Trump to Pull Ed Martin as Washington Prosecutor Pick (3)

President Donald Trump said he will propose a new choice to be Washington’s chief prosecutor, after it became apparent his first pick, controversial “Stop the Steal” organizer Ed Martin, didn’t have enough support in the Senate to move forward.

“It was disappointing,” Trump said Thursday at the White House. “He wasn’t rejected, but we felt it would be hard.”

Trump said someone else will be announced in coming days who’ll “be great.” He also suggested that Martin, who he called a “terrific person,” could land another Justice Department role.

The decision marks a rare defeat for Trump, who has so far rammed through most of his nominees for key Cabinet positions, at times over initial reservations by Senate Republicans.

It comes after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee considering Martin’s nomination, told reporters this week that he wouldn’t support Martin for the role. Tillis explained he has concerns about Martin’s positions on the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol during the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Martin previously defended Jan. 6 participants in court, has called them “patriots,” “victims,” and “politically persecuted” and likened some of those prosecutions to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

As interim US attorney, he oversaw the dismissals of charges against hundreds of Capitol rioters after Trump announced broad pardons and opened an internal investigation into the use of an obstruction statute against Capitol rioters by federal prosecutors.

Tillis said he appreciates that the president recognized “that there wasn’t a path,” and “now we can move on and make sure we get this very important position filled.”

In an interview with Bloomberg Law, Martin said he “really wanted” to stay in the job.

“I was impressed by my colleagues, impressed by the work,” he said.

Martin also described the position as “not an easy job” and “not for the faint of heart,” and said whomever replaces him is “going to be challenged.”

“Getting up to speed was really hard, and looking back, I was briefed a lot. It was almost too much. Very practically, if I was giving advice to my successor, go slower on that,” he said.

Shortly after Trump’ remarks, and amid news reports that a new pope had been selected, Martin, who is Catholic, posted what appeared to be an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pope — a reference to similar post from Trump earlier this month — with the caption, “Plot twist...”

Martin told conservative radio hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton on Thursday that he will still “be in the fray” and in the Justice Department “in some form.”

“In the next couple hours, I think that’ll be clear I’m not leaving the field of battle. I’m just switching to a different division here,” Martin said.

Tillis said he’d have “no problem” with Martin serving in a different DOJ position. He also said Trump is in a position to appoint a second acting US attorney before Martin’s 120-day term expires on May 20. Federal law states that the Washington federal trial court may appoint a replacement if an acting US attorney’s term runs out.

Martin faced intense scrutiny from Democrats and former prosecutors who’ve questioned his fitness for the role and raised concerns he’d approach it with a partisan lens.

Since becoming interim leader in January, Martin brought upheaval and cratered morale among career staff at the country’s largest US attorney’s office, according to employees who spoke to Bloomberg Law last month on condition of anonymity.

He’s also referred to attorneys at the office — career hires who typically work through multiple administrations — as the president’s lawyers.

Prior to his appointment as acting US attorney, Martin had no prosecutorial experience and had never taken a case to trial, according to his Senate questionnaire.

Senate Democrats have also criticized Martin for his ties to far-right Capitol rioters, including Nazi sympathizer Timothy Hale-Cusanelli. Martin has belatedly disclosed hundreds of appearances on Russian propaganda and other media outlets, which he was required to include in original materials to the committee.

Mike Davis, a Trump ally and leader of the conservative Article III Project, posted on X that Martin is “a good friend and man” and lamented the lack of support by the Republican caucus.

“Too many of our weak Senate Republican sisters are offended by Ed’s political work. So Trump will have Ed go break more china elsewhere,” Davis wrote.

Missouri Background

Martin served as human rights office director for the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis and as an associate at Bryan Cave LLP.

He resigned as chief of staff to Republican Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt in 2008 after it was revealed the office was deleting emails in violation of the state’s records laws.

He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2010 and to be Missouri attorney general in 2012. He was elected chair of the Missouri Republican Party in 2013.

Martin also was president of the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund, part of the group founded by conservative advocate Phyllis Schlafly, known for campaigning against the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. He co-authored with Schlafly the book, “The Conservative Case for Trump” in 2016.