipating what appeared to be brewing within the defense and intelligence community, all ten living former Secretaries of Defense issued a joint letter, stating: “Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic.”

For a full account of the lead-up, see this exhaustive play-by-play (https://www.justsecurity.org/74622/stopthesteal-timeline-of-social-media-and-extremist-activities-leading-to-1-6-insurrection/) going back to September from The Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Lab.

A Disaster Unfolds

Roger Stone, former adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, is flanked by security (https://twitter.com/dfriedman33/status/1372269819073024008?s=21) during a rally at Freedom Plaza, ahead of the U.S. Congress certification of the November 2020 election results, during protests in Washington, U.S., January 5, 2021. (CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/18/politics/trump-bannon-stone-giuliani-capitol-riot-invs/index.html))

By January 5, the chief conspirators were chanting in unison. From a later CNN report (“How Trump allies stoked the flames ahead of Capitol riot (https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/18/politics/trump-bannon-stone-giuliani-capitol-riot-invs/index.html)”) about that day:

Steve Bannon evoked the beaches of Normandy. Michael Flynn drew comparisons to Civil War battlefields and spoke of Americans who died for their country. Roger Stone called it a struggle “between the godly and the godless, between good and evil.” Rudy Giuliani called for “trial by combat.” Ali Alexander said it would be a “knife fight.”

CNP members were key players in the preparation and execution of the failed coup.Author Anne Nelson has documented CNP’s extensive involvement in her excellent piece (https://washingtonspectator.org/nelson-cnp/) published February 22. Dr. Simone Gold pushed COVID disinformation, and was inside the Capitol on January 6th. Sidney Powell worked with Flynn and lawyer Lin Wood on ludicrous legal strategies and typo-laden lawsuits. Cleta Mitchell pleaded (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mitchell-trump-resigns-firm/2021/01/05/ea5364b4-4f9e-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html), with Trump, to Georgia’s Brad Raffensperger for 11,781 votes. Dr. Scott Magill, of Veterans in Defense of Liberty, summoned veterans and bikers (https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/01/08/christian-right-council-national-policy-tied-violent-insurrection-u-s-capitol/) to participate, saying “our battle cry shall be, ‘We will not concede!’”

CNP heavyweight Ginni Thomas (http://web.archive.org/save/https://www.zoominfo.com/pic/the-council-for-national-policy/354584887), wife of Clarence Thomas, enthusiastically supported (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/ginni-thomas-apology-clarence-thomas-clerks-trump-rally/2021/02/02/a9818cce-6496-11eb-8c64-9595888caa15_story.html) the January 6th coup; she recanted weeks later. Charlie Kirk helped coordinate transportation to the rally. Brent Bozell IV, son of CNP 30-year executive committee veteran Brent Bozell III, entered the Senate chamber (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/brent-bozell-charged-capitol-riot/2021/02/17/e417a2f0-713f-11eb-b8a9-b9467510f0fe_story.html) and directed C-SPAN’s camera at the floor.

CNP’s Dr. Simone Gold, in the Capitol on January 6th. Ad for event featuring Mikki Willis and Dr. David Martin of “Plandemic.” (Washington Post, Facebook)

On January 3rd, Kylie Kremer, daughter of CNP’s Amy Kremer (who founded Tea Party Patriots with now-Parler CEO Mark Meckler), took out the permit (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/10/when-did-jan-6-rally-become-march-capitol/) for the rally at the Ellipse. “Plandemic” filmmaker and Standing Rock operative Mikki Willis joined and praised (https://conspirituality.net/transmissions/plandemics-mikki-willis-joins-praises-violent-capitol-mob/) the violent mob, and David E. Martin from Plandemic II spoke at the MAGA Freedom Rally (https://magafreedomrallydc.com/jan-6-livestream) on January 5th. Ali Alexander is, at the time of this writing, “at large,” hosting chats on social audio app Clubhouse (https://twitter.com/davetroy/status/1364711153306370048?s=20), even as others whose involvement was minimal in comparison have been arrested.

IFrame Content (https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/gregpmiller/status/1347369974860554244&image=https%3A//i.embed.ly/1/image%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fabs.twimg.com%252Ferrors%252Flogo46x38.png%26key%3Da19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07)

On January 8th, Washington Post’s national security reporter Greg Miller attributed the delay to the loyalists installed by Trump — actually installed in November. (Twitter)

The Pentagon’s three hour and 19 minute delay in sending National Guard troops was a key cause of the breach of the US Capitol. Capitol Police and the Pentagon have advanced conflicting narratives (https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/03/dc-national-guard-chief-capitol-attack-473266?2=). The Washington Post reported that some of the delays in making the decision to send troops to the Capitol were caused by the team of loyalists installed by Trump on November 10. Additionally, Michael Flynn’s brother, Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn, was part of that decision—a fact that the Army initially lied about (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/flynn-national-guard-call-riot/2021/01/20/7f4f41ba-5b4c-11eb-aaad-93988621dd28_story.html). We still do not have a coherent explanation for what happened at the Pentagon that day, and where Flynn himself was as this unfolded. Congress must launch a full investigation.

Michael Flynn in a video for TheRightSide TV, showing a poster from VCDL (left), the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a group believed by researchers to be heavily engaged in the events on January 6th. (vcdl.org (https://vcdl.org/VA-ALERT-03-10-2021/))

Heavy participation from people in the military and intelligence community in promotion, preparation, and execution of the event suggests a coordinated networked insurgency. As reported in Part 4 (https://davetroy.medium.com/the-big-history-behind-january-6th-part-4-intelligence-big-oil-and-the-octopus-6d77a432a481), a network of former military and intelligence veterans were instrumental in promoting and advancing the narratives associated with QAnon and that ultimately led to the insurrection.

VCDL logo (vcdl.org (https://vcdl.org/))

Additionally, researchers examining the Virginia Citizens Defense League believe that Flynn was directly networked with that group, per the poster on his wall in the video above bearing their logo.

“Jokes” from GoldCorp, a pro-gold “private military contractor” opposed to fiat currency. (January 5, 2021; December 5, 2020)

Another group, GoldCorp (https://twitter.com/GOLDCORPDEFENSE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1346569057089302529%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.radio.com%2Fconnectingvets%2Fnews%2Fhow-a-special-forces-meme-ended-up-on-pelosis-office-door) (said to be a “joke meme group (https://www.radio.com/connectingvets/news/how-a-special-forces-meme-ended-up-on-pelosis-office-door),” with the Twitter bio “PREMIER NON-FIAT PMC”), toured the Capitol on January 5th (https://www.rollcall.com/2021/01/13/34-house-democrats-call-for-investigation-into-jan-5-tours-by-fellow-members-ahead-of-attack/) and left menacing stickers, with the help of collaborators inside Congress.

Marjorie Taylor Greene (who now represents much of Larry McDonald’s Georgia district 🤯 ) told people in a 2019 video (https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2021/02/03/marjorie-taylor-greene-house-gop-trump-flood-capitol-ebof-vpx.cnn) to “flood the Capitol.”

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AN NO LNX

Busted: Embatteled Trump pick told 'Church of the AR-15' that US institutions must fall

Courtesy Kingdom Generation YouTube channel

Jordan Greenand Raw StoryMay 08, 2025

Ed Martin, Donald Trump’s embattled pick for U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, once told an AR-15-toting fringe religious group that institutions preventing Trump from overturning the 2020 election would fall like Jericho, according to footage reviewed by Raw Story but now seemingly removed from the internet by the group concerned.

“We’re gonna have Jericho March, Jericho March all around,” Martin said, alluding to the Biblical story of how Joshua led the Israelite army to attack the city of Jericho and slaughter its inhabitants.

“And if these principalities won’t yield to the truth and the Constitution, we know what happened in Jericho.”

Martin was then a Missouri Republican activist best known for leading Eagle Forum, a group formed by the arch-conservative Phyllis Schlafly.

He spoke outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 9, 2020, less than a month before Congress would convene a joint session to certify the electoral votes for the next president.

On Jan. 6 2021, when Congress convened, a mob of supporters who Trump told to “fight like hell” in his cause stormed the Capitol building. The attack failed to overturn Joe Biden’s election win but is now linked to nine deaths. In January, after Trump returned to power, he issued pardons and commutations for about 1,500 people in relation to the attack.

After being named top prosecutor for D.C. in an acting capacity, Martin personally dismissed charges against Jan. 6 defendants still awaiting trial.

Now, though, Martin’s chances of being confirmed in a permanent capacity appear to be foundering, amid concerns about his connections to the Capitol attack and his role in the “Stop the Steal” movement that fueled it.

‘We speak His truth’

Amid a frenzy of reporting on Martin's chances of confirmation, Martin’s speech outside the Supreme Court on Dec. 9 has been little remarked. But it reveals a startling moment.

Martin spoke to Rod of Iron Ministries, a breakaway sect from the Unification Church that worships with AR-15 rifles and is led by Pastor Sean Moon, son of the late Sun Myung Moon, who is revered by followers as the second coming of Christ.

On Jan. 6, Sean Moon would lead followers to the Capitol. Later, in an Instagram post, Moon celebrated rioters who he said “took dominion of the Satanic temple,” while sending “the most powerful people on the planet scurrying away, like rats, in total fear, total panic, in tunnels.”

On Dec. 9, Martin approached the group, which was preparing to rally in support of Trump. Dressed in a tan overcoat, he asked if he could borrow their microphone.

Introducing himself as “one of the founders of Stop the Steal,” Martin sought to encourage Moon and his followers to not get too hung up on whether Trump’s effort to overturn the election got snagged at the Supreme Court, and to keep fighting regardless.

Speaking with religious fervor, Martin entwined a vision of a Christian nation with unstinting loyalty to Trump.

“We are a republic founded on a Constitution and the rule of law,” Martin said. “But the Constitution and the rule of law mean nothing if you do not have the Judeo-Christian values that underlie it.

“Every one of us has turned to repent to the Lord; our nation has too. But we also turn to our fellow man, and say, ‘Do your job.’”

“Do your job! Do your job!” Rod of Iron members chanted.

The “fake news,” Martin warned, would say the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to hear challenges to the election would determine the winner. Not true, claimed Martin: “We all know at the end of today, the winner’s Jesus Christ almighty God.”

Trust the lawyers to fight the legal battles, Martin said, adding that the Rod of Iron members should stay focused on a greater truth.

“We speak His truth,” Martin said, “and then we bring our truth down here. And we have to be — like the old days — evangelizers of the truth, in the country, in this nation, because there’s too much at stake for us to turn away now. So, here’s the thing: Be encouraged. Be strengthened. Be fortified. And pray. But be ready to keep fighting.”

Martin then invited the Rod of Iron members to come back to the Supreme Court in three days for a “Jericho March,” alluding to the grisly fate of that city.

Video of Martin’s speech was filmed by Kyle Yoder, a supporter of Sean Moon, and posted on a YouTube channel named “Kingdom Generation” under the title “The Second King in front of the US Supreme Court,” an apparent reference to Moon.

Raw Story reviewed, transcribed and took screenshots of the video in July 2021. The video now appears to have been taken down.

Ed Martin (right) and Pastor Sean Moon, leader of Rod of Iron Ministries, hold up a "Stop the Steal" sign at the Supreme Court on Dec. 9, 2020.Courtesy Kingdom Generation YouTube channel

On Dec. 12, 2020, a “Jericho March” went ahead. One of the speakers was Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers militia, who called on Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act or face a “much more desperate, much more bloody war.”

After the Capitol attack, Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in federal prison. He was released in January after receiving a commutation from Trump.

Martin was present at the Capitol on Jan. 6, but was not charged. As an attorney, he represented some Jan. 6 defendants and became a fixture on conservative outlets that sought to recast the rioters as patriots duped by either “antifa” — leftwing groups — or the FBI.

In one 2024 podcast, Martin said he supported pardons even for defendants who were violent on Jan. 6, reasoning that “this whole thing was such a setup that, while I would never condone hitting a cop, the people that were put in a position and charged with that were put in a position.

“It’s not entrapment — it’s much more sophisticated than entrapment. It’s much more like an incitement on behalf of the entire system to get a result, and then to name it [insurrection]. And so I’m for pardoning all the people that were related to January 6, because I think it was such an egregious thing.”

‘No tolerance for anybody who entered the building’

After Trump’s return to power, Martin’s nomination as U.S. attorney for D.C. seemed set to succeed.

But Martin’s comments on Jan. 6 appear to have become a dealbreaker for some Republicans. While U.S. attorney appointments typically move through the Senate to confirmation without controversy, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who chairs the Judiciary Committee, hasn’t scheduled a vote on Martin’s nomination.

In a more worrying sign for Martin, at the Capitol on Tuesday, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a key swing vote, told ABC News that after meeting with Martin, he could not support him.

“I think anybody who breached the perimeter should have been in prison for some time,” Tillis said, of those who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6. “Whether it’s 30 days or three years is debatable, but I have no tolerance for anybody who entered the building on January 6, and that’s probably where most of the friction was.”

When Trump was impeached for inciting the Capitol attack, Tillis voted to acquit, though he said Trump’s “words and actions were reckless and he shares responsibility for the disgrace that occurred on Jan. 6.”

Since Trump’s return to power, Tillis has expressed opposition to Jan. 6 pardons. But he must walk a political tightrope, towards a reelection bid in North Carolina that is expected to be among the closest contests next year. Angering Trump would put him at risk of a primary defeat.

Trump has spoken to senators. Nonetheless, on Tuesday, majority leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters he thought Tillis’s opposition would leave Martin’s nomination stuck in committee, and thus doomed. ABC said Tillis could still vote to advance Martin’s nomination to the full Senate, just without his support.

Raw Story requested comment from Martin, via the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He did not respond.

ALSO READ: 'Not regurgitating lies': The best way to combat Trump's maniacal delusions

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After President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential race to Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Ed Martin Jr. was among the far-right MAGA attorneys who aggressively supported the "Stop the Steal" movement and Trump's efforts to overturn the election results. Martin went on to defend some of the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.

Now, Martin is the interim lead prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) District of Columbia office. But in order to be appointed to the position permanently, he will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. And according to reporting from the Associated Press (AP), Martin is getting a strong pushback from some DOJ veterans and career prosecutors.

In an article published on May 2, AP reporters Michael Kunzelman, Alanna Durkin Richer and Mary Clare Jalonick explain, "Ed Martin Jr., a conservative activist with modest legal experience who has defended rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, is testing Republican Party loyalties as a deadline approaches for the Senate to decide whether to extend or end his brief but tumultuous tenure as leader of the country's largest U.S. attorney's office. Martin's nomination faces vocal opposition from hundreds of veterans of the office that he is leading on an interim basis."

