Outgoing acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin is moving to a new Justice Department effort named the "Weaponization Working Group," and he's already issuing threats, NBC News reported on Tuesday. However, legal experts have their own comments, and one has citations.
Martin, a defense attorney who represented several Jan. 6 defendants, could not garner support from a top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee for the U.S. attorney post. So, he has been shifted to the Justice Department for the working group that aims to investigate anyone involved in the probes into President Donald Trump and his allies, NBC said.
In a news conference on Tuesday, Martin told reporters, “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. 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.”
It's a move that side-steps long-standing Justice Department protocols, NBC News said, and legal experts caution that it could lead to lawsuits.
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"I mean, if the government wants a slew of Privacy Act lawsuits, I guess that’s their business," said national security lawyer Bradley P. Moss on Bluesky.
Lawfare's Quinta Jurecic said she was "pulling up the justice manual to find guidance on DOJ's 'naming and shaming' authority."
Virginia attorney and writer Jas Easterly quoted from ethics opinions on the matter: "Although not exactly on point, DC Ethics Opinion 358 reaffirms Opinion 31 that it is not 'ethical to summon a witness [before a congressional committee] when it is known in advance that no information will be obtained and the sole effect of the summons will be to pillory the witness.'"
"It’s not a stretch to contemplate that actions short of actual process, such as public announcements to name and shame, would be unethical in the District of Columbia," he continued. "And a major violation of Rule 4.4(a) of The D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct, which states that 'a lawyer shall not use means that have no substantial purpose other than to embarrass, delay, or burden a third person.'"
"And Rule 3.8(f): Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor, which prohibits 'extrajudicial comments which serve to heighten condemnation of the accused' except statements necessary to inform the public of nature and extent of prosecutor’s action that serve a legitimate law enforcement purpose," Easterly added.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who serves as the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, called for Martin to be pulled from working anywhere in government.
"Ed Martin is unfit to serve in the federal government. His ties to Nazi sympathizers and antisemitic extremists make American Jews feel less safe. Trump must rescind this dangerous appointment immediately and never allow Ed Martin to serve in any position in the United States government," he wrote on X, while also sharing a letter also signed by Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Brad Schneider (D-IL).
Semafor reporter David Weigel pointed to a key quote in the report by Ryan Reilly: "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."