Department of Justice (DOJ) pardon attorney Ed Martin has been assigned to oversee pressing cases for the Trump administration involving New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Martin will lead the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group, which aims to crack down on “abuses of the criminal justice process.” His first assignments will require probing some of Trump’s most critical opponents.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) made a criminal referral earlier this year against James, arguing that she named property in Virginia as her primary residence to secure more favorable loan terms. Similar allegations were also levied against Schiff, though both have denied wrongdoing.
James argued that the review is retaliation for the attorney general’s handling of Trump cases relating to fraud claims against Trump Organization and a probe involving the National Rifle Association.
“Investigating the fraud case Attorney General James won against President Trump and his businesses has to be the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president’s political retribution campaign,” attorney Abbe Lowell, who is representing James, said in a statement.
“Weaponizing the Department of Justice to try to punish an elected official for doing her job is an attack on the rule of law and a dangerous escalation by this administration,” he added.
James scored a large victory in her civil suit against the then-former president, with a judge issuing a nearly half-billion-dollar penalty on Trump’s company after determining the business overvalued its assets.
The investigation into the Empire State’s top prosecutor was launched by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, which issued two subpoenas this week.
Martin, known for defending rioters involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, was originally tapped to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia — a position now held by former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro. Amid an ethics probe, he stepped down from the interim position and his nomination was withdrawn.
Trump later appointed him to serve as a pardon attorney. An ex-FBI agent, who was tied to the Jan. 6 riots, is also serving on his team at DOJ.
He has also served on the board of the Patriot Freedom Project, a nonprofit that crowdfunded $2.5 million to help defend Capitol insurrectionists.
