{"id":119992,"date":"2025-05-22T08:02:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T16:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/05\/22\/ed-martin-pledges-to-use-doj-to-harass-people-he-cant-actually-prosecute\/"},"modified":"2025-05-22T08:02:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T16:02:26","slug":"ed-martin-pledges-to-use-doj-to-harass-people-he-cant-actually-prosecute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/05\/22\/ed-martin-pledges-to-use-doj-to-harass-people-he-cant-actually-prosecute\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Martin Pledges To Use DOJ To Harass People He Can\u2019t Actually Prosecute"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The good news is that Ed Martin will not be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In the end, even Republicans in the Senate had too many misgivings to hand one of the most powerful roles within the Department of Justice to a January 6 wingnut. The bad news is that the same administration that invented DOGE so they could install an idiot man-child over the entire executive branch has already worked out how to invest power in their unconfirmable stooges and shunted Martin off to the \u2014 on paper \u2014 more humble role as head of the DOJ\u2019s <\/em>\u201cWeaponization Working Group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much like the Musk situation, Martin might well prove more damaging in this role.<\/p>\n

For those who have always wondered: \u201cWhat if we turned the Justice Department over to a 4Chan troll?\u201d Martin delivers, having gone on record that, when he can\u2019t prosecute the president\u2019s political enemies \u2014 because they\u2019ve actually committed no crimes \u2014 he intends to use the Department of Justice to shame critics. <\/p>\n

Or \u201cblackmail\u201d if you want to be more technical about it. <\/p>\n

You know you suck as an interim U.S. Attorney when Judge Jeanine replaces you and people think, \u201cFINALLY, some professionalism!\u201d Martin\u2019s tenure as interim U.S. Attorney offered daily professional faceplants on the part of the wildly out of his depth activist. He pushed out the competent career prosecutors in the office<\/a>, dismissed charges against a defendant he previously represented<\/a>, and racked up a misconduct complaint<\/a> all within a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n

But he also used his short tenure to fire off letters to political critics, random academic institutions, and Wikipedia of all places, making an array of vague threats.<\/p>\n

He wrote a medical journal called \u201cCHEST\u201d<\/a> demanding to know how they select all their articles and whether or not they give equal time to competing political viewpoints over science. This is an actual CHEST article, \u201cClinical Efficacy of Serum Antiglycopeptidolipid Core IgA Antibody Test for Screening Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease in Bronchiectasis<\/a>.\u201d Antiglycopeptidolipid\u2026 sounds woke to me!<\/p>\n

All of these letters were designed more for public consumption than conveying any legal weight. None of it amounted to anything\u2026 because it could not. It was all performative. Intimidation as a weapon.<\/p>\n

He seems to be carrying that energy into his new job. From the New York Times<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf they can be charged, we\u2019ll charge them,\u201d\u00a0Mr. Martin told reporters<\/a>\u00a0before stepping down as interim U.S. attorney in Washington. \u201cBut if they can\u2019t be charged, we will name them. And we will name them, and in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Martin\u2019s epic flameout in the interim role merely offered a sneak peek<\/a> at his new pledge as America\u2019s Shaming General. He threatened criminal probes against Democratic officials and pledged the force of law to support Elon Musk\u2019s most glaring Bad Legal Takes before and now he\u2019ll do it from the Fox News chyron-optimized \u201cWeaponization Working Group.\u201d Which is technically supposed to be an \u201cending\u201d weaponization initiative, but it has opted for ironic accuracy by ditching the qualifier.<\/p>\n

Also, apparently Martin calls himself the \u201ccaptain\u201d of this working group. In case you needed more indication that this is not a serious entity. But at least he\u2019s no longer pretending to have a job he doesn\u2019t<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Charged, investigated or threatened with investigation by Trump or his team just in recent days: <\/p>\n

Letitia James
Andrew Cuomo
LaMonica McIver
Kamala Harris
Bruce Springsteen
Beyonce
Bono
Oprah Winfrey
James Comey
Unnamed “treasonous” Biden aides
City of Chicago
Kennedy Center<\/p>\n

\u2014 Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) May 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

How are you going to shame the City of Chicago? They have a Pope. They\u2019re completely insufferable right now. <\/p>\n

Like Martin\u2019s earlier forays into chasing public figures, the DOJ doesn\u2019t have much of a case against any of these people. But the goal is to gin up some thinly legally shielded slander to get people frothing at the mouth about \u201ccorruption\u201d and \u201ctreason\u201d until a celebrity decides it\u2019s not worth talking about politics. It\u2019s all about chilling speech.<\/p>\n

As the Times notes: <\/p>\n

\n

He added, \u201cThat\u2019s the way things work.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is not the way things have worked. The cardinal rule of prosecutors is to speak only through evidence and court filings. The department is supposed to abide by the dictum of charging crimes, not people. Naming and shaming is antithetical to its mission of pursuing justice impartially. And Mr. Martin\u2019s statement appears to violate the department\u2019s\u00a0ethical and procedural rule book<\/a>, which mandates \u201cfair, evenhanded\u201d investigations to safeguard \u201cthe privacy and reputation interests of uncharged\u201d investigative targets.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Of course it\u2019s not the way things work. There\u2019s not an episode of Law & Order<\/em> where they realize they don\u2019t have a case and decide to just issue threats or dabble in defamation to silence their target. Or maybe there is, that show\u2019s been on a long time. But there shouldn\u2019t be. Prosecutors have ethical obligations to stick within the justice system. We have juries and judges and parties represented by independent counsel to check prosecutorial excess, but that only works because we all agree the prosecutors have to stay in that lane. <\/p>\n

