New DOJ Weaponization Czar Ed Martin Spent Months Probing ‘Russiagate’ Figures: Report
Following a revolt in the GOP-controlled Senate that derailed Ed Martin’s nomination as U.S. Attorney for D.C. this week, President Donald Trump swiftly appointed him as the administration’s new “weaponization czar,” a move widely seen as a consolation prize of sorts, per a Saturday report.
However, behind the scenes, Martin has spent months using his position as D.C.’s top federal prosecutor to quietly lead efforts in the administration’s broader campaign against figures tied to the Russiagate investigation, January 6 prosecutions, and what the White House sees as politically motivated lawfare, the New York Post first reported.
Now that his responsibilities have been more clearly defined, the outgoing U.S. attorney anticipates there “may be no limit to the targets” the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group will examine under his watch, since there “was no limit to the weaponization.”
“It’s a nationwide and frankly, international docket where the government was used against the citizens, where the government was weaponized,” Martin told the outlet regarding his plans for the group. “Sometimes there’ll be crimes involved, in which case we’ll prosecute. Sometimes there’ll be just the need to make clear this is not how it’s supposed to go.”
Shortly after Trump appointed him as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, a role set to expire on May 20, Martin swiftly demoted more than half a dozen prosecutors working on Capitol riot cases and issued investigatory letters targeting key figures involved in the Russiagate probe, The Post reported.
“This includes Andrew Weissman, the Mueller probe ‘pitbull;’ Mary McCord, who oversaw DOJ’s sprawling probe into possible Trump-Russia ties; Aaron Zelinsky, another Mueller probe prosecutor; and Charles McGonigal, a former FBI special agent in charge who also worked on the Russia probe of the Trump campaign,” The Post added.
Just last week, Martin’s office sent an email to the attorney for McGonigal, requesting an interview regarding “information [that] has come to the attention of my office,” according to a letter obtained by The Post.
The letter does not specify what Martin’s team may have uncovered about McGonigal, who is currently serving a 78-month prison sentence for conspiring with a Russian oligarch to evade U.S. sanctions and for failing to disclose that he accepted $225,000 from an individual with ties to the Albanian government.
But one of the most prominent figures targeted by Martin is Weissmann, the former top deputy in the Mueller investigation and now a legal analyst for MSNBC.
In March, Martin raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest tied to Weissmann’s role in approving a settlement of up to $4.5 billion in a major foreign bribery case involving Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht, during his tenure as chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Fraud Section in 2016.
Martin noted that before heading the DOJ’s Criminal Fraud Section, Weissmann had worked at the law firm Jenner & Block.
He pointed out that Jenner & Block represented Canadian private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management, which appeared to benefit from the aftermath of the Odebrecht bribery scandal by acquiring a 57% stake in the Peruvian toll road operator Rutas de Lima from Odebrecht in 2016.
“Were you paid a bonus or a higher salary when you returned to Jenner & Block after clearing its longtime client of consequences for corruption?” Martin wrote in a scathing letter to Weismann in March, per a report by Racket News.
One of Martin’s closest allies is a former target of the Russia collusion investigation who now seems determined to seek “true justice” against those he believes destroyed his reputation, The Post noted.
Michael Caputo, a self-described “smashmouth” political operative and former Trump administration spokesperson on COVID-19, played a key role as Martin’s “sherpa” throughout his contentious Senate confirmation battle.
“I will go wherever President Trump sends me to get accountability for the demons who illegally weaponized the government against him and his allies, against my family and friends,” he told The Post. “I have been proud to help US Attorney Ed Martin deliver on his promise to the President.”
