WASHINGTON — Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., placed a hold Tuesday on the nomination of Ed Martin, the "stop the steal" organizer and advocate for Jan. 6 defendants whom President Donald Trump nominated to be Washington, D.C.'s chief federal prosecutor on a permanent basis.
Trump named Martin, a Trump loyalist, as the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia on Inauguration Day, and Martin quickly used the power of his office in a highly political fashion: launching investigations into prominent Democrats and demoting federal prosecutors who supervised the prosecutions of Jan. 6 defendants, some of whom Martin himself represented.
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“In every way he can, Ed Martin has demolished the firewalls between the White House and his own office within the Department of Justice," Schiff said in a statement. "Confirming him to serve permanently in the role he has already abused in his interim capacity would cross the prosecutorial Rubicon that every single Senator would come to regret and that would threaten the rights of Americans from all walks of life."
Placing a hold on a nominee prevents unanimous consent to proceed with votes on the Senate floor. The majority party can still schedule a roll call vote for the nominee, though that eats up more floor time.
More than 100 former federal prosecutors asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a confirmation hearing for Martin, saying he lacked prosecutorial experience and was unfit for office.
Martin did not respond to a request for comment.
Schiff said Martin has been "openly threatening and intimidating political opponents, dismissing charges against his own clients, firing public servants for their roles in legitimate investigations, and using his office as a cudgel to chill dissent and free speech." He said Martin "embodies Donald Trump’s personal weaponization of the Justice Department" more than anyone else.
"With all of the power I am afforded as a United States Senator, I intend to place a hold on his nomination and block attempts to jam through his appointment at every stage," he added.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night on Schiff's hold and his remarks.
