WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Conservative activist Ed Martin, who echoed Donald Trump's baseless claims of a stolen 2020 election and defended Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol rioters, was nominated by the president on Monday to be the top federal prosecutor in Washington on a permanent basis.
Martin had been for the District of Columbia on an interim basis since just after Trump, a Republican, was sworn in for his second term on Jan. 20. His appointment must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
鈥淪ince 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鈥檚 Capital Safe and Beautiful Again,鈥 Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. 鈥淗e will get the job done.鈥
Martin, who grew up in New Jersey, has an English degree from the College of the Holy Cross and spent two years studying at the Gregorian Pontifical University in Rome as a Rotary Scholar. He earned a law degree from St. Louis University.
Martin supervised legal clinics for low-income residents as director of the human rights office for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis and, for two decades before becoming U.S. attorney, ran his own law practice and was active in Republican politics, including as the head of the Missouri Republican Party.
As interim U.S. attorney, Martin oversaw the dismissals of after , commuted sentences or vowed to throw them out. He also ordered an internal review of prosecutors鈥 use of a felony charge against hundreds of Capitol rioters and directed employees to hand over files, emails and other documents.
As U.S. attorney, Martin has also defended the work of Elon Musk's , or DOGE, saying that prosecutors would 鈥減ursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes" the group's work, which includes accessing government computer systems and scrutinizing spending.
Lawyer Mike Davis, a Trump ally, heralded Martin in a social media post as the 鈥減erfect choice" to serve as U.S. attorney in Washington. Martin, he said, "will bring much-needed accountability and refocus the office on DC violent street crimes 鈥 making DC safe again for all Americans."
Alexis Loeb, the former deputy chief of the section that prosecuted the Jan. 6 cases, said when Martin was appointed on an interim basis that he appears to be in the role "purely to execute on the president鈥檚 political priorities more so than the work of protecting public safety in Washington."
In a social media post, Martin appeared to describe federal prosecutors as 鈥渢he President鈥檚 lawyers.鈥
Martin led a chant at a 鈥淪top the Steal鈥 rally on Jan. 5, 2021, telling the crowd of Trump supporters: 鈥淲hat they鈥檙e stealing is not just an election. It鈥檚 our future, and it鈥檚 our republic.鈥 The next day, he attended and remarked on social media: 鈥淩owdy crowd but nothing out of hand. Ignore the #FakeNews.鈥
A violent mob loyal to Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and forced lawmakers into hiding in a stunning attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election and keep Democrat Joe Biden from replacing Trump in the White House. A woman was shot dead inside the Capitol, and Washington鈥檚 mayor instituted an evening curfew to try to contain the violence.
Martin later served on the board of the Patriot Freedom Project, which has raised money to support Jan. 6 defendants and their families, and he was listed in court filings as a lawyer for at least three Capitol riot defendants, including a Proud Boys member who pleaded guilty to felony charges.
