Partisan’s Exit Suggests DOJ Is Getting Better at Politicized Prosecutions

Former "Stop the Steal" advocate Ed Martin, known for his brash and bumbling efforts to use the Department of Justice (DOJ) to punish critics of President Donald Trump, is leaving his role at DOJ, Trump announced on Friday. Martin, who was the most vocal proponent of Trump's claim that he could order federal prosecutors to pursue his critics, is now departing to fight legal battles for the upcoming midterm and presidential elections.

This exit, however, is not a victory for the rule of law but rather a sign that newly confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche is pursuing a more competent approach to combatting Trump's attempts to weaponize DOJ against his foes. Martin, who gained national attention in 2020 as an advocate of Trump's false claims about the election and as a lawyer for indicted January 6 rioters, left his role as interim US attorney for Washington, DC, amid opposition from Senate Democrats and Sen. Thom Tillis.

Among his controversial actions, Martin fired and demoted many of the prosecutors who brought most of the January 6 cases, fired and threatened to investigate or prosecute Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and anti-Trump protestors, and even posed for pictures outside a New York Attorney General's home to retaliate for a successful civil case against Trump.

Blanche, who had been a critic of Martin's antics, is now ushering in an era where Trump's wish to weaponize DOJ against his foes is being more competently pursued.