After his failed nomination to be U.S. Attorney for DC, Ed Martin was installed in various Justice Department roles and has publicly vowed to target Trump’s enemies
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi on Ed Martin’s stated plans to abuse his positions at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to help President Trump’s friends and punish his perceived enemies.
After Mr. Martin’s failed nomination to be U.S. Attorney for D.C. was withdrawn, President Trump appointed him to serve in non-Senate-confirmed positions like Pardon Attorney and Director of the Weaponization Working Group. He is the first political appointee to ever hold the role of Pardon Attorney.
Durbin began by citing concerning comments by Mr. Martin at a DOJ press conference on May 13 and subsequent interview with Tucker Carlson, writing: “Following his disgraceful tenure as Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Mr. Martin apparently plans to continue his misconduct in his new roles at DOJ… These statements are a brazen admission that Mr. Martin plans to systemically violate the Justice Manual’s prohibition on extrajudicial statements by shaming uncharged parties for nakedly partisan reasons. This plan clearly violates Mr. Martin’s obligations under the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct, which prohibit prosecutors from ‘mak[ing] extrajudicial comments which serve to heighten condemnation of the accused.’ Weaponizing DOJ in this manner will further undermine the public’s trust in the department in irreparable ways.”
Durbin continued by highlighting several abuses of power by Mr. Martin since becoming Pardon Attorney, writing: “As the first political appointee to ever hold this position, Mr. Martin has overseen pardons of numerous Trump supporters and donors. Last month President Trump pardoned nursing home executive Paul Walczak for tax fraud just three weeks after Walczak’s mother paid $1 million to attend a Trump fundraiser. He pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley, conservative reality television stars and ‘vocal supporters of President Trump,’ for bank fraud and tax evasion. The President pardoned Trevor Milton, founder of Nikola electric vehicle company, after Milton donated nearly $2 million to the Trump campaign last year. He also pardoned former Republican Congressmen Michael Grimm for tax fraud and former Republican Governor John Rowland for public corruption. In the aftermath of these scandalous pardons, Mr. Martin tweeted: ‘No MAGA left behind.’”
Durbin then cited Mr. Martin’s personal advocacy for pardoning violent insurrectionists, writing: “Mr. Martin has also personally advocated pardoning Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and others who were convicted of seditious conspiracy for their role in planning and instigating the violence against law enforcement on January 6, 2021. These 11 individuals already received commutations of their sentences from President Trump on January 20, 2025, despite showing no remorse for their crimes. No developments in the four months since their commutations justify any consideration of their pardon applications, yet Mr. Martin has fast-tracked them for consideration by the White House immediately after their submission.”
Durbin then renewed two delinquent oversight requests from letters sent to Attorney General Bondi regarding the pardons of January 6th insurrectionists and the presidential pardon power.
Durbin concluded with a request for memoranda, correspondence, and other records authorizing Mr. Martin to pursue these plans and their legal justification.
For a PDF copy of the letter to Attorney General Bondi, click here.
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