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Last week Donald Trump appointed a “Stop the Steal” conspiracy theorist and advocate for Jan. 6 insurrectionists — Ed Martin — to be the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. This gave Martin control of the office that prosecuted hundreds of insurrectionists, which he is now in a position to use to relitigate Jan. 6 by probing those who sought to hold the rioters accountable.
There’s evidence Martin has already begun that work. On Tuesday, my colleague Jordan Rubin wrote at the Deadline: Legal Blog about an email Martin sent to staffers demanding they preserve “all files, documents, notes, emails and other information” related to the previous D.C. attorney’s pursuit of “obstruction of an official proceeding” charges against Jan. 6 defendants. That internal email was then obtained by NBC News.
One week into his tenure, Martin is trying to plug those leaks. On Tuesday, Bloomberg Law published portions of another email — that was also leaked (but has not been verified by MSNBC or NBC News) — that Martin sent to his staff to complain about ... leaked emails.
Per Bloomberg Law:
Trump appointee Ed Martin criticized leaked emails from his office, describing them as ‘personally insulting,’ in an office-wide email on Tuesday after news reports said he planned an internal review of some Capitol riot prosecutions involving an obstruction statute. ‘Wow, what a disappointment to have my email yesterday to all of you was leaked almost immediately. Again, personally insulting and professionally unacceptable. I guess I have learned my lesson (“Fool me once…”),’ Martin wrote.
Under the circumstances, it’s not clear that Martin really internalized whatever lesson he hoped to take away from the first leaked email.
Bloomberg Law reported that Martin has taken a particular interest in probing the actions of former prosecutor Ashley Akkers, who resigned from her position late last week and has since publicly criticized Martin’s decisions, including firing employees involved in the federal Jan. 6 case against Trump.
One lesson all of us can learn from this leak story: Sunlight is, in fact, a powerful disinfectant. The first Trump administration’s rabid pursuit of leakers was an indicator that MAGA officials preferred to do their work in secret — or at least free from media scrutiny. And while publicity might not always be the deterrent we’d like it to be, Martin’s scolding email is evidence that it still has the potential to throw a wrench into unpopular plans.