WASHINGTON, D.C.— The newly minted Department of Justice Pardon Attorney and Director of the DOJ Weaponization Working Group, Ed Martin, Jr., initially made headlines earlier this month when his nomination as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia was withdrawn. However, it wasn’t long before President Donald Trump found a new, and potentially more potent role for Martin to take on.
As reported by The Associated Press, Martin told reporters at the time of his appointment that the controversial rash of last-minute pardons from the Biden administration that included his family members, Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol to name a few, “need some scrutiny.”
“They need scrutiny because we want pardons to matter and to be accepted and to be something that’s used correctly. So I do think we’re going to take a hard look at how they went and what they did,” he said, according to the AP.
The Weaponization Working Group was created by Attorney General Pam Bondi in February to investigate the disgraced former special counsel Jack Smith.
Martin told the outlet that the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Washington, D.C. was already “taking a look at some of the conduct surrounding the pardons and the Biden White House,” under his interim leadership.
In a post to Truth Social, May 8t,h President Trump announced Martin’s new role stating, “Ed Martin has done an AMAZING job as interim U.S. Attorney and will be moving to the Department of Justice as the new Director of the Weaponization Working Group, Associate Deputy Attorney General, and Pardon Attorney. In these highly important roles, Ed will make sure we finally investigate the Weaponization of our Government under the Biden Regime, and provide much needed Justice for its victims. Congratulations Ed!”
“Ed will make sure we finally investigate the Weaponization of our Government under the Biden Regime, and provide much needed Justice for its victims,” Trump added, according to The Hill.
Former U.S. National Security Advisor Lt. General Michael Flynn (ret.) spoke highly of Martin in a statement to Law Enforcement Today on Sunday, writing:
“I’ve known Ed Martin for many years now and he is as courageous and humble as leader that I have ever served around. Ed has served in multiple capacities over his years of service in and out of government. He has served at local and now at the federal levels and I can state that he is one of those rare people who believes deeply in his faith, his family and our country.
In his newest role within the Trump administration, Ed Martin is going to help clean up decades of corruption in order to get America back on the rails of justice. A fair rule of law system for all American citizens is something Ed deeply believes must be restored in our country. I am excited to witness what he will do to Make America and Justice Great Again.”
Mat Silverman, National President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), offered similar encouragement, saying:
“Ed Martin would have been an outstanding United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Unfortunately, once again, politics got in the way. When I spoke with Ed after learning he had been removed from consideration for this critical role—the top law enforcement position in D.C.—I reminded him that everything happens for a reason.
I told him that God has a plan, and that a greater opportunity was waiting—one where he could have an even broader impact beyond a single jurisdiction. That day has now come. Ed will be serving in a position within the Trump Administration that provides him with a wider scope and reach to protect our communities and help keep our country as safe as possible.”
Although the presidential pardon and clemency powers enshrined in the U.S. Constitution are broad, and arguably cannot be overturned by Congress or the Supreme Court, a precedent for ex post facto presidential impeachment for conduct committed while in office was set during the second impeachment of President Donald Trump in 2021.
However, in Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court found that “the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority. And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts.”
As DOJ Pardon Attorney, Martin will be responsible for the review of reprieve and pardon petitions, replacing former pardon attorney Liz Oyer. He appears to relish his new role, posting his thanks to President Trump on X writing, “Thank you, Mr. President. We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” and adding in a subsequent post, “Eagle Unleashed.”
In a message to the American people, Martin posted to X, “Dear Fellow Americans, The integrity of the American Pardon system requires that we examine the Biden pardons and who did what. We will get [to] the bottom of it. Count on us. All the best. Ed Martin US Pardon Attorney.”
