Ed Martin, the Justice Department lawyer who has been a leading advocate for investigations into Donald Trump’s political adversaries, has been sidelined from that role and is working mainly as the U.S. pardon attorney, three people familiar with the matter told MS NOW.
The move comes after a long-standing feud between Martin and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who loathes Martin, according to the sources.
Justice Department spokesman Chad Martin did not comment directly on Martin’s fall from grace, but said, “President Trump appointed Ed Martin as Pardon Attorney and Ed continues to a great job in that role.”
A highly polarizing figure even by the standards of the second Trump administration, Martin was a key figure in the “stop the steal” movement that tried to overturn the 2020 election. He then represented several Jan. 6 defendants.
He served briefly as the interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., before being appointed to head the so-called weaponization working group. He was also named pardon attorney, and has participated in Trump’s unprecedented use of the pardon power to grant clemency to corrupt politicians, fraudsters and people who assaulted police officers.
Jacqueline Alemany is co-anchor of "The Weekend" and a Washington correspondent for MS NOW.
Vaughn Hillyard is a senior White House reporter for MS NOW.
Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for MS NOW.