The AP reporters add, "Democrats are trying to tie up his confirmation vote. And Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have said they need more time to review his record."

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According to Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois — the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee — Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who chairs that committee, may announce "that we are not going to move forward on the Martin nomination."

Kunzelman, Richer and Jalonick report, "Grassley demurred, saying he would wait to talk about Martin until the (Judiciary) Committee scheduled a vote…. It was hardly a ringing endorsement of Martin, who hasn't spent much time in courtrooms but has been a devoted loyalist to Trump."

The AP journalists continue, "Within days of taking office in January, Martin fired or demoted veteran attorneys who prosecuted Trump supporters for storming the U.S. Capitol. Before his appointment, he represented and helped raise money for Capitol riot defendants. He frequently appeared on Russian state media to parrot Trump talking points. He even published coloring books glorifying Trump’s tweets."

When Politico asked Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) if he would vote to confirm Martin, the Texan responded, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is noncommittal on Martin as well, telling Politico, "I'm hearing that at least a couple members of the (Senate Judiciary) Committee have expressed some concerns about him…. If his nomination seems to be moving forward and it was clear that I was going to be in a position where I would have to vote on the floor — yeah, I would want to meet him."

*Read the full Associated Press article at this link and Politico's reporting here.

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When President Donald Trump chose c, the Missouri lawyer and political operative, to be the top U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., the decision came as a shock to current and former federal prosecutors as well as outside legal experts. Martin had no prosecutorial experience. He was best known as a conservative activist, the former right-hand man to influential anti-feminist icon Phyllis Schlafly and a loyal Trump surrogate.

Since taking charge of the office in January, Martin has launched controversial investigations, rushed to defend Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and vowed to change how his office prosecutes crime in the District of Columbia.

His actions have been met with fierce pushback from Democratic lawmakers, watchdog groups and legal experts. There have been at least four disciplinary complaints filed against him with the D.C. and Missouri bars. One of the D.C. complaints has been dismissed; the other three appear to be pending. If Martin has responded to the complaints, his statements have not been made public.

Martin did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Here are some of Martin’s most contentious moves so far.

Jan. 6 Retribution

At Trump’s direction, Martin has presided over the dismissal of outstanding cases that were part of the Justice Department’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol.

But Martin got tripped up by what should have been a legal formality: In one of the cases he dismissed, he was still listed as counsel of record for the defendant, a possible conflict of interest. The incident prompted bar complaints against Martin in D.C. and Missouri. (The D.C. bar’s disciplinary panel dismissed the complaint, saying Martin had been acting at the behest of the president. The Missouri complaint appears to be pending.)

Martin fired more than a dozen federal prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases. He demoted seven senior lawyers in his office, including the two prosecutors who led the Jan. 6 team, to low-level roles in D.C. Superior Court, which handles local prosecutions. (Most of the affected attorneys have not commented publicly, but those who have are critical of Martin’s tenure.)

Martin has opened an investigation into supposed leaks related to Jan. 6 cases, saying the information was used “by the media and partisans as misinformation.” He also ordered an investigation into past charging decisions made as part of the Jan. 6 cases. In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the DOJ’s use of an obstruction statute in those prosecutions. In an office-wide email obtained by ProPublica, Martin quoted an unnamed contact who compared the DOJ’s use of the obstruction statute to President Franklin Roosevelt’s decision to imprison more than 100,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II.

DOGE Enforcer

Martin has published several open letters to Musk on the Musk-owned social media platform X.

In the first letter, dated Feb. 3, Martin asked Musk to “utilize me and my staff” to protect the people and the work of DOGE. He vowed to take “any and all legal action against anyone” who impeded DOGE’s work.

“We will not act like the previous administration,” Martin added, “who looked the other way as the Antifa and BLM rioters as well as thugs with guns trashed our capital city.”

In his second letter, dated Feb. 7, Martin expanded on his pledge to his office’s legal powers in support of Musk and DOGE’s work. “Please let me reiterate again: If people are discovered to have broken the law or even acted simply unethically, we will investigate them and we will chase them to the end of the Earth to hold them accountable,” Martin wrote.

He urged his employees to respond to Musk’s demand that all federal employees list five things they accomplished that week, adding: “DOGE and Elon are doing great work! Historic.”

And when DOGE employees attempted to seize control of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a private nonprofit that receives government funding, Martin and his office assisted so that DOGE could take over and wind down the nonprofit.

“We Will Defend You”

The U.S. attorney’s office for D.C. is unique in that it prosecutes both federal and local crimes. In his tweets and public statements, Martin has vowed to “Make D.C. Safe Again,” even though violent crime has broadly declined in the District in recent years.

While his public safety agenda is light on details so far, he has pledged to be a stalwart defender of the D.C. police. In yet another open letter posted on X, Martin wrote that the “radical ‘Defund the Police’ movement by Black Lives Matter is over” and that it was “time to get back to protecting and supporting our law enforcement officers.”

“At every turn, we will defend you,” he said.

Yet current and former federal prosecutors in D.C. say Martin’s actions so far have undercut morale in the office while his proposed reforms could make it harder, not easier, for prosecutors to do their jobs.

In February, Martin removed the chief and deputy chief of the Federal Major Crimes section, which oversees cases involving drugs, firearms possession, child exploitation, human trafficking and immigration violations. The two lawyers, who had decades of experience between them and were widely respected, were demoted to low-level roles; the more senior of the two, Melissa Jackson, resigned soon afterward. (Jackson declined to comment; her deputy did not respond to requests for comment.)

Martin also said he was “rewriting” the office’s policy for the so-called Lewis list, a repository of police officer disciplinary records. Prosecutors consult the Lewis database when they decide whether to put a police officer on the witness stand. They also use the Lewis list to identify officers about whom they need to disclose information to defense attorneys that bears on a witness’s credibility or potential bias to fulfill their constitutional obligations.

Martin framed his decision to reform the Lewis list as part of a broader shift to be more pro-police. “USAO will no longer allow judges or others to gratuitously damage your careers because of the outsized impact of inexact characterizations,” he wrote.

Michael Romano, a former federal prosecutor in the D.C. office, said that any effort to weaken or eliminate the Lewis list will only make it harder for prosecutors to argue and win cases because it would deprive them of information that they must disclose in court. “Gutting the Lewis list,” Romano told ProPublica, “makes it less likely that prosecutors will obtain convictions at trial, makes it more likely that convictions will be reversed on appeal and puts prosecutors’ licenses to practice law at risk.”

Investigating Democrats

Martin has initiated multiple inquiries into critics and opponents of Trump.

Martin asked Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., for information about a business that Vindman and his brother, Alexander, started to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, The Washington Post reported. Vindman and his twin brother, Alex, both blew the whistle on Trump’s attempt to withhold military aid to Ukraine while pressuring the country’s leader to investigate the family of President Joe Biden. Eugene Vindman said that Martin’s letter was part of Trump’s “retribution campaign” and that those who wrote the letter and “encouraged this weird attempt at intimidation are lying.”

Biden’s family members and former officials from his administration received letters from Martin’s office related to the ex-president’s decision to grant pardons to people close to him, The New York Times reported. Trump has pushed an unproven theory that Biden’s actions weren’t valid because he wasn’t mentally competent.

He also sent letters to Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Rep. Robert Garcia of California, both Democrats, asking them to answer questions about incendiary public comments they had made. The inquiries appeared to have fizzled out and did not result in any charges.

Targeting Medical Journals

On Apr. 14, Martin sent a list of questions to the editor of Chest magazine, a medical journal published by the American College of Chest Physicians. The letter accused the journal and others like it of “being partisans in various scientific debates” and asked a series of contentious questions, such as “How do you clearly articulate when you have certain viewpoints that are influenced by your ongoing relations with supporters, funders, advertisers, and others?” and “How do you handle allegations that authors of works in your journals may have misled readers?”

Two other medical journal publishers received similar letters, The New York Times reported. The letters have raised grave concerns about curbing free speech and government intimidation of scientific publications.

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Edward Martin wears a gray suit and blue tie as he speaks at a desk with a microphone at the Capitol.

Edward Martin Jr., a Republican activist serving as interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., sent letters to science and medical journals, accusing them of bias.Credit...Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Associated Press

By Teddy Rosenbluth and Rebecca Robbins

April 18, 2025

A federal prosecutor has sent letters to at least three medical journals accusing them of political bias and asking a series of probing questions suggesting that the journals mislead readers, suppress opposing viewpoints and are inappropriately swayed by their funders.

The letters were signed by Edward Martin Jr., a Republican activist serving as interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. He has been criticized for using his office to target opponents of President Trump.

Some scientists and doctors said they viewed the letters as a threat from the Trump administration that could have a chilling effect on what journals publish. The health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has said he wants to prosecute medical journals, accusing them of lying to the public and colluding with pharmaceutical companies.

One of the letters was sent to the journal Chest, published by the American College of Chest Physicians. The New York Times obtained a copy of the letter.

The Times confirmed that at least two other publishers had received nearly identically worded letters, but those publishers would not speak publicly because they feared retribution from the Trump administration.

In the letter to Chest, dated Monday, Mr. Martin wrote, “It has been brought to my attention that more and more journals and publications like CHEST Journal are conceding that they are partisans in various scientific debates.”

He demanded that the journal’s publishers answer a series of questions by May 2. Do they accept submissions from “competing viewpoints?” What do they do if the authors they published “may have misled their readers?” Are they transparent about influence from “supporters, funders, advertisers and others?”

And he specifically singled out the National Institutes of Health, which funds some of the research the journals publish, asking about the agency’s role “in the development of submitted articles.”

The prosecutor’s inquiry amounts to “blatant political intimidation of our medical journals,” Dr. Adam Gaffney, a pulmonologist and researcher in Massachusetts whose articles have been published in Chest, wrote on X.

It was not clear how many journals had been targeted. Several prominent medical and science publishers said they had not received letters. Others declined requests for comment. News of the letters was earlier reported by MedPage Today, a medical news website.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington also declined to comment. Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Health and Human Services Department, declined to comment on whether Mr. Kennedy had any involvement.

Laura DiMasi, a spokeswoman for the American College of Chest Physicians, confirmed that the organization had received the letter but declined an interview request.

Most of what medical journals publish is highly technical, aimed at an audience of specialists. But they and the organizations that publish them have increasingly come under attack. Right-leaning sites like Breitbart have derided them as “woke medical journals.”

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group, has been attacking the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which publishes a journal and runs a variety of reproductive health programs. It has received federal funding for an effort to promote maternal health. The alliance recently urged the Trump administration to cut funding and investigate the group, saying it was pushing liberal ideas about diversity and gender.

Several journals or their publishers have publicly opposed Mr. Trump.

In January, the American Public Health Association, which publishes a journal, was among several groups that sued the Trump administration over a memo freezing federal funding. That policy that has now been rescinded, though the administration has since halted other funds.

In March, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists called mass layoffs at H.H.S. an “attack on public health.”

In 2020, The New England Journal of Medicine published an editorial condemning Mr. Trump’s response to the pandemic — the first time the journal had taken a position in an election in its 208-year history. The journal Nature endorsed Joseph R. Biden Jr. for president in the 2020 election and spoke out against a second Trump term during the 2024 election.

Medical journals are afforded the same First Amendment protections as any other news media outlet.

Kent Anderson, a consultant for scientific publishers who has written about conservative attacks on medical journals, said that Mr. Martin’s inquiry could have a chilling effect among publishers.

“This is a fishing expedition from a U.S. attorney, and that makes people nervous,” Mr. Anderson said. “It may make them think twice about an editorial about treating women who have a spontaneous abortion or about transgender teens dealing with a health issue, because it may make them think that somebody is going to knock on the door.”

Mr. Kennedy had been nursing grievances about scientific journals for years. Medical and science publishers have long rejected article submissions that purport to show a link between vaccines and autism. (Dozens of studies have failed to establish such a link.)

He said in a podcast interview last year that he would seek to prosecute medical journals under the federal anti-corruption statute.

“I’m going to litigate against you under the racketeering laws, under the general tort laws,” he said. “I’m going to find a way to sue you unless you come up with a plan right now to show how you’re going to start publishing real science and stop retracting the real science and publishing the fake pharmaceutical science by these phony industry mercenaries.”

As examples, he pointed to two prominent journals, The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet, and the scientific publishing giant, Elsevier.

Other top health officials in the Trump administration have also criticized the big scientific publishers. In a book published last year, Dr. Martin A. Makary, the new commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, accused journal editorial boards of “gate-keeping” and publishing only information that supports a “groupthink narrative.”

Before becoming director of the N.I.H., Dr. Jay Bhattacharya publicly chastised the editor in chief of a prominent journal, Science, claiming he had “publicly denigrated scientists” who opposed Covid-era lockdowns. Dr. Bhattacharya was widely denounced by mainstream scientists during the pandemic for proposing that the virus should allowed to spread naturally through the population.

Dr. Bhattacharya also co-founded a new journal pitched as an alternative to traditional scientific publishing. It has published contrarian views on Covid.

Christina Jewett contributed reporting.

Teddy Rosenbluth is a health reporter and a member of the 2024-25 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.

Rebecca Robbins is a reporter covering the pharmaceutical industry. She has been reporting on health and medicine since 2015.

See more on: U.S. Politics, 2024 Elections: News, Polls and Analysis, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services Department, Donald Trump

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04/24/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Jeremy Kohler and Andy Kroll @ ProPublica: The Untold Story of How Ed Martin Ghostwrote Online Attacks Against a Judge — and Still Became a Top Trump Prosecutor

Court records show emails between Ed Martin and an ally urging online criticism of a judge handling a case he was involved in, which experts say is an ethical violation.

William Vaillancourt @ The Daily Beast: Trump Nominee ‘Sorry’ for Past Praise of Nazi Sympathizer

Ed Martin, who awaits Senate confirmation, told a Jewish magazine that he was unaware of Timothy Hale-Cusanelli’s affinity for Hitler.

Elura Nanos @ Law & Crime: Elementary school teacher sues right-wing scammers over alleged plot to cast him as a pedophile in online ‘DC Predator’ show

Right-wing scammers Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl are facing a $5 million lawsuit by a Washington, D.C., elementary school teacher over an alleged plot to cast him as a pedophile in a video sting in the style of “To Catch a Predator,” a reality TV series in which men arriving at a house to have sex with a minor are secretly confronted and recorded by hidden cameras.

Angry White Men: Stew Peters Accuses Father Of Slain Teenager Of ‘Anti-White Self-Hatred’

Recently, a far-right, racist rally was held in Frisco, TX ostensibly in honor of Austin Metcalf, a white high school student who was killed at a track meet. But when Austin’s father, Jeff Metcalf, condemned the rally and its organizers, Holocaust-denying, pro-Nazi broadcaster Stew Peters was apoplectic.

