President Trump’s nominee to be U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., is touting his recent legal work for U.S. Capitol riot defendants in the questionnaire he submitted to the senators ahead of a confirmation vote.
Trump has named Ed Martin to the unique U.S. attorney post, which oversaw the historic prosecutions of more than 1,500 defendants accused of storming the U.S. Capitol – the largest federal criminal prosecution in U.S. history. Even before his confirmation vote, Martin’s nomination and his reframing of the U.S. Capitol riot has upended an office that is among the largest and most powerful of all federal prosecutor offices in the nation.
Martin has been serving as the District’s top prosecutor in an acting capacity since Inauguration Day. He has said he shares President Trump’s view of the Capitol attack as a “day of love,” and he has already fired some of the prosecutors who handled Jan. 6 cases.
In his 27-page submission to the Senate on behalf of his nomination, a copy of which was obtained by CBS News, Martin highlights his litigation experience by pointing to two Jan. 6 cases in which he served as defense lawyer.
Martin refers to the U.S. Capitol siege as “the events of January 6, 2021 at the United States Capitol.”
He flags his work as “instrumental” in the defense of alleged Missouri Proud Boys member William Chrestman, who was convicted for confronting police, brandishing an ax and yelling vulgar threats at officers. Chrestman was sentenced to 55 months incarceration. Those convicted of crimes related to Jan. 6 were later pardoned by President Trump.
Martin also wrote that he handled the case of Jan. 6 rioter Joseph Padilla.
“Mr. Padilla was alleged to have had a physical confrontation with police officers and forced his way into the Tunnel at the Capitol,” he wrote, adding that he provided legal counsel to Padilla, who was sentenced to more than six years in prison.
The Justice Department’s allegations against Padilla in the criminal case were more specific. Prosecutors said in court documents that Padilla “repeatedly pushed against the bike racks on the Lower West Terrace, forced his way into the Tunnel, and threw a flag pole into the Tunnel, striking an officer in the helmet.” Padilla was later pardoned by Mr. Trump.
The Justice Department ordered Martin to fire prosecutors involved in the Jan. 6 cases days after he took over as interim leader of the office, according to a memo reviewed by CBS News in January.
He had been a “Stop the Steal” advocate and denied that Joe Biden won the presidency in 2020.
Martin’s questionnaire to the Senate said he has no experience in court cases that were “tried to verdict, judgment or final decision (rather than settled)” as sole or chief counsel.
Although the Senate Judiciary Committee does not typically require U.S. attorney nominees to testify in a confirmation hearing, Senate Democrats have demanded that Martin do so.
Ranking member Sen. Dick Durbin said in a statement that Martin merits the “heightened scrutiny” of a hearing because of his “attacks on federal prosecutors” and association with “individuals who pose a threat to our nation.” Durbin also pointed out Martin’s association with alleged Nazi sympathizer Timothy Hale, who was convicted for his role in the assault on the Capitol. Durbin noted that Martin presented Hale with an award for being an “extraordinary man, an extraordinary leader.”
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff placed an indefinite hold on Martin’s nomination earlier this week, accusing him of undermining the independence of the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office and abusing it.
The California senator said Martin has been “openly threatening and intimidating political opponents, dismissing charges against his own clients, firing public servants for their roles in legitimate investigations and using his office as a cudgel to chill dissent and free speech.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member in the House Judiciary Committee, issued a statement on Thursday calling Martin Mr. Trump’s “personal enforcer,” and saying Martin’s “record of political extremism and subservience to Trump speaks for itself.”
“In a stunning violation of the law and ethics rules, Martin used his public office in his first week to dismiss charges against a January 6 defendant whom he was still representing,” Raskin said.
The top prosecutor in D.C. is one of the nation’s most powerful and influential U.S. attorneys, in part because it prosecutes cases involving Congress and the federal agencies. Unlike the other U.S. attorneys, the D.C. U.S. attorney has a dual role as both the top federal and local prosecutor in the District and has the largest staff of any of the other offices.
Martin’s questionnaire also includes a series of YouTube links to campaign speeches and videos he made when he ran for Congress in Missouri.
As an example of his published legal writings, Martin provided a link to a subscriber-only newsletter substack, which touts itself as a source where “we’re naming names and shedding light on the demons, devils, and depravity attempting to destroy our country from within and without.”