Former President Donald Trump’s pardon attorney has left his post and returned to the political fray as November’s midterm elections draw closer.
Ed Martin, who served as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, led the Justice Department’s “weaponization” initiative and oversaw pardons. He is now pushing back against allegations that Trump’s clemency operation partly functioned as a pay-to-play scheme.
A recent 60 Minutes investigation alleged that high-priced fixers marketed behind-the-scenes access to presidential pardons for as much as $600,000.
The report focused heavily on right-wing provocateurs Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl.
In a series of secretly recorded meetings, the pair allegedly boasted of having back-channel influence with the White House and assured potential clients they could secure executive clemency—for a substantial fee.
“Those clowns who appeared on 60 Minutes basically admitted they were playing fast and loose with what they claimed they could do,” Martin said. “The one man complaining did not get a pardon, and the two men who said they could obtain one for him failed.”
In an effort to challenge the “pardons for sale” narrative, Martin cited a recent online broadcast he hosted with Duke Tanner, a former inmate whose drug sentence Trump first commuted and later fully pardoned.
Martin said Tanner told viewers that he had never hired a lawyer or a broker.
Former Trump pardon attorney Ed Martin is pushing back against allegations that the president’s clemency office partly operated as a pay-to-play scheme.
Martin, a deeply entrenched MAGA loyalist, former right-hand man to conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly and self-described “fighter,” has moved through several rebrandings within the administration.
He dismissed conflict-of-interest criticism surrounding Blanche’s history as Trump’s personal defense attorney as “silly,” saying, “It’s actually better.”
“He was simply doing the right things in prison, and everything found him.”
Martin said claims that applicants routinely bypass official procedures overlook an overwhelmed Justice Department bureau processing nearly 20,000 petitions. He said the agency sends vetted groups of about 2,000 names to the White House each quarter.
Trump personally encouraged Martin to begin a media tour during an hour-long Oval Office exit interview held 10 days ago.
“Trump would say to me, ‘You like doing media. Go do media. It’s important to get out there,’” Martin said. “I told him, ‘I want to go out and talk more about it, especially before November 3.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, it’s a good idea.’”
As pardon attorney, Martin had relatively little face time with the president.
His relationship with Trump, however, dates to 2016 through Schlafly, an early Trump supporter whom the president still frequently praises.
Martin also dismissed as “silly” criticism of Attorney General Todd Blanche over potential conflicts of interest stemming from Blanche’s earlier role as Trump’s personal defense attorney.
His defense was notable given the pair’s turbulent history.
Behind closed doors, Blanche and Martin had previously clashed over media leaks. Blanche eventually removed Martin from his role leading the anti-weaponization initiative, but Martin played down the earlier turf battles.
Martin, the firebrand originally tapped to dismantle the ‘weaponization’ of the federal government, left his role to become the pardon attorney. He then was moved out of that role and now working outside government
In other revelations, Martin addressed the current leadership under Attorney General Todd Blanche
‘You have to sort of grow into understanding what the boss wants,’ he explained, referring to Blanche and how he can succeed in his new role.
He also said FBI Director Kash Patel has grown into the job, with improved energy and focus, admittedly after a rocky start.
‘Kash took a little bit of time to get things going, and then he got things going. But inside DOJ, you see energy. So I felt and saw more energy out of the FBI than I did when Kash first started,’ he revealed.
‘The FBI under Kash has always moved aggressively but it is not a coincidence that it is moving better than ever after the change at AG,’ a law enforcement official tells Our News Outlet.
But Martin said his exit from government was strategic, timed to rally conservative voters before the midterms, and tied to an administration push to restore gun rights to non-violent felons. He says he plans to visit 10 states including New York, New Jersey, Iowa, New Hampshire and more.
‘If you want more of this, you’re going to have to vote for Republicans,’ he said.
Trump has not announced a new pardon attorney yet.
The White House pushed back on the ‘pardon economy.’
‘Anyone spending money to lobby for pardons is foolishly wasting their money and the President doesn’t even know who these so-called ‘lobbyists,’ said spokesman Lauren Bis.
