An organization leaning toward liberal ideals has initiated a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday, accusing the agency of obstructing transparent and swift efforts to unveil the inner workings of an individual perceived as a key operative for former President Donald Trump.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that the DOJ should be compelled to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This move aims to clarify Ed Martin’s governmental roles since May, following “credible, publicly disclosed whistleblower allegations” suggesting violations of the Federal Records Act and the DOJ’s own records preservation policies. More details on the case can be found in the complaint.

The accusations stem from a letter dated mid-November addressed to Martin by Representative Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat. The letter asserted that Martin seemed to be “violating federal law by concealing and destroying [his] communications” to obscure the operations of the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group. This group is under the leadership of Martin, who serves as both the U.S. pardon attorney and former interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. The detailed letter is available here.

Raskin further claimed that Martin played a pivotal role in failed criminal cases against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey. He accused Martin of exacerbating the situation by allegedly ensuring that even fundamental records of his actions remain hidden, utilizing apps like Signal to auto-delete messages, ostensibly breaching federal records regulations.

“My staff have gathered credible claims that you have employed personal devices and applications contrary to federal laws and DOJ policies regarding records retention for carrying out official DOJ tasks,” the congressman’s letter asserted. “This intentional circumvention of relevant record retention rules appears aimed at concealing the Weaponization Working Group’s operations and your personal actions.”

Reports swirled Wednesday that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal, a controversy dubbed Signalgate after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed he was added to a group chat ahead of U.S. military strikes in Yemen, will be the subject of an inspector general report as soon as tomorrow.

Warning Martin of possible “civil and criminal penalties, including charges for obstruction of justice and destruction of evidence[,]” Raskin reminded “one of America’s top-ranking federal lawyers” he is “obligated to follow the law [himself] and preserve messages related to [his] DOJ work in the official DOJ systems.”

“Your purported failure to do so,” Raskin continued, “is not only illegal but it also suggests that you are knowingly covering up incriminating conversations that you need to keep off the books.”

After the whistleblower allegations were raised, the DOJ reportedly declined to comment.

American Oversight’s suit, repeating these allegations, states the litigation comes after Martin and the DOJ’s “silence” on the issue.

“Since Representative Raskin publicized the ‘credible allegations’ against Ed Martin on November 17, 2025, neither DOJ nor Ed Martin has issued any form of public communication or acknowledgment regarding the substance of the allegations, nor has DOJ indicated publicly that it is making any internal inquiries,” the complaint said, further claiming that nine “expedited” processing requests under FOIA have either been denied or gone without “determination.”

“DOJ’s silence in the face of credible, publicly disclosed whistleblower allegations heightens the public’s urgent need for information about Martin in his current roles,” the lawsuit went on. “The credible allegations also underscore that expedited processing of Plaintiff American Oversight’s FOIA requests is a critical mechanism by which the public can timely learn whether appropriate steps are being taken to preserve these records.”

American Oversight Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said in a statement on the case that the “public can’t trust a justice system that lets powerful officials operate in the shadows, leaving no record of how they use — or increasingly abuse — their authority.”

“If Ed Martin is hiding or destroying government records to conceal a campaign of political retribution, it isn’t simply a process concern — it’s a threat to the rule of law itself,” Chukwu added. “The Justice Department must stop stalling and release these records immediately so the American people can see the truth for themselves.”

American Oversight has been a thorn in the side of the Trump administration, through records-related litigation against DHS and in efforts to force the disclosure of Volume II of ex-special counsel Jack Smith’s report on the classified documents probe of Trump, Trump’s valet, and a Mar-a-Lago property manager.