Edith Olmstead @ The New Republic: Stephen Miller Delivers Chilling Warning to Judges on Deportations

Donald Trump’s adviser had a bizarre and disturbing ultimatum.

Amanda Moore @ Turtle Diaries: Bussin' in the Egoists: Race Rally Edition

The clown show makes a stop in Frisco, Texas.

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RWW

04/23/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Khaya Himmelman @ Talking Points Memo: Trump’s DOJ Is Taking Cues From MAGA Influencers And Conspiracy Theorists

President Trump’s nominee for D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, and Donald Trump’s Department of Justice more broadly, are taking cues from right-wing influencers — allowing some of the loudest media figures on the right to influence significant decisions, including who gets fired from the DOJ and who and what gets investigated.

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Trump’s nominee for D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, and Donald Trump’s Department of Justice more broadly, are taking cues from right-wing influencers — allowing some of the loudest media figures on the right to influence significant decisions, including who gets fired from the DOJ and who and what gets investigated.

It’s the latest way in which Trump’s DOJ has shirked its duty to uphold even the appearance of independence from the White House, and from Trump’s allies and friends in the right-wing social media sphere who have their own political agendas.

“It’s unprecedented for government officials to take direction or suggestions from highly polarized people and act on it within our government, especially when we’re talking about the DOJ,” Wendy Via, president and co-founder of The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said in an interview with TPM. “It eradicates all the DOJ is supposed to be — independent, for justice.”

Most recently, Martin — who has been serving in the role to which he was nominated in an acting capacity since January — targeted a former DOJ prosecutor who was a part of Special Counsel Robert Muller’s team, Aaron Zelinsky, with a letter alleging Zelinsky had somehow intentionally “sent an innocent man to jail.” The most striking part of the letter, though, was that a section of it was pulled directly, without attribution, from an old article on a website run by investigative journalist-turned-MAGA-aligned conspiracy theorist John Solomon.

As Mother Jones points out in a recent report on the letter of inquiry to Zelinsky, Martin’s letter includes a portion that appears to be fully lifted from a 2020 article from “Just the News,” a right-wing outlet started by Solomon.

Solomon started Just the News in 2020 after publishing a series of articles for The Hill highlighting claims by Trump allies who, at the time, were attempting to conjure up allegations of a corruption scheme involving Joe Biden and Ukraine — an effort that eventually led to Trump’s first impeachment in the House during his previous administration.

The April 14 letter accuses Zelinksky of making “false statements” that aided in sending “an innocent man to jail in an attempt to advance the false narrative that the campaign of a serving President had colluded with Russia to win the presidency,” according to Mother Jones‘ reporting. This is a reference to right-wing conspiracy theories that emerged around Trump ally George Papadopoulos’s prosecution.

Just The News did not respond to TPM’s request for comment.

Then in March, the White House appears to have taken a cue from right-wing political activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, firing a career federal prosecutor in Los Angeles without reason.

The prosecutor, Adam Schleifer, had been working on a case against the founder of Fatburger, Andrew Wiederhorn, who, according to the New York Times, was a donor to political action committees that have supported Trump.

Right before Schleifer’s dismissal, though, Loomer posted on X, sharing screenshots of old posts where Schleifer had been critical of Trump. “Why is Biden holdover @AdamSchleiferNY Adam Schleifer still working for the US Attorney’s office under the new Trump administration? He is a Trump hater who has been working at the US Attorney’s office since 2021,” she wrote. “Fire him. He supported the impeachment of President Trump and said he wanted to repeal Trump’s tax plan.”

And in February of this year, Denise Cheung, who was in charge of the criminal division of the Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, resigned from her post after refusing to comply with an order from Martin to open a grand jury investigation into Biden-era Environmental Protection Agency grants. The only known evidence that Martin had to support this order for both an investigation and a potential asset freeze was a 5-minute video clip from a right-wing conspiracy theory website, Project Veritas.

The Project Veritas video clip purported to show a former Biden-era EPA employee talking about distributing climate specific funding to non-profit organizations ahead of the start of the Trump administration.

“When I explained that the quantum of evidence did not support that action, you stated that you believed that there was sufficient evidence,” wrote Cheung in her resignation letter to Martin. “As I shared with you, at this juncture, based upon the evidence I have reviewed, I still do not believe that there is sufficient evidence to issue the letter you described, including sufficient evidence to tell the bank that there is probable cause to seize the particular accounts identified.”

Via, from the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, called the DOJ’s reliance on right-wing influencers and conspiracy theorists “incredibly bizarre.”

“Of all of our agencies, the DOJ, and then of course under that the FBI, are supposed to be the most independent, the least affected by politics,” she added. “When I say it’s unprecedented, I don’t even know what other words to use, because it is so antithetical to who America is.”

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... Media Matters: Cigar company founder Michael Knowles asks Trump for a tariff exemption

Knowles: “Anyone listening right now in the admin, a great little carve out would be for all of the patriotic Americans who have been oppressed for too long, who work in the premium cigar industry, and for all of the premium cigar smokers.”

Alex Griffing @ Mediaite: MAGA Influencer Tells Steve Bannon Trump ‘Will Have No Choice’ But to Suspend Habeas Corpus

Former Trump White House advisor turned podcaster, Steve Bannon, spoke to another MAGA influencer on Tuesday, who argued that President Donald Trump will eventually have to suspend habeas corpus in order to facilitate mass deportations.

Judd Legum @ Popular Information: U.S. citizen wrongly detained by Border Patrol says government account is false

Jose Hermosillo was held in a detention facility for undocumented immigrants for 10 days.

Amanda Lewellyn @ Vox: How Trump is rewriting American history

Yale professor David W. Blight explains why Trump is far from the first to try to rewrite the record.

Steve Benen @ The Maddow Blog: Bondi launches dubious ‘Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias’ in U.S. government

Trump administration officials could be focused on “anti-religion bias” within the government, but they’re instead focused only on “anti-Christian bias.”

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One prestigious journal for doctors who work in pulmonary health is now confirming the receipt of a letter sent by Ed Martin, who is the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia in President Donald Trump's Department of Justice.

NBC News reported Friday that the CHEST journal — which is published by the 22,000-member American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) — got a letter from Martin asking various questions about its editorial practices. This reportedly included whether it was influenced by advertisers, allowed for "viewpoint diversity" and if it protects readers from misinformation.

"“It has been brought to my attention that more and more journals and publications like CHEST Journal are conceding that they are partisans in various scientific debates,” the letter read, which also warned editors: “You have certain responsibilities.”

Eric Reinhart, who is a Chicago-based clinician, political anthropologist and social psychiatrist, obtained a copy of the letter and posted it to his X account. He called on editors of journals like CHEST to form a unified opposition to the administration.

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"The Trump regime is now using US Attorneys to intimidate academic journals by sending them letters demanding they explain how they ensure ‘viewpoint diversity,'" Reinhart tweeted. "Journal editors should be public about this and coordinate to refuse to comply with these fascist tactics."

JT Morris, who is a senior supervising attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), expressed a similar sentiment regarding Martin's letter to the CHEST journal.

“It’s really unusual when you see a U.S. Attorney from the Distinct of Columbia sending a letter to a publication based in Illinois inquiring about their editorial practices, in particular, a journal from a medical organization,” Morris said. “That screams of a government official going after a publication because it disagrees with what the publication is saying.”

Click here to read NBC's report in its entirety.

rww

04/16/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Adam Gabbatt @ The Guardian: Trump has put Christian nationalists in key roles – say a prayer for free speech

The Trump administration’s promotion of white Christian nationalists and prosperity gospel preachers to key government roles will lead to the “further dismantling of government institutions” and the chilling of free speech, experts have warned.

Alan Feuer @ The New York Times: Judge Threatens Contempt Proceedings Over Deportation Flights to El Salvador

The move was a remarkable attempt by a jurist to hold the White House accountable for its apparent willingness to flout court orders.

Harry Litman @ The New Republic: On Abrego Garcia, Trump Is Lying on the Facts and Wrong on the Law

Let’s start by calling Monday’s contrived White House meeting between El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and Donald Trump what it was: a set piece to deceive the American people and the world—and make a sucker of the courts and the rule of law.

Brad Reed @ Raw Story: 'The Trump administration is lying': Dem senator left furious by trip to El Salvador

Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) accused the Trump administration of blatantly lying about the whereabouts of wrongfully deported immigrant Kilmar Ábrego García on Wednesday.

Dana Mattioli @ The Wall Street Journal: The Tactics Elon Musk Uses to Manage His ‘Legion’ of Babies—and Their Mothers

The world’s richest man juggles more than a dozen children and ‘harem drama’ along with running his companies and advising Trump. He recently took a paternity test in a battle with one woman over money and privacy.

Molly Olmstead @ Slate: It Happened on Liberation Day

How the stabbing of Austin Metcalf became a right-wing cause célèbre.

Steve Benen @ The Maddow Blog: Trump-appointed prosecutor’s appearances on Russia-backed outlets draw scrutiny

Ed Martin not only made controversial comments on RT and Sputnik, he also initially failed to disclose the appearances to the Senate.

Nikki McCann Ramirez @ Rolling Stone: Marjorie Taylor Greene Town Hall Turns Chaotic as Protesters Get Tased

The Georgia congresswoman was confronted by demonstrators, as well as constituents who aren't happy with the Trump administration.

Ian Millhiser @ Vox: A Supreme Court case would take a wrecking ball to separation of church and state in schools

The Oklahoma charter school case is one of two April cases seeking to remake schools in the religious right’s image.

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ref

april 16, 2025,

By Steve Benen

Given Ed Martin’s recent record as the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., it was difficult to imagine how he could become even more controversial. a new Washington Post reportBut makes matters worse for the hyper-partisan Trump loyalist and former “Stop the Steal” organizer.

Martin is now interim U.S. attorney for D.C. and Trump’s pick to serve full time in the role. But as a conservative activist and former Missouri Republican official, he appeared more than 150 times on [the Russian state television network RT] and Sputnik — networks funded and directed by the Russian government — as a guest commentator from August 2016 to April 2024, according to a search of their websites and the Internet Archive’s database of television broadcasts.

What makes a story like this so striking is that it’s really made up of three overlapping problems.

The first is that Martin agreed to appear more than 150 times on Russian propaganda outlets.

Maddowblog Trump administration shutters office that combats foreign disinformation

The second is what Martin said during those on-air appearances: The Republican lawyer apparently had a knack for offering commentary that aligned with Kremlin talking points, including telling one host that there was “no evidence” of a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s borders the week before the Russian military crossed those borders and began a war in Ukraine.

But every bit as important, if not more so, is the third problem: As part of his presidential nomination to serve as the U.S. attorney in one of the nation’s most important prosecutorial offices, Martin was required to disclose these media appearances to the Senate Judiciary Committee — and according to the Post’s report, at least initially, he did not. (The article has not been independently verified by MSNBC 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 group of former Jan. 6 prosecutors and conservative attorneys asked a disciplinary board to investigate Martin, 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 of Virginia. During his brief tenure, Martin has also:

involved in Jan. 6 insurrection cases;demoted multiple senior officials

compared one of the criminal charges used against Jan. 6 defendants to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II;

falsely described himself as one of the president’s lawyers;

weighed in on a civil case involving the White House, which had literally nothing to do with his office;

intervened in a dubious Environmental Protection Agency investigation;

made a dubious decision in acase involving Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida;

launched the wildly unnecessary “Operation Whirlwind”;

also launched the wildly unnecessary “Project 1512” initiative;

:{:{also launched a wildly unnecessary “election accountability” unit;}:

made a creepy public vow to wield his prosecutorial powers against those who get in Elon Musk’s way;

engaged in brazen conflict of interest in a Jan. 6 case, in which he effectively took both sides of a criminal case;

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 has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Martin, and the calendar is of increasing relevance: If he isn’t confirmed by May 20, his interim appointment will expire and he’ll have to be replaced at the U.S attorney’s office. Watch this space.

*This post updates ourrelated earlier coverage

Steve Benen

Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."

wiki talk

Martin's attempted DoJ harassment of Sandy Hook school shooting victims' advocate

Shouldn't we add information about this incident to this Wikipedia article? It seems rather notable.

{Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has ordered a senior U.S. Justice Department official to drop an inquiry into a retired FBI agent's involvement in a defamation lawsuit involving Alex Jones's conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025.Ed Martin Jr., who leads the Justice Department’s “weaponization working group,” sent a letter dated Sept. 15, 2025 to the Sandy Hook families' lawyer asking for information about former FBI agent William Aldenberg, who responded to the 2012 school shooting and was a plaintiff in the lawsuit, along with victims' relatives, that led to a $1.4 billion judgment against Jones for calling the massacre a hoax.*}:

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/us-justice-department-official-ordered-drop-inquiry-sandy-125904544

98.123.38.211 (talk) 23:11, 25 September 2025 (UTC)

Yes, absolutely should be included. 172.58.10.83 (talk) 18:34, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

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no lnx an raw?

'Retribution or bust’: Trump's 'Secretary of Retribution' demands mass arrests

Ivan Raiklin takes the stage to speak at a New Hampshire Election Security Seminar presented by the New Hampshire Voter Integrity Group in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., November 19, 2021.

Jordan Green April 16, 2025

Ivan Raiklin, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who calls himself the “secretary of retribution,” has circulated a so-called “Deep State target list” of President Donald Trump’s political enemies for more than a year now.

Although his promise of spectacular “live-streamed” arrests of hundreds of political figures up to and including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on fancifully concocted charges of treason and other purported violations of law has yet to materialize, Raiklin was able to enlist new allies after Trump vacated the convictions of more than 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants.

Enrique Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes, respectively the former leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, joined Raiklin on an X space on Sunday night to call for retaliatory arrests against those they hold responsible for the Jan. 6 prosecutions.

ALSO READ: Trump, dementia and the duty to warn

The two men were both convicted of seditious conspiracy, with Tarrio serving a 22-year sentence and Rhodes serving an 18-year sentence. Alone among the leadership cadre of the two groups, Tarrio received a full pardon, while Rhodes’s sentence was commuted.

“These are people who have already committed treason,” Raiklin said during the call on Sunday night to discuss retribution against the vast array of government officials who played a role in holding the Jan. 6 insurrectionists accountable. “I’ve seen the evidence. Those that went to January 6th and protested the illegal election knew and saw that these criminals were there.”

Tarrio joined Raiklin in urging Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to start making arrests.

“At what point do we say, ‘Enough'?” Tarrio asked. “At what point does the retaliation, the investigations, the arrests come for these people that wanted to put us in a concrete coffin?”

