The Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in D.C. appeared to suggest that federal prosecutors serve as personal lawyers for the president in an X post calling out The Associated Press and other entities that he said “refuse to put America first.”
Ed Martin, who has been the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia since Trump took office, issued a fresh—if grammatically incorrect—pledge Monday to “stand against” the president’s critics after the AP sued the administration for banning its reporters over a disagreement on what to call the recently-renamed Gulf of America.
“As President Trumps' [sic] lawyers, we are proud to fight to protect his leadership as our President and we are vigilant in standing against entities like the AP that refuse to put America first,” he wrote on X.
Last week, Trump nominated Martin to permanently stay on as the top federal prosecutor in Washington.
“Since Inauguration Day, Ed has been doing a great job as Interim U.S. Attorney, fighting tirelessly to restore Law and Order, and make our Nation’s Capital Safe and Beautiful Again,” the president said on Truth Social. “He will get the job done.”
Martin has been an outspoken supporter of Trump and DOGE chief Elon Musk since assuming his new role in D.C. He supported the “Stop the Steal” movement that claimed fraud in the 2020 election and represented three rioters charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building.
Martin also dismissed about 30 federal prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases and ordered an investigation into prosecutions linked to the Capitol riots.
The Washington Post earlier reported that Martin launched an effort—which he called Operation Whirlwind—to curb threats to all public officials.
The opening salvo, however, suggested that it was aimed more at fighting back against Trump’s critics.
California Rep. Robert Garcia and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, both Democrats, received letters from Martin seeking explanations for public comments they made criticizing Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
In a CNN interview on DOGE’s purge of federal workers, Garcia said “What the American public wants is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight. This is an actual fight for democracy.”
Speaking on the Senate floor in March 2020, Schumer said Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh “released the whirlwind, and … will pay the price” after voting against abortion rights. Schumer has since walked back those remarks and expressed regret over his word choice.
Musk has also turned to Martin to investigate threats against him and Trump. The billionaire recently tagged the D.C. prosecutor in a video of protesters calling for someone to pull a “Luigi Mangione” on Musk and Trump, in reference to the broad daylight shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year in Manhattan.
“Threats against public officials at all levels - whether it be the president or a line federal worker - must stop,” Martin said on X. “Our safe and beautiful capital city cannot be the home of such dangerous conduct from any side, at any time. We are on the case.”
