'One-man wrecking ball': Adam Schiff blocks Trump's nomination of MAGA prosecutor

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced on Tuesday evening that he is placing an indefinite hold on President Donald Trump's nomination of Ed Martin to serve as permanent U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

"For the past few weeks, Ed Martin has been a one-man wrecking ball," said Schiff, an attorney by trade who previously served in the House and headed up the Intelligence Committee. "Threatening opponents, firing public servants, and using his office to chill free speech. His nomination must be blocked."

Martin, a former staffer to arch-conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, is currently serving as D.C.'s top U.S. attorney despite having no prior experience as a prosecutor. In his short stint, he has threatened criminal investigations against various lawmakers for criticizing Trump, has raised conflicts of interest by moving to dismiss Jan. 6 cases against people he represented as defense counsel, and has seen his emails leaked in droves to the press.

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Trump's move to install him permanently, Schiff said in his statement, cannot stand.

“For the past nine weeks, Ed Martin has consistently undermined the independence and abused the power of the U.S. Attorney’s office in DC – openly threatening and intimidating political opponents, dismissing charges against his own clients, firing public servants for their roles in legitimate investigations, and using his office as a cudgel to chill dissent and free speech," wrote Schiff. “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 – to further twist the power of the law and law enforcement to go after Americans who stand up for the rule of law and for our democracy."

Since taking office, Trump has moved to fill numerous Justice Department and U.S. attorney positions with hardcore loyalists, including Emil Bove, who set off a purge of career prosecutors in the Southern District of New York with his move to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and Alina Habba, a long-controversial defense lawyer in several Trump cases who proclaimed she didn't even want to be appointed as a federal prosecutor.