‘Have you ever even prosecuted someone?’
That was the question United States Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche asked Trump’s pardon chief Ed Martin last summer, according to two sources familiar with their conversation.
Martin, a longtime conservative activist who organized Stop the Steal rallies and advocated for January 6 rioters, defended his resume for the job.
Blanche’s tart reply dripped with disdain: ‘I didn’t think so.’
That exchange set the tone for what four sources describe as a ‘brutal civil war’ erupting within the Department of Justice, pitting Blanche – the pragmatic No. 2 to Attorney General Pam Bondi – against Martin, one of the President’s fiercest loyalists.
Martin, who was tapped to dismantle the ‘weaponization’ of the federal government, has been unceremoniously purged from the group and exiled to a satellite office outside the Department of Justice.
Under the guise of administrative necessity, he was given only hours to pack his boxes and vacate his suite at headquarters to make room for prosecutors working on the Jeffrey Epstein case, sources say.
‘They gave him three hours,’ someone close to Martin claimed.
Martin, the firebrand originally tapped to dismantle the ‘weaponization’ of the federal government, has been unceremoniously purged from the Weaponization Working Group and exiled to a satellite office in Northeast DC
A source close to Blanche and the President says he has the commander–in–chiefs complete confidence on every issue
Blanche, however, masterminded Trump’s defense in two federal cases – over classified documents at Mar–a–Lago and efforts to overturn the 2020 election – deploying delay tactics and presidential immunity arguments to shield his client. The Mar–a–Lago case was dismissed by Judge Cannon, who found that the appointment of Jack Smith was unconstitutional
Despite the eviction and his removal from the working group, Martin remains Trump’s pardon attorney – though his allies say he’s effectively ‘nailed down, hands and feet’ by Blanche.
The friction turned into an outright ‘personal vendetta,’ sources say, with Blanche moving to unilaterally sideline Martin.
‘Todd told Ed that he got permission from the White House to remove him from weaponization, and he didn’t really, we know that now,’ the source revealed.
Sources say the White House learned about Blanche’s decision only after the fact.
‘Ed was put there by the President,’ a source explained. ‘Todd came in with his little personal animosity and rivalry and removed the President’s guy without telling the President.’
As petty as it sounds, the rift between the two men exploded due to the most precious asset in the Trump administration: attention.
Trump regularly cut Blanche out of the loop by calling Martin directly for updates on cases, leaving Blanche to become frustrated and increasingly paranoid about his standing.
When Martin confessed to the President that Blanche’s staff was stymieing his work, Trump made what one source described as a ‘tense’ phone call to Blanche.
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Todd Blanche, the second–highest–ranking official at the Department of Justice, has emerged as a lightning rod among the president’s most ardent supporters
To the public, the two men maintain a front of professional unity and their offices insist their’s no drama there. But a recent photo of the pair tells a different story: Blanche stands with wooden rigidity, his arm draped over Martin (right) with all the warmth of a subpoena, while Martin smiles with a frantic, forced energy
As petty as it sounds, the rift between the two men exploded due to the most precious asset in the Trump administration: attention
Blanche and his wife Kristine arrive at The Mar-a-Lago Club
Blanche, growing upset with what he saw as a ‘backchannel mutiny,’ launched an internal investigation into his subordinate.
The results of that probe provided the ammunition Blanche needed.
Internal reviews allegedly found that Martin mishandled grand jury materials related to mortgage fraud inquiries into Trump’s political rivals, Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
‘If someone leaks grand jury materials, they’re committing a crime,’ noted former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Flynn, suggesting the DOJ may now be obligated to refer Martin for criminal prosecution.
The breaking point involved a high-profile mortgage fraud investigation led by Housing Director Bill Pulte. The Pulte team had been scouring records to target political rivals for claiming multiple primary residences.
Blanche reportedly refused to take the case, warning that the DOJ would not be used for ‘political retribution’ – especially since the investigation threatened to implicate Cabinet members like Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
When the Pulte family took their case directly to the President, who then forwarded it to Martin, Blanche was reportedly so incensed he considered resigning.
Three sources familiar with conversations describe Ed Martin as being closest to the MAGA base, nothing that he has the most strained relationship with Blanche within the department
‘Todd is running the show… he has systematically been getting rid of MAGA,’ a senior administration official claimed. ‘The bodies are being piled up in bags’
Bondi has attempted to steer clear of the mutiny, telling Blanche the Martin situation is ‘his problem,’ according to a source familiar with their conversations.
‘It is probably the most dysfunctional cabinet agency,’ the source said referring to the Justice Department.
Meanwhile, the body count of ‘MAGA’ loyalists is growing – and Blanche is seen as carrying the hatchet.
‘Todd is running the show… he has systematically been getting rid of MAGA,’ a senior administration official claimed. ‘The bodies are being piled up in bags.’
Martin was originally the president’s choice to be US attorney for DC, and to come in and ‘level the place’ with a ‘baseball bat,’ as sources described it.
But without prosecutorial experience, he failed to secure enough support even among Trump’s allies in the Senate even after an interim appointment at the office. This forced Trump to pivot and install Martin as his ‘pardon czar.’
To the public, the two men maintain a front of professional unity and their offices insist there is no drama there. But a recent photo of the pair tells a different story: Blanche stands with wooden rigidity, his arm draped over Martin with all the warmth of a subpoena, while Martin smiles with a frantic, forced energy.
‘Good morning, America. How are ya?’ wrote Martin when posting the image to his X account amid reports he’s not long for DOJ.
Once celebrated as one of Trump’s most capable legal defenders, Blanche now finds himself at odds with key factions of the very movement he once protected — symbolizing a deeper struggle over whether the Justice Department should operate with independence or bend to the president’s agenda
Privately, the disdain is described as palpable. Blanche has allegedly called Martin a ‘buffoon,’ despite deep respect for the Missouri politician within MAGA and DC conservative circles.
Martin’s supporters see him as a necessary disruptor. He rose to prominence by helping Phyllis Schlafly orchestrate an early endorsement of Trump in 2016- a move ‘everyone in Trump world remembers,’ according to one insider – and later became a central figure in the Stop the Steal movement, even representing January 6 defendants in court.
This political baggage, however, has made Martin a pariah among career DOJ staff.
A legal source close to leadership noted that Martin landed in ‘hot water’ almost immediately due to a perceived lack of tact and experience.
‘The office turned against him, the judges turned against him,’ the source explained.
Internal critics have been even more blunt.
One former DOJ prosecutor who knows people that worked with Martin described his ‘extraordinary imbecility,’ citing his ‘utter jurisprudential ignorance’ and his ‘eagerness to twist the criminal justice system to serve an agenda.’
Martin did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
White House Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson dismissed the reports as ‘baseless gossip,’ asserting that both Blanche and Martin are ‘critical members of the team’ working to restore integrity to the Department.
For now, Martin remains at his post, reportedly at the personal urging of the President- even as he operates from the fringes of the department he was sent to transform.
