Acting U.S. attorney for D.C. stirs controversy with prosecutor demotions

Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin uses the nickname “The Eagle” on the job. He has been posting on social media about crime in Washington, D.C., using the hashtag #MarchBadness. Martin, whose nomination for the permanent post of U.S. attorney for D.C. is being considered by the Senate, has been attracting attention with his social media posts, as well as some of his actions in his capacity as acting U.S. attorney.

In one on Saturday, Martin wrote, “Hey, thugs with guns, you hear that? Yup, we comin.'”

He was likely referring to a memo circulated Monday to his staff, in which Martin said over a dozen agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would be dispatched to help with an “amazing opportunity” to help initiatives to reduce violent crime in the nation’s capital.

Martin’s new initiative seeks more federal district court prosecutions of Washington, D.C., gun crimes. His memo, obtained by CBS News, said his office is “kicking off the Make DC Safe Again initiative,” which echoes the Make America Great Again slogan invoked by Trump. 

“We are following the direction of President Trump and (Attorney) General Bondi in the recent executive orders and memoranda. We will flood the federal district court with cases—to make our city safe,” the memo said. This has been attempted before. In February 2019, a Trump-appointed federal prosecutor announced a project to seek higher-level charges for gun cases in the District of Columbia. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. and the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives D.C. field office declined requests for comment.

While he waits for his confirmation vote, Martin has continued to court controversy with provocative social posts.

In a social media post Saturday, Martin wrote that his predecessor was a “Biden prosecutor” who “upped political prosecutions, he steered resources to a now-debunked legal theory that targeted American citizens, and gun prosecutions went down. Literally. Let me be clear: he used our $ to chase political hoaxes while the people of DC were terrorized by thugs with guns.”      

The U.S. attorney for the D.C. has a unique ability to handle federal crimes in the nation’s capital, including those involving federal officials and facilities. As U.S. attorney for D.C., Martin days ago demoted a group of top senior prosecutors in the office to entry level positions, including those who helped with the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection prosecutions. Now, at least some are being assigned to handle misdemeanor cases

His demotions have caused internal dissension, according to multiple sources who spoke with CBS News.   

Martin has filed a series of court motions to help promptly close out many of the pending Capitol riot prosecutions. Before his appointment, Martin served as a defense attorney for Capitol riot defendants and was an active member of the “Stop the Steal” movement, which promoted baseless claims of election fraud in 2020.

Last month, Martin instructed his staff to respond to surveys, seeking information about “five things” they’d accomplished that week, from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Martin also instructed staff to respond to the second survey that was emailed over the weekend.

Martin is also under new scrutiny by congressional Democrats after writing a social media post last month in which he referred to U.S. attorneys as “Trump’s lawyers,” who are “vigilant in standing against entities like the [Associated Press] that refuse to put America first.”

But U.S. attorneys are not the president’s lawyers. Their mission is to ensure that federal laws are enforced. In their districts, they’re also involved in civil litigations where the U.S. is a party. 

Martin also posted a note to the law firm Covington & Burling and former special counsel Jack Smith to “save your receipts” and promised, “We’ll be in touch soon.” The message included a link to a story noting the firm was defending Smith pro bono. Smith indicted President Trump in two separate cases.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer praised Martin in a statement, saying, “By nominating Ed Martin to be the next U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, President Donald Trump wasted no time delivering on his promise to restore law and order in our capital city.”

But Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat who is the ranking member on the committee, has launched an investigation into Martin’s initiatives and actions as acting U.S. attorney. He wrote a letter to Martin questioning his public statements which, he said, “are directed exclusively at opponents of and express support for the Trump Administration, explicitly criticize the Biden Administration, publicize pending investigative activity by your office, and make assertions of fact for which there exists no evidence.” 

Martin’s statements “raise serious concerns that your new initiative is a pretext for misusing your office for political ends, threatening and intimidating critics of the Administration, and chilling constitutionally protected speech,” Connolly added.

A spokesperson for Martin declined to comment.

The House Oversight Committee Democrats’ inquiry ordered Martin to submit responses by March 11 about how the office would seek to protect the safety of Capitol police officers and federal prosecutors who were part of the Jan. 6 prosecutions. The inquiry also asks Martin to “confirm your belief that the Department of Justice represents the United States of America and its citizens, and not the personal and individual political or business interests of the President.”