Outgoing acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin is moving from his temporary post overseeing prosecutors in Washington, D.C., to the new Justice Department "Weaponization Working Group" that NBC News described as part of an effort to "investigate [President Donald] Trump's investigators."
Speaking out about the matter on Tuesday, Martin said he would change the long-standing protocol and "name" and "shame" individuals even if the Justice Department is unable to charge them with crimes, according to the report.
In a news conference, Martin referred to himself as the "captain" of the working group tasked with investigating "prosecutors who launched past investigations into Trump and his allies."
“There are some really bad actors, some people that did some really bad things to the American people," Martin told reporters. "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.”
Under Justice Department protocols, officials typically don't confirm they're investigating a matter or otherwise comment on ongoing probes. Martin's plans "would run afoul of those protocols," the report noted.
Martin served as the defense attorney for several Jan. 6 defendants. Lawfare wrote that taking over the prosecutions was seen by some legal experts to be a conflict of interest.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo in February in response to a Jan. 20 executive order from Trump titled "Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government."
Bondi's memo said the working group will review the "activities of all departments and agencies exercising civil or criminal enforcement authority of the United States over the last four years, in consultation with the heads of such departments and agencies and consistent with applicable law, to identify instances where a department's or agency's conduct appears to have been designed to achieve political objectives or other improper aims rather than pursuing justice or legitimate governmental objectives."
As an interim U.S. attorney, Martin was limited by a 120-day term. He was nominated to serve the full term, but Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced last week that he would oppose the choice, NBC News reported. Trump then withdrew the nomination.
Trump announced last week that Fox News host Jeanine Pirro would take over the position as the interim U.S. attorney for D.C. She will be sworn in on Wednesday, The Washington Post reported.
