Ed Martin says Trump admin will look into Biden pardons
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Left: FILE — Ed Martin speaks at an event hosted by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, June 13, 2023 (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File). Center: President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo/Alex Brandon). Right: Joe Biden speaks from the Roosevelt Room (AP Photo/Susan Walsh).

President Donald Trump is reportedly trotting out his former top pick for U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C. — Ed Martin — to probe whether Joe Biden was “competent” enough to issue pardons before leaving office or if others were “taking advantage of him through the use of AutoPen or other means,” according to government officials.

Martin, who was replaced as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia by Jeanine Pirro last month, was reassigned by Trump to assist with pardons, among other responsibilities. In an email sent on Monday, Martin informed staff at the Department of Justice that he had been pegged to investigate clemency granted by Biden in the last days of his presidency, according to Reuters, which viewed the emails and was the first to report on the pardon probe. It is unclear whether Biden actually used an autopen for the pardons.

“The American people deserve to know the extent to which unelected staffers and an autopen acted as a proxy president due to the incompetence and infirmity of the previous president,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told The Hill in a statement Tuesday.

“President Trump was elected to restore the integrity and transparency of the office, and answering the question of who was actually running this country for four years is well within the president’s rights,” Fields said.

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The pardon review comes just weeks after Martin’s bid for U.S. Attorney was withdrawn by Trump after he lost support in the Senate.

In April, a group of more than 100 former prosecutors sent a letter voicing their opposition to Martin’s and called for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where Martin could be questioned on statements he’s made about the 2020 election being stolen from Trump and his firings of people who investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol attack earlier this year. The group banded together on the same day that Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. — a member of the Judiciary Committee — announced he would be placing a hold on Martin’s nomination, citing his “troubling conduct in his months as Interim U.S. Attorney in the same role.”

Martin, a New Jersey native who previously had his own law practice in Missouri and represented Jan. 6 defendants, was nominated by Trump to lead the nation’s largest U.S. attorney’s office in February. He has been accused of going after people who disagree with his politics, including lawmakers.

Martin posted an ominous warning on X in March, declaring that “no one is above the law” — in response to an incident in which a Democratic congresswoman from Texas was accused of shoving a far-right activist’s cellphone away from her as the person was questioning her. Schiff sent out a statement accusing Martin of “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.”

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