The FBI declined to comment on this story, and the Department of Justice did not respond to questions submitted through a web form.

But the wide-ranging discussion among Raiklin and his guests on the 99-minute X space revealed deep-seated frustration with Trump administration officials. While Trump promised “retribution” during the campaign, those seeking vindication for their roles in the effort to overturn the 2020 election have found their cause pushed aside during the second administration’s shockwave of new policies, including a global trade war, dismantling the federal government, purging DEI from the military and other institutions, menacing Greenland and the Panama Canal, threatening funding to universities, and disappearing lawful residents.

“I’ve already given up hope on Pam Bondi,” Tarrio said. He added that the recent decision by Patel to promote Steve J. Jensen, former chief of the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Operations Section, to the position of assistant director of the Washington Field Office “does not restore confidence for the American people.”

Tarrio and other pardoned Jan. 6 defendants are unhappy about Jensen’s promotion largely because of the congressional testimony of a former FBI supervisory intelligence analyst who told House Republicans that Jensen once described three individuals targeted for Jan. 6 investigations as “godd--- terrorists.”

Raiklin and Tarrio could not be reached for comment for this story.

The 98-minute discussion on Sunday often veered from the retaliatory arrests that Raiklin emphasized as the focal point.

Listeners complained that they could only hear every other word of Rhodes’ remarks, and the former Oath Keepers leader lamented that his X account had been suspended after he made a post calling for the release of another member held in custody on separate gun charges.

Compared with Raiklin and Tarrio’s remarks, Rhodes’ criticism of the Department of Justice and FBI was relatively mild.

“The more you wait, the more they’re going to destroy evidence,” Rhodes said. “So, you gotta go fast.”

Raiklin expressed the view that the Jan. 6 defendants’ best hope of retaliatory arrests lies with the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Edward R. Martin Jr., a former “Stop the Steal” campaigner.

Martin’s actions have given those who want to see Trump’s political opponents prosecuted some cause for hope.

In February, Martin sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) asking him to clarify comments he made at a March 2024 rally warning that Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh “will pay the price” and “won’t know what hit you if you go through with these awful decisions.” In a subsequent letter, Martin told Schumer: “Your cooperation is more important than ever to complete this inquiry before any action is taken. I remind you: no one is above the law.”

In a letter to another Democratic lawmaker in February, Martin requested that Rep. Robert Garcia (R-CA) clarify his comments on CNN that “the American public wants… us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight” against billionaire Elon Musk.

Martin’s probes prompted 10 lawyers, including four former Jan. 6 prosecutors, to file a letter on Monday requesting that District of Columbia Court of Appeals investigate Martin for potential violations of the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct.

“Announcing investigations against his political opponents” and other alleged misconduct, the attorneys argued, “are not worthy of the Department of Justice, undermine the Constitutional guarantee of equal protection of law, and violate Mr. Martin’s professional obligations.”

The attorneys also raised questions about Martin’s representation of Jan. 6 defendant William Pope before Martin was appointed to serve as U.S. attorney. The attorneys cited a court filing by Pope claiming that Martin suggested he request the government’s file in his case. The filing, according to the attorneys, raised questions about whether Martin “potentially gave legal advice to a defendant his office was prosecuting at the time.”

As a prosecutor, Martin has intervened directly on Rhodes’ behalf. In January, Martin successfully filed court papers seeking to overturn a federal judge’s order barring Rhodes and other convicted members of the Oath Keepers from visiting Washington, D.C. without permission. Last month, Martin spoke at a Florida political fundraiser that was attended by four of Rhodes’ Oath Keeper co-defendants, Mother Jones reported.

Asked whether Martin is considering investigating those responsible for the Jan. 6 prosecutions and potentially bringing federal charges, spokesperson Daniel Ball told Raw Story the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is “unable to confirm or deny the existence of investigations.”

Tarrio and other guests on Raiklin’s X space provided few details on who they believe should be arrested and what crimes they might have potentially committed. Raiklin, meanwhile, outlined a highly technical and legally specious case for targeting Thomas DiBiase, the general counsel for the U.S. Capitol Police, whom he described as “the key individual that weaponized against J6-ers.”

“If we get to him, he can essentially squeal on everyone else, to include the number-one high-value target, Nancy Pig-losi [sic],” Raiklin said.

The U.S. Capitol Police did not respond to an email seeking comment for this story.

On Monday, Raiklin made an X post directed at Bondi, suggesting he wants Trump’s attorney general to rack up an arrest count equivalent to the FBI’s sprawling investigation of the Jan. 6 attack.

“Retribution or bust,” he wrote. “The ball is in your hands. Shot clock ends May 31. 6 weeks remain to conduct ~1500 live-streamed swatting raids of all members of the [Deep State target list].”

But compared to a viral video that garnered 10.3 million views last May when Raiklin’s plan for “livestreamed swatting raids” against his “Deep State target list” first gained notoriety, the recent post issuing an ultimatum to Bondi has garnered paltry results: 9,100 views, 134 re-posts and 21 comments as of late Monday.

The comments from MAGA users suggest Raiklin’s influence is waning.

“What happens on June 1st?” one wrote.

“You are not going to do a god d--- thing! Blah blah blah,” another wrote.

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AN 4 25

The diverse city of Washington D.C. may have an additional problem with President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney of the District of Columbia.

“I was a CNN contributor/commenter for about a year. I got fired because the crazy Black ladies demanded I be fired because I didn’t take their nonsense. Literally that happened,” said interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin on TNT’s Lembit Opik Show.

The Bluesky account of the Senate Judiciary Democrats posted the video of Martin's comments on Monday, setting off additional outcry on top of additional controversy surrounding Martin, who first drew ire for backing Donald Trump's false claims that Democrats stole the 2020 election for former president Joe Biden. Martin also advocated for January 6 defendants who attempted to interrupt the official counting of Electoral College votes.

CNN fired pundit Martin, a former chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, in 2018, roughly one year after hiring him to replace another conservative pundit, Jeffrey Lord, for tweeting a Nazi greeting at the president of the left-leaning media watchdog group Media Matters for America. At the time, Media Matters for America president Angelo Carusone said he was happy that CNN parted ways with Martin.

IFrame Content

“Martin followed the same pattern of previous pro-Trump surrogates: dishonesty and disruptions during on-air discussions,” Carusone said.

Former federal prosecutors are already outwardly opposing over Martin’s nomination for U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia because of his behavior while serving as interim U.S. attorney for the district, which they describe as “typifying authoritarian and … totalitarian regimes of the most notorious sort.”

“No United States Attorney,” say prosecutors, should “terminate Assistant United States Attorneys for prosecuting individuals who invaded the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.” Nor should they “investigate Assistant United States Attorneys for pursuing criminal charges … upheld … by more than a dozen United States District Judges.”

The prosecutors also accuse him of tweeting or publicly commenting on matters under investigation or outside his purview and directly contact sitting members of Congress on matters protected by federal speech and debate clauses, while also “mistaking basic facts at issue.” In addition, Martin has ordered the head of the office’s criminal division to open politically charged investigations, while serving as interim U.S. Attorney.

Watch the video of Martin's comments below, or byclicking this link.

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04/09/2025 rww

Peter Montgomery

Almost from the moment President Donald Trump named right-wing activist Ed Martin the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Martin has stirred controversy with brazenly ideological and legally and ethically dubious actions.

Now that Trump has formally nominated Martin for the position, which requires Senate confirmation, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are calling for hearings on Martin’s behavior, as well as his close association with a Jan. 6 insurrectionist described by co-workers and in court filings as expressing racist, white nationalist, and antisemitic ideologies.

Recognizing that hearings are not typical for U.S. attorney nominees, the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin, has made the case that an exception is merited because Martin is “so controversial and so objectionable.”

At an April 10 committee meeting, Durbin recounted Martin’s attacks on Capitol Police officers and Justice Department attorneys, as well as Martin’s embrace of the Oath Keepers, whose leaders and members were convicted of the most serious Jan. 6 charges. He displayed a photo of convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionist and alleged Nazi sympathizer Timothy Hale-Cusanelli wearing a Hitler-style mustache. Sen. Mazie Hirono, while also calling for hearings, condemned Martin comparing the prosecution of Jan. 6 defendants with the internment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II.

Durbin agreed with committee chair Sen. Chuck Grassley to hold off on calling for a vote on whether to hold a hearing on Martin’s nomination until senators have a chance to review written answers that Martin is expected to submit to more than 500 questions that have been submitted by members of the committee.

Committee Democrats have also asked the Office of Disciplinary Counsel at the DC Court of Appeals to investigate Martin for abusing his position and violating professional rules of conduct. And Rep. Jamie Raskin, a constitutional lawyer and top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has called on the Justice Department’s Inspector General to investigate Martin, saying that he has “used his office to illegally attack critics and perceived enemies of the Trump Administration while endangering the public safety of the citizens of and visitors to our nation’s capital.”

One focus of Democratic senators’ April 2 letter to Grassley was Martin’s “extensive ties” to Hale-Cusanelli, who worked as a security contractor at a U.S. Naval base. He was described in court documents as holding “White Supremacist and Nazi-Sympathizer ideologies that drive his enthusiasm for another civil war.”

An excerpt from the senators’ letter contains examples of Hale-Cusanelli’s offensive language and violent rhetoric:

Beyond inaccurately portraying Mr. Hale-Cusanelli as a victim of an unjust conviction, Mr. Martin has inexplicably praised Mr. Hale-Cusanelli’s character and intellect, despite Mr. Hale-Cusanelli’s extensive and well-known history of antisemitism, misogyny, and racism. According to one of his co-workers, Mr. Hale-Cusanelli once said, “Hitler should have finished the job.” Further, Mr. Hale-Cusanelli reportedly claimed that he “would kill all the Jews and eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and he wouldn’t need to season them because the salt from their tears would make it flavorful enough.” One co-worker recalled Mr. Hale-Cusanelli saying that “babies born with any deformities or disabilities should be shot in the forehead.” Another told authorities that Mr. Hale-Cusanelli referred to Black people as “shit skinned minorities.” According to videos Mr. Hale-Cusanelli himself recorded while storming the Capitol on January 6, he berated an officer guarding the West Front of the Capitol, stating, “Fuck you! The revolution will be televised, cunt!” Days after the riot, a confidential human source recorded Mr. Hale-Cusanelli saying he wished for there to be another civil war. Mr. Hale-Cusanelli could also be heard saying he would give Jewish people “24 hours to leave the country.”

In a 2020 video available online, Hale-Cusanelli delivered an antisemitic rant against Jewish leaders in New Jersey in which he called then-Gov. Phil Murphy a “crypto-Jew” because Murphy’s wife is Jewish.

The relationship between Martin and Hale-Cusanelli is no passing acquaintance. In September 2024, Martin presented Hale-Cusanelli with an award at Trump’s Bedminster Club, where Martin called Hale-Cusanelli “an extraordinary man, an extraordinary leader.” A bit more detail from the Democratic senators’ letter:

After Mr. Hale-Cusanelli concluded his remarks, he hugged Mr. Martin, who then returned to the podium to say, “It’s one of the goals of many of us to make sure that the world—and especially America—hears more from Tim Hale because he’s extraordinary.” This shocking conduct necessitates sworn testimony from Mr. Martin.

Notably, Martin’s relationship with Hale-Cusanelli has continued since he has been serving as interim U.S. Attorney. In March, Hale-Cusanelli and Martin both spoke at a fundraising event for Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, the advocacy group Martin has run since Schlafly’s death. The speech was also attended by former members of the Oath Keepers “who are still appealing their seditious conspiracy convictions in cases overseen by the DC United States Attorney’s Office,” reported Mother Jones:

While President Donald Trump pardoned around 1,600 convicted or accused Capitol attackers in January, Meggs, Harrelson, and Hackett are among 14 members of far-right groups who did not receive pardons. Instead, Trump commuted their sentences, freeing them from prison without expunging their felony convictions. The men are continuing to appeal those convictions, and Martin’s office is in charge of defending the guilty verdicts—even as Martin appears alongside some of the defendants in a smiling photo from the fundraiser.

In his remarks, Hale-Cusanelli praised Martin and called J6 “an absolute set-up” and “a psyop led by three-letter agencies.” Following Hale-Cusanelli to the microphone, Martin did not dispute any of his statements. Martin referred to the prosecution of Jan. 6 defendants as “truly an evil period.”

The problems with Martin’s nomination go well beyond this association. A few of the topics that deserve to be explored:

Martin, who legally represented some Jan. 6 defendants even after taking his position, fired prosecutors involved in Jan. 6 cases. He has run interference for Elon Musk’s legally questionable DOGE operations.

In 2020, as a leader of the so-called “Stop the Steal” movement, Martin sought to overturn the results of the presidential election; as interim U.S. Attorney, he has launched an “election integrity” unit, which TPM reporter Khaya Himmelman noted was using the Justice Department to “’investigate’ one of Trump’s oldest, and most baseless grievances to date.”

Martin defended the White House blocking access to the Associated Press over its refusal to accept Trump’s unilateral declaration that the Gulf of Mexico should be called the Gulf of America. Martin referred to his office as “President Trumps’ lawyers” and declared that “we are vigilant in standing against entities like the AP that refuse to put America first.” (A Trump-nominated federal judge recently ruled in AP’s favor, telling the White House that it could not ignore the Constitution.)

Like his boss, Martin has threatened universities and law firms.

He has sought to undermine the legality of pardons issued by former President Joe Biden in ways that “highlight Mr. Martin’s hands-on approach and willingness to use one of the most important U.S. attorneys’ offices in the country to seek retribution against Mr. Trump’s perceived enemies,” as the New York Times reported.

“No one embodies Donald Trump’s personal weaponization of the Justice Department more than Ed Martin. He is unfit to serve as a lawyer, let alone one with the resources – and cover from the Senate,” said Sen. Adam Schiff in announcing last week that he would put a hold on Martin’s nomination. Said Schiff, “Confirming him to serve permanently in the role he has already abused in his interim capacity would cross the prosecutorial Rubicon that every single Senator would come to regret.”

A bipartisan group of more than 100 former federal prosecutors who served in the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia have urged senators to reject Martin’s nomination. The letter, which reviews multiple examples of Martin’s “rampant misbehavior and unfitness,” declares, “He is unworthy of the position, incapable of the task, and an affront to the singular pursuit of justice for which this Office has stood for more than two centuries.”

The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake has called Martin’s nomination the biggest test yet of Republican senators’ “willingness to set aside personal misgivings and bow to Trump’s more extreme impulses…with potentially massive implications for our body politic and justice system.”

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rww

04/04/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Dan Friedman and Amanda Moore @ Mother Jones: Top Prosecutor Spoke at Event Attended by January 6 Seditionists Who Are Appealing Their Convictions

US Attorney Ed Martin compared January 6 rioters to Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II.

