Though it hardly seemed possible for Ed Martin’s record to become even more controversial, the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., suffered yet another setback two weeks ago: The Washington Post reported that the hyperpartisan Trump loyalist and former “Stop the Steal” organizer appeared more than 150 times on media outlets run by the Russian government — a detail he initially failed to disclose to the Senate panel considering his nomination — where he offered commentary aligned with Kremlin talking points.
Two days prior, a group of former Jan. 6 prosecutors and conservative attorneys, pointing to Martin’s ridiculous antics, asked the Office of Disciplinary Counsel at the U.S. District Court of Appeals to investigate Martin, arguing that Trump’s right-wing nominee — who has no prosecutorial experience — has a “fundamental misunderstanding of the role of a federal prosecutor.”
Common sense might suggest that the Republican lawyer would scale back his partisan and political behavior, if for no other reason than to improve his confirmation odds, but Martin has instead put his foot on the gas, adding Wikipedia and prominent medical journals to his increasingly bizarre list of targets.
But perhaps the most important development of all are recent allegations about Martin’s support for a man NBC News has described as a “Nazi sympathizer” and “Jan. 6 rioter.”
Late last week, ProPublica published a stunning report on Martin’s record of ghostwriting online attacks against a judge overseeing a case he was involved in. The ethics of such conduct were obviously suspect, but the same article also noted Martin’s work on behalf of Jan. 6 criminal defendants:
Last summer, Martin gave an award to a convicted Jan. 6 rioter named Timothy Hale-Cusanelli. According to court records, Hale-Cusanelli held “long-standing white supremacist and Nazi beliefs,” wore a “Hitler mustache” and allegedly told his co-workers that “Hitler should have finished the job.” … After hugging and thanking Hale-Cusanelli at the ceremony, Martin told the audience that one of his goals was “to make sure that the world — and especially America — hears more from Tim Hale, because he’s extraordinary.”
The fact that Martin publicly praised a Nazi sympathizer seems like the sort of thing that might be a problem for his nomination to take over one of the nation’s largest prosecutorial offices.
Last week, the Trump-appointed interim U.S. attorney apologized for having celebrated Hale, claiming that he wasn’t aware of Hale’s radical and hate-filled beliefs. The trouble is, Martin’s defense is difficult to believe: The Washington Post reported, “[I]n videos and podcasts, Martin has defended the man since at least 2023, calling him a friend who was ‘slurred and smeared’ by antisemitism allegations.”
Six weeks before the awards ceremony … Martin interviewed Hale-Cusanelli about the allegations and defended him in a more than hour-long episode of his “Pro America Report” podcast, which he hosted from 2020 until early this year. A video of the episode was posted July 2 on a video-sharing platform called Rumble.
All of which leads to a rather obvious concern, emphasized by Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee who’ve scrutinized the lawyer’s record: The only thing worse than celebrating a Nazi sympathizer is lying about having celebrated a Nazi sympathizer. Nevertheless, Martin told The Forward that he “completely” denounces the “terrible things” Hale said. Hale’s lawyer, meanwhile, has said prosecutors have painted a “misleading” picture of his client’s record. The Senate has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Martin, and the calendar is of increasing relevance: If he isn’t confirmed by May 20, his interim appointment will expire, and he’ll have to be replaced at the U.S attorney’s office. Watch this space. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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