Trump Says He’s Making Top Prosecutor Martin’s Job Permanent

Ed Martin speaks at an event in Washington on June 13, 2023. Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP Photo

President Donald Trump said on Feb. 17 that he’s nominating Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, to permanently assume the post.

“Since Inauguration Day, Ed has been doing a great job as Interim U.S. Attorney, fighting tirelessly to restore Law and Order, and make our Nation’s Capital Safe and Beautiful Again,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, the president’s social media platform.

“He will get the job done.”

Martin was appointed on an interim basis shortly after Trump was sworn in on Jan. 20.

He later announced an investigation into how federal prosecutors in Washington handled cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. Martin said the use of the charge of obstruction of an official proceeding, which U.S. Supreme Court justices have said was misinterpreted by prosecutors, was “a great failure of our office.”

He also asked a judge to drop charges against a man who took part in the breach whom he also represented as a defense attorney. Trump granted clemency on his first day in office to nearly all of the 1,600 people charged over the events of that day.

Martin’s predecessor, Matthew Graves, headed the massive prosecution of Jan. 6 defendants, at one point saying his office was “focused on holding people accountable.”

Martin, who has said he was outside the Capitol during the breach, also represented several other Jan. 6 defendants who were found guilty.

Lawyers generally are prohibited from taking both sides in the same case, and U.S. Justice Department regulations require lawyers to step aside from cases involving their former clients for at least a year.

A private spokesperson for Martin said recently that he was in compliance with the requirements for his position.

There are 93 U.S. attorneys in the United States. They are charged with enforcing federal law across the country.

U.S. attorneys require confirmation by the Senate via a simple majority.

Republicans currently control the 100-member upper chamber with 53 senators.

Martin has not yet reacted to Trump’s announcement. Martin said on his blog on Feb. 14 that the U.S. attorney in Washington serves both the nation’s capital and the nation.

“We have to keep the streets safe AND fight for America on the world stage,” he wrote. “Amazing work and I am blessed to serve Donald Trump in this way.”

Martin also recently shared a post on social media platform X that questioned the position that the Department of Justice is independent of the president after some Democrats questioned moves from the department such as the request to dismiss charges against Eric Adams, New York City’s mayor, and said the department needs to be independent.

“Since Watergate, there has been bipartisan support for the idea that the Justice Department must be independent from the White House,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote on X.

Reuters contributed to this report.