Overview

• Ed Martin, President Trump’s pardon attorney and head of the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group, posted a smiling photo with Russell Brand on his official X account on Monday.
• Brand faces criminal charges in the United Kingdom related to alleged assaults from 1999 to 2005 and has pleaded not guilty in a London court.
• Brand is also being sued in New York by a woman who alleges a 2010 assault, a case that remains active and which he denies.
• The post drew public criticism from former DOJ attorneys, including Stacey Young and former Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer, who condemned the optics and leadership judgment.
• HuffPost reported that neither Martin nor Brand responded to questions about the meeting as online backlash continued.