Steve Benen @ The Maddow Blog: Amid turmoil, Trump heads to Florida for a golf event (again)

After setting much of the global economy — and retirement accounts — on fire, taking a golf trip isn’t a great look for Trump.

Zachary Leeman @ Mediaite: ‘He Doesn’t Give a F**k’: White House Official Tells Washington Post Trump Has Reached Peak ‘Not Giving a F**k’

President Donald Trump has reached the “peak of not giving a fuck,” one White House official told The Washington Post for a lengthy report on what went on behind the scenes leading up to the president’s massive tariff announcement this week.

Jennifer Bendery @ HuffPost: GOP Confirms Anti-Voting Rights Extremist To Protect Americans' Voting Rights

Harmeet Dhillon, an election denier and legal adviser to Trump, will now lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice.

Mara Richards Bim @ Baptist Global News: A visual guide to the elected officials who fly Christian nationalist flags at the Capitol

I ended up spending six hours walking a total of 19 miles through the six office buildings at the Capitol. I walked by every single elected official’s office to document exactly which of them fly these flags.

Matt Gertz @ Media Matters: Trump's decision to upend his national security team at the behest of conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer is a five-alarm fire

President Donald Trump’s abrupt apparent removal of the general who oversaw U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency at the reported behest of the MAGA influencer Laura Loomer, a notorious bigot and conspiracy theorist, is a five-alarm fire for national security and good governance.

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an 3 25

Appointed by President Donald Trump in January 2025, interim US attorney Ed Martin is under scrutiny for making false and derogatory statements leading up to and during his current tenure, The Guardian reported Tuesday.

As the Guardian reported, some of the comments include “falsely claiming Kamala Harris ‘self-identified’ as Black, and calling her the new Rachel Dolezal, claiming Planned Parenthood targets Black communities for abortions, claiming that the Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor made racist comments to white males about her own identity and invoking false claims about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr to affirm support for the Republican Party and the Tea Party movement.”

As recent as last week, Martin told Georgetown law school to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (DEI), stating “his office would not hire anyone associated with a university with DEI programs,” the Guardian said.

The Hill recently reported how Senate Democrats have filled a complain against Martin, “accusing him of dismissing criminal charges against his own clients and threatening prosecution against government employees to intimidate them.”

However, he clearly has White House support. “President Trump was given a resounding mandate by the American people to restore law and order. His nomination of Ed Martin underscores his commitment to making America safe again, starting with our nation’s capital,” said Liz Huston, assistant White House press secretary.

According to the report, “The Guardian obtained copies of columns Martin wrote for the Evening Whirl, a non-digital, crime tabloid in St Louis, Missouri, as he was a leader in the local Tea Party that emerged and grew in response to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election win.”

In a “column entitled 'What would MLK Say?', Martin criticized a Martin Luther King Jr event at Harris Stowe State University, a historical Black university in St. Louis, because he said the attendees and speakers didn’t criticize 'racist tendencies' of the Democratic party,” the Guardian reported.

Martin also falsely claimed King was a registered Republican, as CNN reported.

“I wonder what Martin Luther King Jr. might think of the Tea Party movement. I can’t help but think he would appreciate their desire to rally, strive for change and peaceably force the folks in power to listen,” Martin wrote.

According to the Guardian, “a 2009 column titled 'If Sotomayor was a white man,' Martin claimed her Supreme Court nomination would be over, claiming a comment she made about her experiences as a Latina woman was racist against white men.”

All of this came at the heels of his resignation as chief of staff to the Republican governor of Missouri in 2007.

The Guardian reports, “Before his resignation, Hispanic groups calledon the Missouri governor to fire Martin after he said during an August 2007 Missouri housing development commission meeting that in a work force where there are 'Mexican-looking people they are likely illegal.'"

In 2008, Martin joined the Tea Party in Missouri as leader and ran for Congress and eventually state attorney’s office. He was the chair of the Missouri Republican Party until 2015.

In 2018, CNN fired him for saying panelists that joined him were “black racists” and “rabid feminists.”

Aside from using QAnon slogans, supporting election fraud and appearing alongside white nationalist on podcasts, he also served on the platform committee during the 2024 Republican national convention.

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raw story 3 25

Georgetown Law School Dean William Treanor earned cheers Thursday from legal observers for his response to the acting U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., Ed Martin, who attacked the school for having diversity, equity and inclusion programs, or "DEI."

Republicans and President Donald Trump's administration in particular have targeted diversity initiatives, with a January executive order that called the practice "radical" and claimed it discriminates against white men.

Martin had to resend the letter to Treanor after the first didn't get the address correct, reported The Washington Post.

IFrame Content

ALSO READ:‘Stop the Steal’ leader is filing motions to dismiss J6 charges — as acting U.S. attorney

“This is unacceptable,” wrote Martin. “At this time, you should know that no applicant for our fellows program, our summer internship, or employment in our ofﬁce who is a student or afﬁliated with a law school or university that continues to teach and utilize DEI will be considered.”

Treanor is a constitutional law scholar. Martin, meanwhile, is a Trump appointee and a controversial figure with a background in Republican politics and conservative activism.

Treanor responded to the letter pointing out that Georgetown is the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university and prides itself on being "founded on the principle that serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical, and spiritual understanding."

He went on to specifically cite the university's religious freedom, "The First Amendment ... guarantees that the government cannot direct what Georgetown and its faculty teach and how to teach it."

"Your letter informs me that your office will deny our students and graduates government employment opportunities until you, as Interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, approve our curriculum."

He called it a violation of the Constitution.

Legal experts lined up to lend their support.

"Not the most important part by any stretch but I *love* that Martin keeps referring to himself as 'United States Attorney' and Treanor repeatedly refers to him as 'Interim United States Attorney, said Josh Chafetz, Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Law and Politics at Georgetown.

Civil rights lawyer and former NAACP president Sherrilyn Ifill similarly said, "Listen this IS, in fact how it’s done. Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor responds to Acting U.S. Attorny Ed Martin’s threat to refuse to hire Georgetown graduates who have taken 'DEI' courses in their curriculum. Treanor is a brilliant lawyer & constitutional scholar. Embarrassing for Martin."

"Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor’s response to interim US Attorney Ed Martin’s letter calling the school’s curriculum 'unacceptable.' Bravo," cheered former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade.

Georgetown Law Professor Steve Vladeck called it a "pitch-perfect response." He noted, "It’s always a privilege and honor to be part of the GULC community (and to be Bill’s colleague), but *especially* today."

Alumna also championed the letter.

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rww

02/26/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Desmond Butler, Trisha Thadani, Emmanuel Martinez, Aaron Gregg, Luis Melgar, Jonathan O'Connell and Dan Keating @ The Washington Post: Elon Musk’s business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding

Elon Musk and his cost-cutting U.S. DOGE Service team have been on a mission to trim government largesse. Yet Musk is one of the greatest beneficiaries of the taxpayers’ coffers.

Michael Luciano @ Mediaite: Marjorie Taylor Greene Declares, ‘Federal Employees Do Not Deserve Their Paychecks’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) trashed federal workers on Tuesday, stating that none of them “deserve” paychecks.

Leigh Kimmins @ The Daily Beast: Trump Threatens to Sue the Media Over Stories He Doesn’t Like

The president suggest that he would continue his press crackdown in a fiery Truth Social post aimed at dissenting outlets and authors.

Melanie Zanona, Jonathan Allen and Matt Dixon @ NBC News: House Republicans hit the brakes on town halls after blowback over Trump's cuts

A number of Republican lawmakers faced significant pushback in their home districts over Trump and Elon Musk's slashing of the federal government.

Andrew Prokop @ Vox: The man trying to turn prosecutors loose against Trump’s enemies

Ed Martin went from a little-known conservative activist to US Attorney for DC — all because of Stop the Steal.

andrew Prokop is a senior politics correspondent at Vox, covering the White House, elections, and political scandals and investigations. He’s worked at Vox since the site’s launch in 2014, and before that, he worked as a research assistant at the New Yorker’s Washington, DC, bureau.

Will Donald Trump succeed in his long-held goal of weaponizing the Justice Department against his political enemies?

Much of the answer will depend on the man he’s appointed to head the US Attorney’s Office in Washington, DC. That’s longtime conservative activist Ed Martin — or, “Eagle Ed Martin,” per his X handle.

Martin has made his priorities unmistakable. He wants to target Democratic politicians, the media, progressive groups, and the officials who investigated Trump. Meanwhile, he’s advocating for January 6 rioters and looking the other way when Republicans get into trouble. His office dismissed a case against former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and failed to approve the DC police’s request to arrest Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) for domestic violence.

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DOJ prosecutors take an oath to the Constitution and typically describe their mission as impartially administering justice. Martin, though, publicly called his team “President Trumps’ [sic] lawyers” on social media.

There’s no mystery as to why this is happening: This is what Trump wants. Indeed, Martin was initially put into this job as a temporary appointee. But according to CNN, Trump was thrilled with what he was doing, and decided to nominate him to the post permanently.

So who is Ed Martin — and how did he become the hatchet man for Trump’s politicization of justice?

The answer tells us a lot about how defense of political violence, embrace of legal combat against Democrats and progressives, and utter loyalty to Trump became a ticket to advancement in today’s Republican Party.

Martin spent years in the trenches of conservative politics

A review of Martin’s career history suggests he personally hasn’t changed much. He’s long been an inveterate self-promoter who becomes embroiled in turmoil and faces ethical questions wherever he goes.

Indeed, Martin spent over two decades in the trenches of conservative activism, mostly focused on the politics of Missouri. After distinguishing himself with legal work for anti-abortion advocates, he was named chief of staff for Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt (R) in 2006.

But Martin’s stint in state government was controversial. “I thought very highly of Ed before he took that job,” a former state employee told the St. Louis Riverfront Times in 2010. “When he got that power, he became a ruthless animal.” It also turned out to be short-lived — Martin stepped down a little over a year after being appointed, after a scandal over whether he was complying with the state’s public records laws.

Yet Martin remained active in the conservative advocacy world, running nonprofits like the Missouri Roundtable for Life and the Missouri Club for Growth, and then helping organize St. Louis’s first “Tea Party” gathering in protest of Obama’s presidency in 2009.

After trying and failing to win public office himself — he lost a bid for Congress in 2010 and for state attorney general in 2012 — he got named chair of the Missouri Republican Party, but his two-year stint left the party in debt.

Fortunately for Martin, he had managed to ingratiate himself with famed St. Louis-based conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, who at the age of 90 named him her successor at the helm of her advocacy operation. (He beat out the other contender for the job, former Rep. Michele Bachmann). This, too, was to result in bitter controversy and legal proceedings. But Martin did Schafly’s endorsement of Trump during the 2016 primaries. (It seems like a distant memory now, but this was no sure thing, as many conservative activists preferred Ted Cruz and viewed Trump as ideologically suspicious.)

Once Trump was in office, Martin had another brief gig as a pro-Trump commentator for CNN, which came to an end when he disparaged two of his co-panelists as “Black racists.” Moving to Fairfax County, Virginia, he hosted a radio show and made a failed bid for local office but remained a fairly obscure figure.

Stop the Steal and January 6 propelled Martin to influence

What changed that for him was “Stop the Steal” and January 6. Martin embraced Trump’s effort to dispute the 2020 results early, helping organize and speaking at rallies in Washington, DC, and urging Congress not to certify Biden’s win. (Stop the Steal organizer Ali Alexander later testified that Martin was “kind of like a mentor” to him.)

On January 6 Martin tweeted that he was “at the Capitol right now,” and that there was a “Rowdy crowd but nothing out of hand. Ignore the #FakeNews.” (Per NBC News, video footage shows Martin outside on the Capitol grounds but there’s no evidence he entered any restricted area or the building itself.)

How Trump’s speech led to the Capitol riot

Much of the bipartisan political establishment soon recoiled in horror at the attack on the Capitol. But in February 2021, Martin dismissed it as the “Pelosi hoax.” He eventually represented three January 6 rioters charged with assaulting police officers, ignored the House January 6 committee’s subpoena for his testimony, and advanced conspiracy theoriesthat “January 6th was staged.”

All this solidified a new place of prominence for him in Trumpworld, where loyalty matters above all. The first sign of his newfound standing in the GOP came in May 2024, when Martin was named deputy policy director of the Republican National Convention’s platform committee. After Trump won, he was initially tapped to be the chief of staff for the Office of Management and Budget — but at some point, he was tapped for the US attorney’s job in DC instead, a far more powerful job than any he’s previously held.

So in the end, years of tireless conservative activism seemed to get Martin nowhere. It took a willingness to defend the indefensible to get him his big break.

But will he succeed in prosecuting Trump’s enemies?

So, will Martin actually succeed in prosecuting Trump’s enemies — and in bending an office of several hundred prosecutors to his will?

Already, drama is unfolding behind the scenes. Last week, Martin wanted the assets of a Biden administration climate change grant initiative frozen — but Denise Cheung, the head of the US Attorney’s Office’s criminal division, said she wouldn’t do that without seeing evidence of a crime. Martin then told her to resign, and she did.

Yet Martin’s efforts so far have also entailed a lot of bluster that seems fit for social media, but unlikely to go over very well in court. For instance, he launched an initiative called “Operation Whirlwind” designed to investigate Democrats for purportedly violent rhetoric, but his examples are obviously baseless. (It’s named after a five-year-old comment from Chuck Schumer, in which Schumer said conservative Supreme Court justices had “released the whirlwind and you will pay the price” for opposing abortion rights.)

So it’s far from clear whether Martin can build a team that can make politicized cases that are halfway plausible enough to hold up in court. But even investigations that don’t result in charges can be terrifying and financially ruinous for their targets.

Martin will also, at some point, need Senate confirmation, and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said last week that he could have “a real challenge” getting confirmed. But Senate Republicans have rolled over for all Trump’s nominees so far. Would they really reject Trump’s favorite prosecutor?

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02/26/2025

Peter Montgomery

Ed Martin, a “Stop the Steal” organizer, religious-right activist, promoter of MAGA conspiracy theories, and lawyer for Jan. 6 insurrections, is using his appointed position as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to run interference for Elon Musk’s rampage through federal agencies, as Right Wing Watch reported earlier this month.

Since then, Martin’s words and actions suggest that his loyalties lie with Trump, not the law or Constitution; Trump has returned the favor by nominating Martin to the position permanently, which will require Senate confirmation.

On Monday, Martin described himself and presumably other U.S. Attorneys as “President Trumps’ lawyers” and declared himself “vigilant in standing against entities like the AP that refuse to put America first.” It’s not the first time Martin has described federal prosecutors as “the President’s lawyers.”

