Overview

• Ed Martin, a senior Justice Department official, posed for photos outside New York Attorney General Letitia James’s Brooklyn residence while saying he was investigating her.
• He also sent James’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, a letter urging her to resign and asked that it be kept confidential, which Lowell then made public.
• Former prosecutors Joyce Vance and Elie Honig condemned the episode and Martin’s stated willingness to “name and shame” uncharged people, calling the tactics inconsistent with DOJ policy and potentially prejudicial.
• Martin’s nomination to serve as U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., was withdrawn for lack of support, and he was later placed in Main Justice roles, including oversight of pardon matters and a unit reviewing alleged law-enforcement “weaponization.”
• Calls for DOJ leadership to discipline or remove Martin have intensified, and there has been no public indication of any disciplinary action.