Ed Martin, Donald Trump’s pardon czar, was demoted and moved out of the Justice Department’s DC headquarters, according to a new report.
And another separate report claims that Martin’s out at the DOJ altogether.
He was tasked with overseeing the Weaponization Working Group, which was reviewing special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of Trump as well as other cases the administration felt were an ‘abuse’ of prosecutorial power.
Martin, a Trump loyalist, will no longer chair that group, two people familiar with the demotion told the Washington Post.
Meanwhile, a CNN report also published on Monday claims that Martin’s nine-month tenure at DOJ is over entirely.
‘President Trump appointed Ed Martin as pardon attorney, and Ed continues to do a great job in that role,’ a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
Trump pulled his nomination for Martin to be US Attorney in Washington, DC because he did not have Senate support and instead gave him a role that did not require Senate confirmation.
News of Martin’s demotion – or potential ouster – comes amid a series of failed attempted prosecutions of Trump’s political enemies, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey and California Senator Adam Schiff.
Donald Trump’s pardon czar Ed Martin (pictured) is at least being stripped of his role chairing the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group – and might be out of an administration role entirely, two new reports reveal
Martin, though a Trump loyalists, is being relocated out of the DOJ Headquarters and to a building in Northeast Washington, DC where the pardon office is location. He will no longer be steps away from Attorney General Pam Bondi
Martin played an important role in these cases, which so far have been unsuccessful.
In response he’s being stripped of the bulk of his responsibilities at the DOJ and is being relocated to another building within the department in Northeast Washington, DC, sources told the Post.
He will still serve as the DOJ’s pardon attorney but will no longer be steps away from Attorney General Pam Bondi and the other powerful people within Trump’s orbit, the sources detailed.
No personnel movements at DOJ have been made public regarding Martin’s role.
Trump moved on the first day of his new administration to nominate Martin to be US Attorney in Washington, DC.
He failed to secure congressional confirmation for the role Trump originally wanted him to have and Trump pulled the nomination in May 2025. Instead, former Fox News star Judge Jeanine Pirro got that role.
Martin didn’t clinch the role largely in part to his role in planning and financing the Trump rally that preceded the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. He also had no previous trial or prosecutorial experience.
Still Martin served as interim US Attorney for DC for 15 weeks and throughout that time threatened to investigate Trump’s political foes. He also threatened to fire or demote prosecutors who had anything to do with cases involving Trump and January 6.
