Martin’s Threats Against Critics of Elon Musk and DOGE Mire Him In Disqualifying Ethics Scandal
Washington, D.C. — On Thursday, a coalition of civil society groups asked senators to reject the nomination of Edward R. Martin, Jr. to be the permanent U.S. Attorney for D.C. In just over a month as the interim U.S. Attorney, Martin has weaponized his office to threaten critics of Elon Musk in willful disregard of the First Amendment, U.S. Justice Department policy, as well as binding rules of professional conduct for prosecutors.
The letter—which was spearheaded by Demand Progress and Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF)—calls on senators to honor their duty to the Constitution’s Advice and Consent Clause by rejecting Martin’s nomination to be U.S. Attorney for D.C.
Last week, Martin launched “Operation Whirlwind,” an initiative targeting Democratic lawmakers who have criticized Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Martin deliberately misframes obviously hyperbolic statements about political consequences as threats of violence. Ignoring his duty of impartiality, he has nothing to say about far more aggressive rhetoric from individuals aligned with Musk, including President Donald Trump. That’s consistent with his history of advocating for January 6 rioters whose conduct was exponentially more threatening than the rhetoric he now seeks to criminalize.
Earlier this month, after Musk said that a user on X who listed the names of DOGE staffers identified in a news report “committed a crime,” Martin sent a letter asking Musk to “utilize” Martin’s office to protect DOGE. He followed up with a second letter saying that he will investigate individuals and groups referred to him by Musk. Not only has Martin threatened criminal investigation of Americans who he believes have merely acted “unethically” and not even violated any criminal laws, he has publicly vowed to use the U.S. Attorney’s Office to “chase them to the end of the Earth.”
Misusing the U.S. Attorney’s office for D.C. to silence and punish people for simply using their free speech rights to criticize Musk and DOGE violates constitutional free speech protections, Attorney General Pam Bondi’s own policies on prosecution charging decisions, as well as the professional rules of conduct of the D.C. Bar and the Missouri Bar.
“In just one month, Ed Martin has corrupted the office of the U.S. attorney for D.C. into Elon Musk’s personal hit squad,” said Emily Peterson-Cassin, director of corporate power at Demand Progress. “Martin has incinerated any sense of duty or impartiality by shamelessly currying favor with the world’s richest man by targeting his perceived enemies. Senators must reject his nomination and stop him from using the full weight of his office to illegally silence critics of Elon Musk and DOGE.”
Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, added: “We don’t need to guess whether Ed Martin will abuse the U.S. Attorney’s Office if confirmed. He’s a political operative who has made clear that he intends to use it as a vehicle for selective, anti-speech prosecutions and petty retribution rather than the pursuit of justice. Even putting aside his ethical deficiencies, his failure to understand or care about the basic First Amendment freedom to criticize government officials harshly and by name demonstrates his incompetence to lead such an important office—as does the fact that he’s reportedly never been a prosecutor before.”