While it’s true, and troubling, that a bunch of Trump’s personal lawyers have been given powerful positions in this administration, that’s not the job of a U.S. Attorney. While Martin is apparently choosing to look the other way as Trump officials ignore and break federal laws virtually on a daily basis, Martin sees it as his role, somehow, to “stand against” a news organization that refuses to follow government directives on how they report the news. Even MAGA mouthpiece Ben Shapiro called it “rather tyrannical and stupid.”

“U.S. Attorneys are not the President’s lawyers,” Rep. Maxwell Frost admonished. “They are the United States’ lawyers. You didn’t pledge an oath to a President, you pledged it to the Constitution. This statement alone is reason enough for you to resign.”

There’s more. Martin has sent “letters of inquiry” to Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) suggesting that they had made “threats against public officials.” In an interview encouraging Democrats to forcefully oppose the Trump administration, Garcia said he wanted Democrats to “bring actual weapons to this bar fight.” Garcia responded to Martin’s action by declaring that no reasonable person would see his metaphorical language as a threat and vowed, “I will not be silenced.”

The conservative Washington Examiner noted this week that “the president is now moving to install loyal supporters” in Martin’s office who will not only reverse the Jan.6 prosecutions “but also review all of it and punish any Department of Justice employees involved in perceived overzealousness.”

Martin has fired about 30 prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases “while preparing to extend the office’s scrutiny to top Democratic leaders and former Justice Department officials,” the Washington Post reported shortly after Martin took office. Last week, another top prosecutor resigned at Martin’s request when she refused to order a bank to freeze the accounts of a government contractor based on what she believed was insufficient evidence.

Martin’s rhetoric has drawn strong criticism from First Amendment advocates. And his flippant warning to a law firm that reportedly provided legal assistance to special counsel Jack Smith has been described as one of several ethical violations “worthy of a complaint to the bar.”

Martin has also drawn attention for his office’s refusal to sign an arrest warrant for Republican Rep. Cory Mills after a woman who reportedly told a 911 operator and first responders that the congressman had assaulted her later recanted her allegations.

Martin’s litany of bad behavior explains why the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake has called Martin’s upcoming confirmation vote the biggest test yet of Republican senators’ “willingness to set aside personal misgivings and bow to Trump’s more extreme impulses…with potentially massive implications for our body politic and justice system.”

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an 2 25

Police in Washington D.C. reportedly tried to arrest a Republican member of Congress for an alleged act of domestic violence, but U.S. Attorney Ed Martin is apparently not signing the arrest warrant.

That's according to a Monday article by NBC 4 Washington, which reported that an arrest warrant for Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) was sent back to D.C. Metropolitan Police unsigned. According to the report, Martin – who is the Department of Justice's top prosecutor in D.C. — said the case merited "further investigation" after declining to sign the warrant.

NBC 4 noted that in the police report, an unidentified 27 year-old woman who was not Mills' wife accused Mills of assaulting her at his apartment. The alleged victim said Mills "grabbed her, shoved her and pushed her out of the door" and showed responding officers bruises that officers on the scene described as "fresh."

The alleged victim's police report also describes a phone call in which she "let officers hear [Mills] instruct her to lie about the origin of her bruises … Eventually, [Mills] made contact with police and admitted that the situation escalated from verbal to physical, but it was severe enough to create bruising." When officers encountered the alleged victim in the lobby of a nearby hotel, they noted that she was "shaking and scared."

Once police informed Mills that he would be arrested, the alleged victim is said to have recanted her allegations, including where her bruises came from. A subsequent police report described the incident not as an assault but as a "family disturbance." And a third police report reclassified the incident as an "assault" but clarified it was still "under investigation."

NBC 4 reported that the Metropolitan Police Department sent the arrest warrant for Mills to Martin's office, though Martin apparently refused to sign it. His office would only say that it "does not comment on uncharged cases."

"Sources familiar with how cases are handled say this type of back-and-forth is not uncommon and may never result in charges," NBC 4 reporters Ted Oberg, Mark Segraves, Paul Wagner and Rick Yarborough wrote.

Martin is a 2020 election denier and longtime far-right activist who President Donald Trump officially selected as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, after naming his as interim U.S. attorney after his second inauguration. Martin was previously a defense counsel for participants in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Earlier on Monday, his office sent a tweet accusing the Associated Press of "refus[ing] to put America first." He also referred to U.S. attorneys as "President Trumps'[sic] lawyers," though he was fact-checked by an X community note that read: "The DOJ is not the personal law firm of the President."

Mills, who was elected in 2022, is married and has two children. In a statement, the Florida Republican maintained his innocence.

"This week, law enforcement was asked to resolve a private matter at Congressman Mills’ residence," the statement read. "Congressman Mills vehemently denies any wrongdoing whatsoever, and is confident any investigation will clear this matter quickly."

Click here to read NBC 4's report in its entirety.

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an 2 25

President Donald Trump's ongoing boxing match with the media is escalating, with his spokesperson announcing a major change to how he'll be covered.

Politico White House bureau chief Desha Burns tweeted Tuesday that White House pool reporters will now no longer be chosen by the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA). Instead, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the administration's media team will now decide on which reporters will comprise the press pool.

New York Times editor Jonathan Weisman called the announcement "a big deal," explaining that the White House press pool — which normally rotates journalists in and out — is the primary source of coverage for the administration. Now, that's no longer the case, and Trump is presumed to make sure that only friendly reporters are able to ask him questions.

"He can now hand-pick the reporters questioning him," Weisman said.

Other journalists also condemned the decision. New Yorker columnist Susan Glasser — who is married to New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker — said the "Trump White House [is] on the way to establishing its own version of a Kremlin press pool, approved media only." ABC 10 News San Diego reporter Adam Racusin said: "The White House should not be allowed to pick and choose who covers them." And high school journalism teacher Garrett Gordon (also a veteran broadcast journalist) summed up Leavitt's announcement by tweeting that the White House was "incentivizing publishing propaganda."

"When you’re doing loads of corrupt, illegal and unpopular s--- you need to make sure the only journalists who can ask questions are in on the grift," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) tweeted.

The controversial announcement comes on the heels of the White House banning the Associated Press (AP) from the press pool over the outlet's decision to continue referring to the body of water between Texas and Florida as the Gulf of Mexico, rather than the Trump administration's chosen "Gulf of America" designation. The AP argued that the international body of water is still known as the Gulf of Mexico by the rest of the world. Ed Martin, who is the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, slammed the AP in a tweet from his office's official X account, saying they "refuse to put America first."

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AN 2 25

The top Department of Justice prosecutor in Washington D.C. is now sending letters to elected officials who criticize President Donald Trump and his administration that include ominous ultimatums.

That's according to Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), who posted the full text of a letter he received from Edward Martin — the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Martin's letter is just one of several he sent to Democrats who publicly criticized both Trump and centibillionaire Elon Musk. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also received letters from Martin, with each one including a deadline to respond.

"So if you criticize Elon Musk, Trump’s DOJ will send you this letter," the California congressman wrote on Bluesky. "Members of Congress must have the right to forcefully oppose the Trump Administration. I will not be silenced."

Martin's letter asks Garcia to elaborate on comments he made about Musk during an interview on CNN, in which he called the Tesla and SpaceX CEO a "d---."

"During a live interview with CNN, when asked how Democrats can stop Elon Musk, you spoke clearly: 'What the American public wants is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight. This is an actual fight for democracy,'" Martin wrote, adding that Garcia had until Februrary 24, 2025 to respond. "This sounds to some like a threat to Mr. Musk – an appointed representative of President Donald Trump who you call a 'd---' – and government staff who work for him. Their concerns have led to this inquiry."

Garcia defended his comments, and retorted that "no reasonable person would view my comments as a threat."

"We are living in a dangerous time, and elected members of Congress must have the right to forcefully oppose the Trump Administration," he wrote in a subsequent post. "I will not be silenced."

Click here to read Garcia's original post. And click here to read the full text of Martin's letters to Democrats.

ref

wapo no lnx

Read interim U.S. attorney Ed Martin’s letters to Democratic lawmakers

The letters are part of what the interim U.S. attorney called “Operation Whirlwind,” a new initiative to prosecute threats against public officials at all levels.

February 19, 2025 at 8:13 p.m. EST February 19, 2025

By Washington Post staff

The top prosecutor in D.C. escalated his scrutiny of what he characterized as potential threats directed at billionaire Elon Musk and government workers, demanding information from a Democratic congressman who criticized Musk and telling his office he planned to prosecute anyone targeting public officials, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

In an all-staff email to prosecutors, Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for D.C., on Wednesday announced “Operation Whirlwind,” a new initiative to prosecute threats against public officials at all levels — a problem that has escalated in recent years.

The Post is publishing the text of letters Martin sent to Rep. Robert Garcia (D-California) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York), as well as a letter by Schumer’s chief of staff, Michael Lynch, to Martin:

Martin’s letter to Garcia dated Feb. 17

Dear Rep. Garcia:

    :{:{As United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, I receive requests for information and clarification. I take these requests seriously and act on them with letters like this one you are receiving.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{At this time, I respectfully request that you clarify your comments from February 12, 2025. During a live interview with CNN, when asked how Democrats can stop Elon Musk, you spoke clearly: “What the American public wants is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight. This is an actual fight for democracy.”:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{This sounds to some like a threat to Mr. Musk - an appointed representative of President Donald Trump who you call a “dick” - and government staff who work for him. Their concerns have led to this inquiry.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{We take threats against public officials very seriously. I look forward to your cooperation with my letter of inquiry after request. Thank you in advance for your assistance. Please respond by February 24, 2025. Should you have further questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to call my office or schedule a time to meet in person.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{All the best.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Sincerely,:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Edward R. Martin, Jr.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:

Martin’s letter to Schumer dated Feb. 11

    :{:{Dear Senator Schumer,:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{As United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, I receive requests for information and clarification. I take these requests seriously and act on them with letters like this one today.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{At this time, I am following up by email. I have previously sent you two letters - on January 21 and February 3. You have failed to respond which is a personal disappointment and professionally unacceptable. I attach the earlier two letters to this one.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Time is of the essence. You have now received three letters as well as public discussion. Your cooperation is more important than ever to complete this inquiry before any action is taken. I remind you: no one is above the law. Please be in touch by COB on Thursday, February 13, 2025.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{I look forward to your cooperation with my letter of inquiry after requests. Thank you in advance for your assistance with this. Should you have further questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to call my office or schedule a time to meet in person.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{All the best.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Sincerely,:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Edward R. Martin, Jr.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:

Schumer aide’s letter to Martin dated Feb. 6

    :{:{Response to Letter of January 21, 2025:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Dear Mr. Martin::(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Senator Schumer asked me to respond to your letter dated January 21, 2025 requesting clarification of comments made by Senator Schumer on March 4, 2020.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{On March 5, 2020, the day after the comments referenced in your letter, Senator Schumer made the following remarks on the floor of the Senate::(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Now, I should not have used the words I used yesterday. They didn’t come out the way I intended to. My point was that there would be political consequences--political consequences--for President Trump and Senate Republicans if the Supreme Court, with the newly confirmed Justices, stripped away a woman’s right to choose. Of course, I didn’t intend to suggest anything other than political and public opinion consequences for the Supreme Court, and it is a gross distortion to imply otherwise. I am from Brooklyn. We speak in strong language. I shouldn’t have used the words I did, but in no way was I making a threat. I never—never— would do such a thing. Leader McConnell knows that, and Republicans who are busy manufacturing outrage over these comments know that too.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{As Senator Schumer's statement on the Senate floor confirmed, the comments were not a threat to physically harm any person.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{I hope that this clarifying information is helpful.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Respectfully yours,:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Michael Lynch:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Chief of Staff:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:

Martin’s letter to Schumer dated Feb. 3

    :{:{Dear Senator Schumer,:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{As United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, I receive requests for information and clarification. I take these requests seriously and act on them with letters like this one you are receiving.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{On January 21, 2025, I wrote you a letter asking you to clarify your comments from March 4, 2020. At the time, Senator Mitch McConnell said you “threatened two associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court... There’s no other way to interpret that.” The Senate Majority Leader also characterized your words as “shameless efforts to bully our nation’s independent judiciary.”:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Roberts was also clear: “Statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous.”:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Your comments at a private rally off the campus of the U.S. Capitol were not just strong language born of a Brooklyn upbringing. Like Senator McConnell and Chief Justice Roberts, any reasonable person would hear your words as threatening, even inciting violence.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{We take threats against public officials very seriously. Since you did not answer my January 21 letter of inquiry after request, I now require your clarification of those contentious comments no later than Friday, February 14, 2025. Should you have further questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to call my office or schedule a time to meet in person.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Thank you and:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{All the best.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Sincerely,:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Edward R. Martin, Jr.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{United States Attorney:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:

Martin’s letter to Schumer dated Jan. 21

Dear Senator Schumer,

    :{:{As United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, I receive requests for information and clarification. I take these requests seriously and act on them with letters like this one you are receiving.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{At this time, I respectfully request that you clarify your comments from March 4, 2020. Your comments were at a private rally off the campus of the U.S. Capitol. You made them clearly and in a way that many found threatening. Your exact words were::(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{“I want to tell you Gorsuch. I want to tell you Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.” Link here: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/03/04/schumer-gorsuch-kavanaugh-supreme-court-abortion-lead-vpx.cnn:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{We take threats against public officials very seriously. I look forward to your cooperation with my letter of inquiry after request. Should you have further questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to call my office or schedule a time to meet in person.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Thank you.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{All the best.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Sincerely,:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{Edward R. Martin, Jr.:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:
    :{:{United States Attorney:(style="font-family:Merriweather")::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}::(style="font-family:Merriweather"):}:

washingtonpost.

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DOJ Run Amok

The Justice Department under new Attorney General Pam Bondi continues its steep decline, setting new precedents almost daily for supplication to the White House, corrupt and unethical conduct, and dubious representations to judges.

Yesterday was its own special, to use the legal term of art, shitshow.

The acting deputy attorney general appeared all alone in federal court in Manhattan to try to seal the deal on his corrupt scheme to dismiss criminal charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams. The deputy attorney general runs the Justice Department on a day to day basis; yet here was Emil Bove by himself at the counsel table, with apparently no other DOJ lawyer willing to sit with him. Behind him providing visible support was Todd Blanche, the nominee for deputy attorney general who has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. Both men until last month were personal attorneys to Donald Trump.