If prosecutors become unmoored from the limitations of statutes and courts, it gets real ugly out there.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Ed Martin Pledges To Use DOJ To Harass People He Can\u2019t Actually Prosecute<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The good news is that Ed Martin will not be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In the end, even Republicans in the Senate had too many misgivings to hand one of the most powerful roles within the Department of Justice to a January 6 wingnut. The bad news is that the same administration that invented DOGE so they could install an idiot man-child over the entire executive branch has already worked out how to invest power in their unconfirmable stooges and shunted Martin off to the \u2014 on paper \u2014 more humble role as head of the DOJ\u2019s <\/em>\u201cWeaponization Working Group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much like the Musk situation, Martin might well prove more damaging in this role.<\/p>\n

For those who have always wondered: \u201cWhat if we turned the Justice Department over to a 4Chan troll?\u201d Martin delivers, having gone on record that, when he can\u2019t prosecute the president\u2019s political enemies \u2014 because they\u2019ve actually committed no crimes \u2014 he intends to use the Department of Justice to shame critics. <\/p>\n

Or \u201cblackmail\u201d if you want to be more technical about it. <\/p>\n

You know you suck as an interim U.S. Attorney when Judge Jeanine replaces you and people think, \u201cFINALLY, some professionalism!\u201d Martin\u2019s tenure as interim U.S. Attorney offered daily professional faceplants on the part of the wildly out of his depth activist. He pushed out the competent career prosecutors in the office<\/a>, dismissed charges against a defendant he previously represented<\/a>, and racked up a misconduct complaint<\/a> all within a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n

But he also used his short tenure to fire off letters to political critics, random academic institutions, and Wikipedia of all places, making an array of vague threats.<\/p>\n

He wrote a medical journal called \u201cCHEST\u201d<\/a> demanding to know how they select all their articles and whether or not they give equal time to competing political viewpoints over science. This is an actual CHEST article, \u201cClinical Efficacy of Serum Antiglycopeptidolipid Core IgA Antibody Test for Screening Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease in Bronchiectasis<\/a>.\u201d Antiglycopeptidolipid\u2026 sounds woke to me!<\/p>\n

All of these letters were designed more for public consumption than conveying any legal weight. None of it amounted to anything\u2026 because it could not. It was all performative. Intimidation as a weapon.<\/p>\n

He seems to be carrying that energy into his new job. From the New York Times<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf they can be charged, we\u2019ll charge them,\u201d\u00a0Mr. Martin told reporters<\/a>\u00a0before stepping down as interim U.S. attorney in Washington. \u201cBut if they can\u2019t be charged, we will name them. And we will name them, and in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Martin\u2019s epic flameout in the interim role merely offered a sneak peek<\/a> at his new pledge as America\u2019s Shaming General. He threatened criminal probes against Democratic officials and pledged the force of law to support Elon Musk\u2019s most glaring Bad Legal Takes before and now he\u2019ll do it from the Fox News chyron-optimized \u201cWeaponization Working Group.\u201d Which is technically supposed to be an \u201cending\u201d weaponization initiative, but it has opted for ironic accuracy by ditching the qualifier.<\/p>\n

Also, apparently Martin calls himself the \u201ccaptain\u201d of this working group. In case you needed more indication that this is not a serious entity. But at least he\u2019s no longer pretending to have a job he doesn\u2019t<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Charged, investigated or threatened with investigation by Trump or his team just in recent days: <\/p>\n

Letitia James
Andrew Cuomo
LaMonica McIver
Kamala Harris
Bruce Springsteen
Beyonce
Bono
Oprah Winfrey
James Comey
Unnamed “treasonous” Biden aides
City of Chicago
Kennedy Center<\/p>\n

\u2014 Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) May 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

How are you going to shame the City of Chicago? They have a Pope. They\u2019re completely insufferable right now. <\/p>\n

Like Martin\u2019s earlier forays into chasing public figures, the DOJ doesn\u2019t have much of a case against any of these people. But the goal is to gin up some thinly legally shielded slander to get people frothing at the mouth about \u201ccorruption\u201d and \u201ctreason\u201d until a celebrity decides it\u2019s not worth talking about politics. It\u2019s all about chilling speech.<\/p>\n

As the Times notes: <\/p>\n

\n

He added, \u201cThat\u2019s the way things work.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is not the way things have worked. The cardinal rule of prosecutors is to speak only through evidence and court filings. The department is supposed to abide by the dictum of charging crimes, not people. Naming and shaming is antithetical to its mission of pursuing justice impartially. And Mr. Martin\u2019s statement appears to violate the department\u2019s\u00a0ethical and procedural rule book<\/a>, which mandates \u201cfair, evenhanded\u201d investigations to safeguard \u201cthe privacy and reputation interests of uncharged\u201d investigative targets.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Of course it\u2019s not the way things work. There\u2019s not an episode of Law & Order<\/em> where they realize they don\u2019t have a case and decide to just issue threats or dabble in defamation to silence their target. Or maybe there is, that show\u2019s been on a long time. But there shouldn\u2019t be. Prosecutors have ethical obligations to stick within the justice system. We have juries and judges and parties represented by independent counsel to check prosecutorial excess, but that only works because we all agree the prosecutors have to stay in that lane. <\/p>\n

If prosecutors become unmoored from the limitations of statutes and courts, it gets real ugly out there.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Ed Martin Pledges To Use DOJ To Harass People He Can\u2019t Actually Prosecute<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The good news is that Ed Martin will not be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In the end, even Republicans in the Senate had too many misgivings to hand one of the most powerful roles within the Department of Justice to a January 6 wingnut. The bad news is that the same […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":119956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Headshot-300x200-JgoZJv.jpeg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}