The nomination of acting U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Ed Martin to serve in the role permanently is on life support over Republican concerns about his controversial past.
Martin, a longtime conservative activist and Trump loyalist who provided legal defense to Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, saw his nomination again abruptly delayed Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee over outstanding questions and concerns from GOP lawmakers tasked with advancing the Trump nominee.
“I’m going to wait until after my members get done and see what they tell me,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) told the Washington Examiner.
GOP senators on and off the panel have publicly raised alarms about Martin or offered little defense for an embattled nominee with a checkered past of praising a Nazi sympathizer who stormed the Capitol and Jan. 6 rioters who assaulted police.
He’s also referred to himself as “Trump’s lawyer,” a moniker that critics say undermines his duties, and has been accused of being overly political since being installed on an interim basis by Trump on Inauguration Day by former prosecutors who’ve served in the role. Those actions include his investigations into Democrats and demoting federal prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases. In some of those cases, Martin represented the defense.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the top Democrat on Judiciary, accused Martin of lying under oath in his written answers to questions from senators on the panel.
“Mr. Martin makes a number of false statements that are easily debunked and dodges at least 80 questions outright, stating he doesn’t ‘recall’ the answer to a question more than 39 times, ‘I don’t know’ more than 21 times, and some variation of ‘can’t discuss this matter’ more than 20 times,” Durbin said in a statement.
Martin has expressed remorse for past praise of Nazi sympathizer Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, saying he was unaware of his history. Durbin pointed to past interviews between Martin and Hale-Cusanelli that undercut such claims.
Several Republican Judiciary members dodged questions about Martin, who has until May 20 to be confirmed or face being replaced by the federal court in Washington that will choose someone until permanent Senate confirmation.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said he’d yet to study Martin, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) declined to comment.
“We’ll see where that goes,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told the Washington Examiner of the nominee.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is up for reelection in a battleground state, has offered pointed criticism related to the Capitol riot but stopped short of saying he will oppose Martin. Tillis told the Washington Examiner that the two plan to meet next week.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who does not sit on Judiciary, expressed similar reservations but also stopped short of outright opposing him.
“I’m hearing that at least a couple members of the committee have expressed some concerns about him,” Murkowski said. “I very strongly disagree with the Jan. 6 pardons, and so I’m coming at it maybe a little bit differently than some of my other colleagues who felt that those were OK and appropriate.”
Murkowski, who opposed a handful of other Trump Cabinet picks, told the Washington Examiner she’d seek a meeting with Martin if “it was clear that I was going to be in a position where I would have to vote on the floor.”
Martin does have at least one strong ally on the committee: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). The two have a friendship that extends back years, and the Missouri senator said he’s lobbied colleagues who may be on the fence to meet with the nominee.
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“I’ve known Ed for a long time. I think he’s a good guy,” Hawley said. “But again, I’m not the most unbiased source on this.”
Durbin plans to force a committee vote next week to hold a public hearing on Martin, which Grassley has indicated Republicans will vote down. Martin would then need to be advanced by the Judiciary Committee, which Republicans control 12-10, before a final vote in the full chamber that the GOP controls 53-47.