After the hearing (no ruling yet on the motion to dismiss from U.S. District Judge Dale Ho), Bove sent a tone-deaf, Trumpian message to DOJ employees trying to turn his solo appearance in court from a personal humiliation into a model of diehard MAGA-tude. In a snarky conclusion that is astonishing coming from a DAG, Bove said that anyone who wasn’t onboard the Trump train could resign and pointed them to the letters penned by their colleagues who resigned over Bove’s order to dismiss the Adams case:

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As that unprecedented scene was playing out in NYC, President Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. attorney in DC was further showering himself in disgrace. Ed Martin, who is the acting USA for the moment, sent another one of his wildly inappropriate emails to colleagues that was apparently promptly leaked again.

Martin for the third time that we know of made grand and obsequious gestures toward Elon Musk’s DOGE: “We will protect DOGE,” he declared:

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Most alarming was Martin’s willingness to launch pseudo-investigations of prominent Democrats and to castigate them in politicized terms while touting his own bonafides in going after them. Among the Democrats targeted by Martin: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA).

“Operation Whirlwind” is what Martin is calling his effort to prosecute anyone who targets public officials, but it appears to be more of an effort to stifle First Amendment expression and intimidate opposition leaders than to protect officials from the wave of actual threats that Trump himself has stirred up in recent years.

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Khaya Himmelman @ Talking Points Memo: Project Veritas Video At Heart Of Latest Trump Admin Improper Interference At DOJ

A right-wing conspiracy theory website is at the heart of the latest Justice Department resignation in protest of the Trump administration’s interference at the DOJ.

REF

A right-wing conspiracy theory website is at the heart of the latest Justice Department resignation in protest of the Trump administration’s interference at the DOJ.

In her Tuesday resignation letter to acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, federal prosecutor Denise Cheung, who was in charge of the criminal division in the Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, cited her refusal to open a grand jury investigation into Biden-era Environmental Protection Agency grants and to freeze assets of the grant initiative.

Cheung noted in her resignation letter that there’s simply not enough evidence to support these actions — actions that Martin, a Trump ally, directed her to take. The only evidence driving the Trump administration push for an investigation and potential asset freeze is a 5-minute video clip from the known misinformation purveyor Project Veritas, which purports to show a former EPA employee speaking about distributing climate specific funding to non-profit organizations before the start of Trump’s presidency.

The issue at hand centers on EPA administrator Lee Zeldin’s push to rescind $20 billion in grants that were already allocated for climate projects by the Biden administration, according to reports from the Washington Post and CNN. In a video posted on X last week, Zeldin claimed that the grant money, which he referred to as being part of a “scheme,” had been improperly dolled out by the Biden administration.

In his post on X, Zeldin references what he calls an “extremely disturbing video” of a former Biden-era EPA employee talking about “tossing gold bars off the Titanic.”

The “disturbing” video in question is a Project Veritas clip that shows a former Biden-era EPA employee speaking about distributing funding to “nonprofits, states, tribes” ahead of Trump’s presidency. It’s the only supposed proof that Zeldin has put forward as justification for his attempts to claw back the money and contracts tied to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

Zeldin also mentioned in his announcement on X that he “found” $20 billion worth of funding in an “outside financial institution”, but, later, in the same clip also says “there is zero reason to suspect any wrongdoing by the bank.”

“It’s ridiculous that the head of the EPA is justifying an illegal funding blockade with a selectively edited video from a far-right, shady organization known for spreading misinformation to serve Republican political narratives,” Seth Nelson, Evergreen Action Deputy Communications Director, told TPM.

The reliance on this video and the lack of supporting evidence for wrongdoing is in large part the reason why Cheung refused to support a grand jury investigation into the Biden administration’s EPA grants.

“I was asked to review documentation supplied by the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) to open a criminal investigation into whether a contract had been unlawfully awarded by an executive agency before the change in Administration and to issue grand jury subpoenas pursuant to this investigation,” she wrote in her Tuesday resignation letter.

Cheung goes on to explain in her letter that she had conferred with others in the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, “all of whom have substantial white collar criminal prosecution experience,” to determine whether or not there was enough evidence to open a grand jury investigation. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove’s office insisted that the Project Veritas clip provided enough evidence to justify an investigation, according to CNN. But Cheung determined that there was not.

Cheung noted that she then “took point” on a process to request that “the bank freeze assets” of the EPA funding. Coordinating with an FBI official in the Washington field office, Cheung drafted a letter to the bank recommending an asset freeze.

Martin, however, told Cheung to use more explicit language in her draft letter that said “the government has probable cause to believe that the funds on deposit in the above-referenced account(s) at [named bank] are subject to seizure and forfeiture to the United States based upon violations, ” Cheung said in her letter.

Cheung then told Martin that there is insufficient evidence to use this type of language.

“When I explained that the quantum of evidence did not support that action, you stated that you believed that there was sufficient evidence,” she continued. “As I shared with you, at this juncture, based upon the evidence I have reviewed, I still do not believe that there is sufficient evidence to issue the letter you described, including sufficient evidence to tell the bank that there is probable cause to seize the particular accounts identified.”

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SEE ED MARTIN BASED ON VERITAS bs

TPM

A federal prosecutor in charge of the criminal division in the Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office resigned on Tuesday following her refusal to follow a Donald Trump administration directive to freeze assets of a Biden-era administration grant initiative, the Washington Post and Reuters reported.

The resignation is the latest of several similar resignations and dismissals at the Justice Department in recent days and the most recent example of a DOJ career prosecutor resigning to resist improper political interference from the Trump administration. The resignation highlights the ongoing erosion of Justice Department independence from the White House under Trump.

Denise Cheung reportedly refused an order from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove and interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin to launch an investigation into the Biden-era Environmental Protection Agency funding decisions. Details are still unfolding, but specifically, the resignation is connected to the Justice Department’s recent effort to assist EPA administrator Lee Zeldin’s push to rescind $20 billion in grants already awarded by the Biden administration to fund climate projects.

VERITAS BS The former New York congressman and current EPA administrator posted a video on Twitter last week claiming, without evidence, that the Biden administration had improperly doled out the grants before the former president left office. In the video, Zeldin announced his plans to refer the matter to the inspector general’s office and to work with the DOJ on clawing back the money and contracts tied to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. DOJ has the authority to freeze assets but only after it has found evidence that the funds are tied to criminal activity, according to the Post.

Cheung and Martin reportedly disagreed about “whether she was delaying efforts to order a financial institution to halt spending transfers pending further investigation, or seeking to reach a compromise by taking steps she believed were ethical and appropriate,” in the Washington Post’s words.

In an email to colleagues, obtained by the Post, Cheung did not specify her reason for resigning. “I took an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution, and I have executed this duty faithfully,” the email reads.

In a letter offering her resignation to Martin, Cheung reportedly made it clear she was resigning due to the improper request from the Trump administration, Reuters reported.

Per Reuters:

In a letter to the interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin reviewed by Reuters, the office’s criminal chief Denise Cheung wrote that the Trump administration had ordered her to investigate a government contract awarded during Joe Biden’s administration and pursue a freeze of the recipient’s assets.

She said that neither request was supported by the evidence, which she said she was provided with by the Deputy Attorney General’s office.

Neither the White House nor the Justice Department responded to TPM’s request for comment.

Cheung’s resignation comes only one day after President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Martin to permanently head the D.C. US Attorney’s office. His chances of being confirmed in the Senate are unclear.

Martin, who has been a face of the ‘Stop the Steal Movement’ also has a long history of January 6 denialism and has defended January 6 rioters in court. Martin had tasked Cheung and another prosecutor with investigating how January 6 prosecutors charged rioters from that day.

Cheung’s resignation comes against the backdrop of recent resignations of federal prosecutors who refused to comply with orders from acting deputy AG Bove, to dismiss the criminal case against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

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an 2 25

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday dared Trump immigration czar Tom Homan to pursue an investigation against her after he attacked the New York Democrat in two television appearances and said he has asked the Justice Department to "look into" whether she violated the law by holding a webinar informing constituents of their rights.

"This is why you fight these cowards. The moment you stand up to them, they crumble," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media after Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), called her "the dumbest congresswoman ever elected to Congress" in an interview on the far-right network Newsmax.

The resort to a personal attack, said the New York Democrat, shows that "Homan has nothing."

"The Fourth Amendment is clear and I am well within my duties to educate people of their rights," she added. "He can threaten me with jail and call names all he wants. He's got nothing else."

Less than an hour later, Ocasio-Cortez wrote "go ahead" in response to a separate interview in which Homan told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he has asked the deputy attorney general to examine whether the New York congresswoman's webinar amounted to teaching people "how to evade ICE arrest."

"Let the people see you for what you are," Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response.

Homan, whom President Donald Trump has tasked with spearheading the new administration's mass deportation efforts, has repeatedly attacked Ocasio-Cortez in recent days as the White House zeroes in on New York City with the help of disgraced Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, the beneficiary of an out-in-the-open quid pro quo arrangement that is now at the center of a legal and political controversy.

On her congressional website, Ocasio-Cortez—who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens—has a page devoted to informing her constituents of their legal rights when faced with ICE agents.

"ICE does not have the right to enter your home without a valid warrant signed by a judge," reads a flyer produced by Ocasio-Cortez's office, a message that was echoed during last week's webinar.

Days after the webinar, Homan said in a Fox News appearance that he "sent an email" to the deputy attorney general asking whether Ocasio-Cortez is illegally "impeding our law enforcement efforts."

"Maybe he can learn to read," the New York Democrat wrote in response. "The Constitution would be a good place to start."

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7 AG QUIT ON ERIC ADAMS FEDSOC CLERK FOR ALITO?

locked in rm, guy about retire rolls to save rest public corrupt unit elite, indep

fool coward never me

AN 2 25

On Tuesday morning, February 18, the Trump-era U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was rocked by yet another resignation.

According to Reuters' Sarah N. Lynch, Denise Cheung — the top senior prosecutor in DOJ's Washington office — told her colleague Ed Martin, in her resignation letter, that she is leaving DOJ because of a request from Trump Administration officials she considers improper. The Trump allies, Lynch reports, asked Cheung "to launch a criminal probe" and "ordered her to investigate a government contract awarded during Joe Biden's administration and pursue a freeze of the recipient's assets."

In her resignation letter, Cheung wrote, "I have been proud to serve at the U.S. Department of Justice and this office for over 24 years. During my tenure, which has spanned over many different administrations, I have always been guided by the oath I took.... to support and defend the Constitution."

Cheung's resignation is inspiring a lot of reactions on X, formerly Twitter.

Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig tweeted, "Yet another resignation in protest after DOJ leadership orders veteran fed prosecutor this weekend to freeze enviro grants made by Biden administration. @TheJusticeDept can freeze funds when there is evidence the assets are linked to a crime. Veteran Denise Cheung felt such a step was improper/unethical now and resigned, sources tell the Post."

CBS News' Scott MacFarlane posted, "The wave of resignations among longtime Justice Dept attorneys continues Denise Cheung is leaving her post as a top criminal prosecutor in Washington DC, amid tumult in the agency."

Former federal prosecutor Daniel R. Alonso wrote, "Having served as a criminal chief in a Republican administration that did not abuse its authority with respect to our office (EDNY), I can say D.C. Criminal chief Denise Cheung was exactly right to resign. You DO NOT open investigations without predication."

In a separate tweet, Alonso commented, "It's a conundrum to be sure, but lawyers have ethical obligations. It's true different lawyers interpret them differently, but how can we ask her to stay when her conscience dictates otherwise? A more pressing issue is that the Senate should reject Martin's nomination - he belongs nowhere near federal prosecutorial decision-making."

The Hill's Niall Stanage wrote, "Developing story — NYT reports this happened because the person in question would not carry out a 'directive' from the Trump team."

CNN's Jim Sciutto tweeted, "The sudden departure of Justice Department veteran Denise Cheung comes a day after President Donald Trump announced his nominee to lead the prosecutor's office, Ed Martin, who has supported unwinding all January 6 criminal cases that the office brought."

X user Millard Fillmore remarked, "She is resigning because they ordered her to break the law via a trumped investigation."

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rww

02/10/2025

Peter Montgomery

Ed Martin, a right-wing activist and podcaster installed by President Donald Trump as Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, is running interference for Elon Musk’s rampage through federal agencies. He has also begun a purge of Justice Department officials who investigated and prosecuted the criminals pardoned by Trump over their role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, while apparently setting the stage for further ideological retribution.

On Feb. 3, Martin vowed in a letter to Musk that he would take legal action against anyone who “impedes your work or threatens your people.” Meanwhile, House Republicans are also doing their bit to protect Musk from congressional oversight.

A few days later, on Friday, Feb. 7, Martin wrote to thank Musk and his deputy Steve Davis for making referrals to him and stating, “If people are discovered to have broken the law or even acted simply unethically, we will investigate them and we will chase them to the end of the Earth to hold them accountable.”

“Noone is above the law,” Martin, added, in bold type, a seemingly hypocritical claim from someone who aggressively promoted Trump’s efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. Last year, Martin gave an "Eagle Award" to John Eastman, an attorney who has facedseriouslegal consequencesfor his efforts to help Trump stay in the presidency after that loss.

Martin is “a shocking choice, even by Trump standards,” wrote journalist Adele Stan, adding that “in Martin, Trump has found a kindred character who, in the past, has been willing to skirt the law for the sake of his own power.”

“And in Washington, D.C., the local U.S. attorney has a whole lot of power, right off the bat, given that any federal crime charged in the nation’s capital is now his to prosecute—or not,” Stan notes. “Just don’t expect him to abide by the rules of fair play.”

Indeed, as Interim U.S. Attorney, Martin signed a motion asking a federal court to dismiss a charge against a Jan. 6 defendant who Martin was still representing. Reuters noted, “Lawyers generally are prohibited from taking both sides in the same case and U.S. Justice Department regulations require lawyers to step aside from cases involving their former clients for at least a year.” According to ethics experts consulted by Reuters, Martin “likely violated a swath of ethics rules.”

Who is this guy? An Ed Martin Timeline

Martin is a longtime religious-right activist who worked with the late right-wing activist Phyllis Schlafly and engaged in a bitter struggle for control of her organization and political legacy. The conflict was resolved with him in control of a group called the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles.

Schlafly was one of Trump’s early backers, and Martin was part of Trump’s 2016 “pro-life advisory council.” He is a devoted Trump cultist who once published an adult coloring book of Trump tweets, claiming that “the true meaning of covfefe”—a typo tweeted by Trump—“is love.”

In 2016, Martin and Schlafly co-authored “The Conservative Case for Trump,” which argued that the U.S. was being harmed by allowing immigration from non-European countries. That year, Martin told a Tea Party rally, “You’re not racist if you don’t like Mexicans. They're from a nation. If you don't think Muslims are vetted enough, because they blow things up, that's not racist."

