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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).
Outgoing acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, says the Trump administration plans to investigate some pardons issued by Joe Biden — presumably an atypical suite of speculative clemency grants issued during his last days in office.
The controversial lawyer made the remarks during a farewell press conference in the nation’s capital on Tuesday, according to The Hill.
“I do think that the Biden pardons need some scrutiny,” Martin said. “And they need scrutiny because we want pardons to matter and to be accepted and to be something that’s used correctly. So I do think we’re going to take a hard look.”
Questions followed the presser, but Martin kept mum when asked if he would be looking into members of Congress who investigated the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, according to CBS News.
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Martin, a controversial figure in the U.S. Department of Justice, was President Donald Trump‘s initial pick for the district’s top federal prosecutor. His nomination was shot down last week after Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Martin’s defense of Jan. 6 rioters was a bridge too far; opposition seemed indicative of a broader trend.
On Wednesday, Trump will formally nominate former Westchester County District Attorney and TV show host Jeanine Pirro in Martin’s stead.
But the 45th and 47th president has multiple roles waiting for Martin, a longtime conservative activist and Trump supporter.
“Ed Martin has done an AMAZING job as interim U.S. Attorney, and will be moving to the Department of Justice as the new Director of the Weaponization Working Group, Associate Deputy Attorney General, and Pardon Attorney,” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the change. “In these highly important roles, Ed will make sure we finally investigate the Weaponization of our Government under the Biden Regime, and provide much needed Justice for its victims.”
While the president’s announcement lacked specifics, it was clear last week that Martin would still have a job within the DOJ; his Tuesday comments suggest at least some of those duties are now a matter of public record.
Martin previewed his focus on Biden’s 11th-hour pardons during a May 9 appearance on The Vince Show, a talk radio show on Fort Worth, Texas-based radio station WBAP.
“We’ve never seen pardons of the scope,” Martin told host Vince Coglianese. “And it looks, at least, like something that could be corrupt.”
The attorney went on to reference the scandal that erupted when then-President Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich.
“That’s not criminal,” Martin said about the Clinton-Rich pardon. “Because of the plenary power of the pardon.”
The pardon power is largely understood as all but absolute. According to the U.S. Constitution, presidents “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the power itself is not reviewable.
The day before he left office, Biden issued a slate of pardons, including, somewhat controversially, to five members of his family, infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, retired U.S. Army general Mark Milley, and members of Congress who served on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
While many of the Jan. 19 pardons from Biden were given to people charged with federal crimes, none of those family members or political figures mentioned immediately above, however, had been charged with or investigated for a crime.
It is unclear what formal method, if any, Martin intends to pursue if the final Biden pardons are indeed subject to scrutiny by the DOJ.
The attorney, for his part, seemed well aware of the limits posed by any such inquiry.
“They were so specific — back 14 years, covering everything you’ve ever done,” Martin told Coglianese last week. “They were broad but they had time stuff on them that was very interesting. And that at least leads to questions. Because the plenary power is true. But the question is: ‘What was going on here?’ And I did get responses from some of them. And those things are ongoing.”
