Trump loyalist Ed Martin is leaving the Justice Department to focus on election ‘legal battles’

Trump loyalist Ed Martin is leaving the Justice Department to focus on election ‘legal battles’ 1 of 2 | Ed Martin speaks at an event at the Capitol in Washington, June 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File) 2 of 2 | El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, habla en una reunión con líderes tecnológicos en la Sala Roosevelt de la Casa Blanca, el miércoles 19 de agosto de 2026, en Washington. (AP Foto/Jacquelyn Martin) By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Updated 10:33 PM MESZ, August 21, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit WASHINGTON (AP) — Ed Martin, a loyal White House ally who held multiple Justice Department posts despite unconventional tactics that sometimes rankled his superiors, is leaving President Donald Trump’s administration, the Republican president said Friday. Trump said in a social media post that Martin is leaving his role as the Justice Department’s pardon attorney to “fight Legal Battles” surrounding this year’s midterm elections and the 2028 presidential election. “I know he will do an outstanding job, ensure Free, Fair, and Honest Elections, and strongly advance our Constitutional Rights,” Trump wrote. Martin has been a controversial Trump administration figure since his appointment last year as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, where he oversaw the dismissal of Jan. 6 cases after Trump’s sweeping pardons. Trump later pulled Martin’s nomination for the job over bipartisan concerns about his lack of prosecutorial experience and support for rioters who violently attacked the Capitol. He then moved to Justice Department headquarters as pardon attorney and director of a group tasked with scrutinizing actions by President Joe Biden’s administration that Republicans say unfairly targeted conservatives. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi also named him a special attorney to help conduct mortgage fraud investigations into Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James. He often raised eyebrows during his tenure. In one instance, while conducting his mortgage fraud investigation into James, he sent her a letter urging her to resign from office “as an act of good faith.” He also posed for photos outside her Brooklyn home. Judge criticizes the Justice Department as he dismisses Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy case 5 MIN READ 176 Todd Blanche is sworn in as attorney general after bruising confirmation fight 3 MIN READ 449 Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general clears critical hurdle after deal with GOP holdouts 3 MIN READ 449 The Justice Department’s case against James was dismissed after the judge found that another prosecutor who brought the charges was illegally appointed. Martin was later sidelined amid clashes with Justice Department leadership and was removed as head of the “Weaponization Working Group,” though he kept his title as pardon attorney. This is our AP Ground Game newsletter. You can subscribe below and we will email it you 3 times per week. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google and Terms of Service apply. In a social media post Friday, Attorney General Todd Blanche called Martin a “patriot who loves this nation.” Martin didn’t immediately respond to a message Friday, but on his X account he reposted Trump’s announcement with the message: “Proud to serve. Fight Fight Fight.” Before his nomination as D.C. U.S. attorney, Martin was a leader of Trump’s “Stop the Steal” movement. He spoke at a rally in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol and later served on the board of a nonprofit that raised money to support Capitol riot defendants and their families. Trump’s post is the latest sign of his obsession with voting in the upcoming midterm elections, which will determine control of the U.S. House and Senate for the final two years of his presidency. His administration has fixated on messaging around noncitizen voting, a rare problem that Trump falsely insists is a widespread source of fraud. His Department of Justice has been trying to gather detailed state voter data to hunt for noncitizens, and he has been pushing Congress to pass a bill that would require documentary proof of citizenship to vote in time for the November elections. The FBI has obtained voting records or election equipment from the most populous counties in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia and Michigan without saying what it was searching for. Trump also has issued two executive orders seeking to take control of certain election operations, even though the Constitution grants states and Congress the authority to determine election rules. Democratic state officials have been raising alarms about the possibility of the administration deploying federal immigration agents to polling places or ordering the military to voting locations or election offices, although administration officials have said they have no such plans. ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer covers the Justice Department and federal courts. She joined The AP in 2013 and is based in Washington. twitter