In 2017, Martin was hired by CNN as a pro-Trump commentator, which provoked the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to describe “Shameless Ed” as a “disgraced chief of staff to Gov. Matt Blunt” who will “say almost anything”—a habitthat got him fired from CNN a few months later after he called fellow panelists “black racists.” (He would later denounce CNN reporters as “traitors to America.”)

A few years later, in 2019, Martin expressed outrage that congressional Republicans finally took action against Rep. Steve King after the representative’s long track record of racist and nativist rhetoric.

Martin seems to have strange ideas about what does qualify as racism. In 2022, when President Biden announced his intention to name a black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, Martin ranted, “I’m not sure we’ve ever seen such a racist, sexist, despicable thing as a leader that we saw Joe Biden do with this pick.” Strangely enough, Martin did not seem to be bothered by Trump’s vow to name a woman to the court to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Martin opposed reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which offers protections to victims of violence and has improved the criminal justice response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the United States. It also provides funds for women’s shelters and hotlines, among other services. Its passage in 1994 marked the first time federal law acknowledged domestic violence and sexual assault as crimes. In 2019, Martin claimed that it was not “pro-family” because he said the law’s provisions “break up families far too often.” The Act was most recently reauthorized in 2022.

MAGA Loyalist and Conspiracy Theorist

In 2019, Martin ran for a seat on the Fairfax County board of supervisors in Virginia, losing by about 30 percentage points. That year he denounced the Federal Reserve as part of the deep state for not letting Trump dictate its monetary policies, and called for Trump to give political dirty trickster Roger Stone a pardon and the Presidential Medal of Freedom for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation.

In May of 2020, when the Trump Justice Department decided to drop its criminal case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Martin was among MAGA activists who called for retribution against those who had prosecuted Flynn. "Let's keep going: we must identify and remove all those agents of the Deep State globalists who are fighting from within to destroy American leaders of integrity,” he said. Now he’s in position to contribute to Trump purges.

During protests against the police killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, Martin repeatedly told his followers that America was “at war” against people who want to “destroy this country.” He called for “massive force” against perpetrators of violence, adding that anyone out after curfew was by definition not a peaceful protester. “We have to be ruthless,” he said. Martin called Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and killed two people during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a hero and claimed that the mainstream media coverage of Rittenhouse’s trial was intended to prompt “race riots” and benefit from the big ratings they would generate.

Martin, who is Catholic, went ballistic when the Catholic Archbishop of Washington, D.C. criticized the Trump administration after it violently cleared away protesters so that Trump could stage a photo-op by posing with a Bible outside a church near the White House. The bishop’s statement had criticized the use of tear gas to “silence, scatter or intimidate” people for Trump’s photo op. Martin railed against the bishop’s “terribly destructive, terribly hateful” statement, which he dismissed as “classic American social justice gobbledygook.”

In late October 2020, Martin used a QAnon hashtag as he was boosting a social media post by Flynn urging activists to “leave it all on the field” in the final days before the election. Earlier that month, Martin had complained that social media companies had been cracking down on the QAnon movement’s conspiracy theories, writing, “Big Tech is silencing QAnon, Facebook is silencing QAnon.”

Martin and the ‘Stop the Steal’ Scheme to Keep Trump in Power After 2020 Election

Just after the 2020 election, after Trump had falsely declared victory, Martin joined far-right GOP operative Ali Alexander and other “Stop the Steal” activists to demand that election officials stop counting votes in key battleground states, and to demand that Republican elected officials back Trump’s claims. While votes were still being counted, Martin promoted the Trump claim that Biden could only win those states by “fraud.” As Stop the Steal expanded its efforts, Alexander praised Martin for his “mentorship and servant leadership.”

Martin signed a Dec. 10 letter asking state legislatures in battleground states to ignore the voting results and name pro-Trump electors. He participated in the pro-Trump rally on the National Mall at which Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes threatened bloody civil war; a day earlier he had hosted far-right Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò—since excommunicated by Pope Francis—on his weekly prayer call.

After states certified Joe Biden’s electoral college victory, Martin joined Alexander and other MAGA activists who threatened to unseat congressional Republicans who failed to object to certifying the results.

Jan. 6 and the Insurrectionists

The day before the attack, Martin gave a speech outside the Capitol, NBC reported, “starting a chant of 'stop the steal' and invoking God while accusing Trump’s enemies of stealing the election.”

“No matter what happens tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after, we still need to be in the fight. There’s no summer soldiers and springtime patriots here. There’s the die-hard true Americans,” Martin said. “We start today, go through tomorrow and every day 'til we have a last breath and go home to the Lord because we will stop the steal.”

The day of the insurrection, Adele Stan reported in The New Republic, “as MAGA thugs attacked police officers at the Capitol and spread feces on its walls, Ed Martin posted on the social media platform then known as Twitter, ‘I’m at the Capitol. And I was at the POTUS speech earlier. Rowdy crowd, but nothing out of hand. Ignore the #FakeNews.’”

Long after violence had been raging, Martin tweeted, “Like Mardi Gras in DC today: love, faith and joy.”

Martin later called the insurrection the “Pelosi hoax of January 6th.” Right Wing Watch reported in 2021:

Martin downplayed the seriousness of the attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, calling it a protest at which some people “acted like idiots.” Martin falsely claimed that there was no evidence of anyone having been armed and falsely claimed that there has been no identified link between white nationalists and the Capitol insurrectionists. In truth, there was plenty of evidence of armed Trump loyalists and white nationalists at the Capitol, and more has emerged as arrests have been made.

According to NBC News, Martin represented at least three Jan. 6 defendants and promoted conspiracy theories about “who the real architects of Jan. 6 were.”

Martin denounced the congressional investigation of the Jan. 6 attacks as “pure propaganda” and claimed that the hearings were held “just to destroy Donald Trump.”

Trump 2.0

Martin’s loyalty was rewarded in 2024 when the Republican National Committee hired Martin as deputy policy director of the platform committee; Project 2025 architect Russ Vought—who Senate Republicans just confirmed as OMB Director—was policy director.

At the time, CNN noted Martin’s extreme positions on abortion – he favors a national ban with no exceptions for rape or incest, and has entertained the idea of jailing doctors and punishing women who have abortions. He has falsely claimed, “It’s an absolute scientific fact that no abortion is ever performed to save the life of the mother. None, zero, zilch.”

In December, Trump announced that he would make Martin chief of staff at OMB, where he would again serve under Vought. But on Jan. 20, the same day Trump announced pardons for Jan. 6 defendants, he namedMartin as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, leading to this New York Times headline: "Advocate of Jan. 6 Rioters Now Runs Office That Investigated Them."

Washington Post columnist Colbert King responded to Martin’s appointment by writing that “D.C. deserves better than a political operative as its U.S. attorney, noting that most of the U.S. attorneys he covered “sought to serve the law, not partisan purposes.”

“That is what our nation’s capital needs in a U.S. attorney,” King wrote. “We don’t have that now.”

And that was before Martin so fully devoted himself to enabling Musk’s infiltration of sensitive government computer systems and staff purges, widely described as unlawful and lawless, but not by MAGA loyalist Martin.

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02/03/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Adele M. Stan @ The New Republic: Trump’s Pick for Federal Prosecutor in D.C. Gives Hacks a Bad Name

Now it appears that [Ed] Martin is positioning himself to “investigate the investigators,” as Trump and his minions have promised, perhaps looking for words in charging documents that he can twist into a false narrative of prosecutorial malfeasance on the part of the government lawyers who charged the insurrectionists.

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SCRAPE 10 25 SEAMUS BRUNER GAI?

Todd Blanche

· 3rdThird degree connection

Deputy Attorney GeneralDeputy Attorney General

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Rachel J.

Rachel J.

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U.S. Department of JusticeU.S. Department of Justice

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Harmeet K. Dhillon

Harmeet K. Dhillon

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Assistant Attorney General for Civil RightsAssistant Attorney General for Civil Rights

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Tulsi Gabbard

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Director of National Intelligence Director of National Intelligence

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Paul Fitzpatrick

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Associate Administrator, U.S. Small Business AdministrationAssociate Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration

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Will Scharf

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Assistant to the President and White House Staff SecretaryAssistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary

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Sebastian Gorka Ph.D.

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Deputy Assistant to the President, Senior Director for Counterterrorism, National Security CouncilDeputy Assistant to the President, Senior Director for Counterterrorism, National Security Council

Chad Mizelle

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Lawyer, Entrepreneur, Problem SolverLawyer, Entrepreneur, Problem Solver

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Tom F.

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President, Smooth Stone Strategies, LLCPresident, Smooth Stone Strategies, LLC

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Daniel Epstein

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Regulatory Law and PolicyRegulatory Law and Policy

Christopher Butler

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Executive Director at ATR & Tholos FoundationExecutive Director at ATR & Tholos Foundation

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Emil Bove

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Andrew Blunt

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Alicia Long

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Principal Assistant United States AttorneyPrincipal Assistant United States Attorney

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Alice Marie Johnson

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Fierce Criminal Justice Reform AdvocateFierce Criminal Justice Reform Advocate

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Kristen Ullman

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President, Eagle ForumPresident, Eagle Forum

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Mike Davis

Mike Davis

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Attorney, Public-Policy Advocate, Former Senate Judiciary Chief Counsel for Nominations, Former Gorsuch Law ClerkAttorney, Public-Policy Advocate, Former Senate Judiciary Chief Counsel for Nominations, Former Gorsuch Law Clerk

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Craig T.

Craig T.

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Trump-Vance Administration I Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights I Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights I U.S. Department of EducationTrump-Vance Administration I Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights I Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights I U.S. Department of Education

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Tom McFadden

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Vice President Enrollment | Highly efficient customer-oriented professional focused on helping others achieve success.Vice President Enrollment | Highly efficient customer-oriented professional focused on helping others achieve success.

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Matthew Graves

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Trial Lawyer, Investigator, & Trusted Advisor | Former United States Attorney and AUSA | Winston & Strawn PartnerTrial Lawyer, Investigator, & Trusted Advisor | Former United States Attorney and AUSA | Winston & Strawn Partner

ENDORSEMENTS

AMANPREET SINGH

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Chairman and CEO | International Business Dev Connecting Global Leaders and US Power CirclesChairman and CEO | International Business Dev Connecting Global Leaders and US Power Circles

Bradley C. Birkenfeld

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Book Author and Lecturer at Lucifer’s Banker UncensoredBook Author and Lecturer at Lucifer’s Banker Uncensored

Donald Sortor

Donald Sortor

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Senior VP @ Global Integrity | Secure Comms | Navy Veteran 🔱🇺🇸Senior VP @ Global Integrity | Secure Comms | Navy Veteran 🔱🇺🇸

Mark Eichenlaub

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Lot Sweeping/Portering/Litter Cleanup - Mokena Lot CleanersLot Sweeping/Portering/Litter Cleanup - Mokena Lot Cleaners

Jacob Saperstein

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Financial & Business Professional | EntrepreneurFinancial & Business Professional | Entrepreneur

Shannon Pucci

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Hard Work & Helpfulness Is Energizing | MBA, Real Estate Investor, Marketing Alchemist & ESTP 🇺🇸Hard Work & Helpfulness Is Energizing | MBA, Real Estate Investor, Marketing Alchemist & ESTP 🇺🇸

Robert Kempf

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HWB Services - The QuickBooks NinjaHWB Services - The QuickBooks Ninja

Dale Holmstrom

Rating Veterans Service Representative at U.S. Department of Veterans AffairsRating Veterans Service Representative at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

EDWARD O'CONNELL

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Senior Funding Specialist at Fast Capital Group- approved vendor Delta Bridge FundingSenior Funding Specialist at Fast Capital Group- approved vendor Delta Bridge Funding

Joan Coulter

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The Coulter Law Firm, LLC St. Louis, MissouriThe Coulter Law Firm, LLC St. Louis, Missouri

Mark Crenshaw

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Experienced commercial loan underwriter.and portfolio management. SBA, ABL, CRE, and Equipment financing experience.Experienced commercial loan underwriter.and portfolio management. SBA, ABL, CRE, and Equipment financing experience.

Timothy Moore

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Woodrow Wilson High SchoolWoodrow Wilson High School

Kimberly Kirby

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Elementary Education and AdministrationElementary Education and Administration

Michael Lowry

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Retired Commander, St. Louis Metro Police DepartmentRetired Commander, St. Louis Metro Police Department

Samuel Simon

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Security, investigations, risk and threat assessment, emergency preparedness and crisis management consulting.Simon Solutions Group LLCSecurity, investigations, risk and threat assessment, emergency preparedness and crisis management consulting.Simon Solutions Group LLC

Lieutenant Tony Bowman JD, MSCJ, CFE, CFS, CPD, PCI, CPI

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Lieutenant (Patrol) at Department of Veterans AffairsLieutenant (Patrol) at Department of Veterans Affairs

Ron Aledo former CIA (ctr)

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International Security and Intelligence Consultant, Risk and Crisis Manager, Strategy Advisor, Military SMEInternational Security and Intelligence Consultant, Risk and Crisis Manager, Strategy Advisor, Military SME

Jack Daly

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Leading Digital Fundraiser for President Trump & Congressional Republicans; fmr. DOJ Oversight Counsel to Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans; fmr. Congressional Chief of Staff; Disabled U.S. Army VeteranLeading Digital Fundraiser for President Trump & Congressional Republicans; fmr. DOJ Oversight Counsel to Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans; fmr. Congressional Chief of Staff; Disabled U.S. Army Veteran

Terry Jarrett

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Partner at Healy Law Offices, LLCPartner at Healy Law Offices, LLC

Mark Milchak

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Bob Bauman

Retired at SLMDRetired at SLMD

Stephen Davis

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Senior Legal Fellow at Pacific Legal Foundation specializing in property rights scholarship and litigation.

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ED MARTIN 2

What People Are Saying

What we know about the relationship between Alex Jones and DOJ official Ed Martin

Grand jury investigating Trump allies over 'tainted' probes of White House critics

Stewart Rhodes Says Trump Must Pardon Him To Correct The 'False Narrative' About The Jan. 6 Insurrection

After launching investigations, Ed Martin is suddenly facing an investigation of his own

'Make Virginia Great Again'

DOJ’s “weaponization” plan B is to provide frothy content for right-wing conspiracy theorists

...The Base

Jan. 6 Retribution

DOGE Enforcer

“We Will Defend You”

Investigating Democrats

Targeting Medical Journals

Martin's attempted DoJ harassment of Sandy Hook school shooting victims' advocate

On the Right

Martin spent years in the trenches of conservative politics

Stop the Steal and January 6 propelled Martin to influence

Related

But will he succeed in prosecuting Trump’s enemies?

DOJ Run Amok