Origin: DOJ removes Ed Martin from Trump admin's Weaponization Working Group amid increased activity
The Justice Department removed Ed Martin from its internal Weaponization Working Group on Feb. 2, 2026. He remains the department’s pardon attorney, a post he assumed on May 14, 2025, and had been named to lead the working group earlier in the transition.
The working group was created in early 2025 and has been meeting more frequently, with officials aiming for daily meetings. Its remit includes reviewing the work of Special Counsel Jack Smith, the Manhattan district attorney, and the New York attorney general; leadership of the group included Emil Bove and Ed Martin.
Martin pushed to build an investigative staff and to pursue prosecutions, and he led mortgage‑fraud probes that targeted Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James—investigations that drew internal scrutiny. He was at times stripped of other duties and reassigned to the pardon office in a satellite building, even as he remained associated with leadership of the working group until his removal was announced on Feb. 2.
Synthesized from 5 sources
New York MagazineThe National DeskFox NewsProtect DemocracyJust Security
AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources
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