Ed Martin has been removed as chair of the Department of Justice’s Weaponization Working Group and has lost his title as an assistant attorney general. He will continue to serve as the Justice Department’s pardon attorney but will no longer be based at DOJ headquarters.
According to a person familiar with the decision, Martin’s office is being moved to a separate Justice Department building in Northeast Washington, which also houses the pardon office.
The Weaponization Working Group was established to review special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions of President Trump and other matters Trump has described as prosecutorial abuse. While Martin is no longer leading the effort, the group itself continues to meet.
Investigative journalist Paul Sperry, citing DOJ sources, reported that the move followed internal actions by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who Sperry says removed Martin on Dec. 31 and effectively shut down the Weaponization Working Group’s office space at Main Justice. Sperry reported that the group’s suite was cleared out to accommodate production related to the Epstein files and that Martin was denied staff and budget. He also claimed Blanche is “gumming up the works for Russiagate accountability.”
Sources: The Washington Post / Paul Sperry on X
