WASHINGTON — Ed Martin, the former US pardon attorney, compared allegations that people in President Trump’s orbit were taking money in exchange for clemency to the “Russia hoax.” He also said the administration squandered some of the momentum from its opening months, when he believed it had a rare opportunity to overhaul the federal government.
Martin, 56, left his post as pardon attorney last month. He sharply criticized a recent “60 Minutes” investigation into so-called pardon brokers, middlemen who demand steep fees while touting their connections to Trump allies and promising to help clients obtain pardons or commutations.
Speaking on the “Pod Force One” podcast, Martin reacted angrily to the program’s season premiere, which focused on people profiting from clemency requests.
“I don’t believe what Leslie Stahl was peddling,” Martin said, dismissing the report’s claims as comparable to the Russia investigation controversy.
The CBS program used undercover footage of Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, identified as pardon brokers, boasting that they could apply pressure on Trump “from all directions in a consistent way” to influence his decisions.
Martin called the pair “clowns” and “snake oil salesmen,” arguing that they were deceiving prospective clients about their ability to deliver presidential clemency.
During his 15 months evaluating clemency petitions, Martin said he met with more than 1,000 people while determining whether pardons or sentence commutations were justified. He also briefly led the administration’s Weaponization Working Group.
Rather than blaming Trump for bringing greater attention to pardons, Martin said the president deserved credit for changing how clemency is handled. He argued that presidents including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden often issued pardons quietly, near the end of their terms.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Post’s Miranda Devine, Martin said he also wished the Trump administration had moved more forcefully to remake the federal bureaucracy.
Looking back, Martin described the administration’s first two or three months as a period of exceptional energy. He recalled widespread firings, the clearing of cases and a rapid pace of pardons, saying officials were operating with confidence and little fear.
But he said that intensity faded after about three months, as exhaustion set in and the administration settled into a slower routine.
Martin extended that criticism beyond the Justice Department, where he served, saying the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, should have taken a more aggressive approach to reducing the size of government.
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“In retrospect,” Martin said, the administration needed to use its earliest window to make deeper cuts. He acknowledged that DOGE identified and eliminated significant areas of spending and government operations, but said the initial period offered the greatest opportunity for sweeping change.
The former anti-weaponization official also discussed his review of former special counsel Jack Smith’s work and the conduct of other officials from the Biden administration.
Martin said he had examined Smith’s inbox and portrayed him as a meticulous and aggressive strategist. He alleged that Trump had been placed at the center of an expansive political effort that could have culminated in what he called a “show trial.”
Martin also criticized Biden, claiming that even some on the political left had abandoned the former president. He described Biden, the nation’s 46th president, in deeply condemnatory terms.
While acknowledging reports about Biden’s health, Martin said he hoped the former president was still aware of the public criticism being directed at him.
Martin accused Biden of being among the most deceptive figures in US history and alleged that he either carried out or permitted serious wrongdoing, characterizing him as both deeply dishonest and harmful.
