Ed Martin out as leader of DOJ's 'weaponization' group, sources say
Source: NBC News
Feb. 2, 2026, 2:30 PM EST
Trump loyalist Ed Martin is out as leader of the Justice Departments weaponization effort that is investigating prosecutors who launched past probes into President Donald Trump and his allies, two people familiar with the discussions tell NBC News.
When asked whether Martin still served in the role, a Justice Department spokesman told NBC News that Martin continued to serve in a separate role, as pardon attorney. President Trump appointed Ed Martin as Pardon Attorney and Ed continues to do a great job in that role, according to the spokesman.
Martin had been serving as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, but the longtime right-wing activist faced opposition from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a key member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Instead, Trump made Martin the pardon attorney and director of the weaponization working group established by Attorney General Pam Bondi in response to one of the presidents executive orders. Former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro was eventually named U.S. attorney for D.C.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/ed-martin-dojs-weaponization-czar-sources-say-rcna257093
AZJonnie
(3,133 posts)Were I to hazard a guess, in the end, not even a lickspittle toady like Martin was able to satisfy IQ47 with sufficiently "incriminating" stuff to leverage against his political enemies.
The primary obstacle to that being: it doesn't exist in the first place.
orangecrush
(29,229 posts)muriel_volestrangler
(105,791 posts)...
But after a year, the group has not produced anything publicly.
In recent weeks, Trump has been pressuring Justice Department officials for results in these and other investigations, recently admonishing a group of US attorneys for failing to deliver on cases he wants brought.
The Weaponization Working Group is now expected to start meeting daily with the goal of producing results in the next two months, according to the person familiar with the plan.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/02/politics/justice-department-trump-weaponization-priority
The "we're weaponizing the DoJ by pretending the Democrats did it first" has never been more blatant.
AZJonnie
(3,133 posts)Wherein they're now just nonchalantly saying things like "Justice Department officials are expected to meet Monday to discuss how to reenergize probes that are considered a top priority for President Donald Trump" like this is just, you know, the normal course of operations for the DoJ, the POTUS tells them "what his priorities are" and then they do his bidding. No big, it's always been this way
Let me just say F*** YOU CNN
Prairie Gates
(7,482 posts)It's usually that even the completely cultish MAGA appointee can't bring themselves to do what Trump is asking them to do, or they recognize the long-term legal liability of following his orders. So off they go.
Ed Martin is a MAGA clown, so for him to say no means it's going to be very bad indeed.
Griefbird
(131 posts)Martin did a great job collecting millions for Trump from crooks, rapists, murderers and scoundrels.
mdbl
(8,243 posts)Finding the biggest white collar crooks first, then look for anyone else claiming to be a magat. The list is indefinite.