Trump says Ed Martin is leaving the Justice Department to focus on ‘legal battles’ in upcoming elections

Trump loyalist Ed Martin, a “Stop the Steal” organizer and advocate and attorney for Jan. 6 defendants who later served in the Justice Department, is leaving the administration to focus on upcoming elections, President Donald Trump announced Friday. “Ed Martin has been with me from the very beginning, and done an incredible job as an Attorney, Director of the Weaponization Working Group, and the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Ed is now leaving to go outside to fight Legal Battles for the upcoming Midterm Election, and the Presidential Election of 2028. I know he will do an outstanding job, ensure Free, Fair, and Honest Elections, and strongly advance our Constitutional Rights. Good luck Ed!” Attorney General Todd Blanche praised Martin in a post on X, calling him “a patriot who loves this nation.” “We look forward to seeing his future successes!” Blanche wrote. Martin’s most recent role in the administration was as pardon attorney at the Justice Department. Despite a lack of previous prosecutorial experience, Trump initially appointed Martin to serve as the interim U.S. attorney for D.C. beginning in January 2025. There he oversaw the firings of Jan. 6 prosecutors and demoted others and opened an investigation into the office’s handling of the Capitol riot investigation. Trump later withdrew Martin’s formal nomination for the permanent position in May 2025 amid a difficult Senate confirmation process. “If Mr. Martin were being put forth as a U.S. attorney for any district except the district where Jan. 6 happened, the protest happened, I’d probably support him, but not in this district,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a key member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said at the time. Trump then announced Martin would be appointed associate deputy attorney general and pardon attorney, and that he would direct a “weaponization working group” at the Justice Department. That group was tasked with investigating prosecutors who pursued past investigations into the president and his allies. In February 2026, NBC News reported he was stripped of his role leading the weaponization working group. On Friday, Martin reposted Trump’s announcement of his government departure in a post on X, and added, “Proud to serve. Fight Fight Fight.”