Ed Martin Exits Key DOJ Leadership Role

Ed Martin will no longer lead the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Weaponization Working Group.

President Donald Trump chose Martin to head up the group after his nomination in May 2025 to be U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia failed to gain enough support in the Senate. Trump also named him the DOJ’s pardon attorney.

“President Trump appointed Ed Martin as Pardon Attorney and Ed continues to a great job in that role,” a DOJ spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Weaponization Working Group’s priorities include examining former special counsel Jack Smith’s Trump prosecutions, any cooperation between local prosecutors who targeted Trump and the federal government and “improper investigative tactics” in Jan. 6 prosecutions, according to a memo Attorney General Pam Bondi issued in February. The group was also formed to look into issues like Biden DOJ guidance on parents protesting at school board meetings, prosecutions of pro-life activists under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and the targeting of whistleblowers.

Martin told the DCNF in May that he also wanted to spend time looking into bar associations for targeting conservative attorneys.

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