Washington, D.C., interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin appeared on Russian state media over 150 times, something he didn’t disclose during his confirmation hearing.
Martin appeared on Russia Today and Sputnik over 150 times between August 2016 and April 2024, according to a Washington Post analysis. His highest volume of appearances was in 2021, when he participated in over 60 interviews to discuss Jan. 6 prosecutions. While many of his appearances were unrelated to Russia or Ukraine, Martin urged against a U.S. intervention in Syria and dismissed speculations that Russia would invade Ukraine in February 2022.
In an early 2022 interview, just nine days before the invasion, Martin told a Russian outlet, “There’s no evidence” of a Russian buildup on Ukraine’s borders. His appearances were scaled back after the beginning of the war, with his last interview being in April 2024.
In a Jan. 21, 2022, interview, he defended Russia Today after the U.S. State Department characterized it as an arm of Kremlin propaganda.
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“They weaponize this kind of crap. … Big tech and big media are backed up by big government, and they’re forcing the message,” Martin said, blaming U.S. interests that push “war all the time.”
“There are very few voices saying hold on, and your show and others on this network are some of those voices,” he added.
In his first 4 1/2 years of Russian media appearances, Martin was usually featured on a panel opposite a Democratic commentator.
Russia Today noted that there is no evidence Martin acted at the direction of any Russian official or entity. Rather, he is part of a branch of American conservatives sympathetic to Russia’s foreign policy.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Martin has expressed conflicting views about Russian President Vladimir Putin and his country in dozens of X posts, most of them negative. Though he accused “Deep State/globalists” of continuing the Ukraine-Russia conflict to “take down Putin” in February 2024, Martin’s sentiment has largely presented Putin and Russia as enemies to the United States, and he accused former President Joe Biden of appeasing them.
“You know, those Democrats who say Trump loves Putin, who handed 20% of the U.S.’s uranium over to Putin (H. Clinton), who told Putin they’d be more flexible to help him after reelection (Obama). Biden hands $100M latest tech drone airbase over to Russians. Dems enable Putin. Trump kept Putin within Russian borders,” Martin said in a May 22 post.
“At first I thought this was about Biden’s recent turning our state of the art drone air base in Niger over to Russia and Putin. But it’s about another event in the Biden anti-American administration. One closer to home,” he said in a Nov. 24 post.
The primary issue with Martin’s appearances was his failure to disclose them to the Senate during his confirmation hearing. He only disclosed 16 media appearances between 2016 and 2024. He added that “despite my searches, there may be other materials that I have been unable to identify, find, or remember.”
Spokesman Neil McCabe said Martin “disclosed all of the identified links in a supplemental letter to the Senate” over the past two days.
“President Trump made a brilliant choice in selecting Ed Martin to serve a full, permanent term as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. With a distinguished record of service, Ed is the perfect leader to restore law and order and make our Nation’s Capital safe and beautiful once again,” a White House official told the Washington Post when asked about Martin’s appearances.
Some people have defended Martin, including University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer, a critic of U.S. policies toward Russia.
“Although the U.S. government and other governments have been waging war on RT for some time, it is not illegal for an American to appear on its shows,” Mearsheimer said. Absent allegations of specific wrongdoing, “this is a matter of free speech,” and scrutiny should be focused on the content of his appearances rather than where.
Martin has emerged as a controversial U.S. attorney nominee for a position usually approved with little fanfare. The longtime lawyer and former Missouri Republican Party chairman has presented himself as a partisan for President Donald Trump, even saying he is Trump’s lawyer.
In response to that comment, a group of six former DOJ lawyers publicized their concerns over Martin, saying, “Collectively, Mr. Martin’s actions threaten to undermine the integrity of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the legal profession in the District of Columbia. In word and in deed, he has portrayed himself as an advocate for private and political interests of others, in violation of his oath of office and the Rules of Professional Conduct.”
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Martin has made liberal use of inquiry letters against Democratic lawmakers, has frequently used social media, and has been described as “cowboy-ish” in his overall approach to the attorney’s office.
If his confirmation fails, Martin will retire from the office at the end of his interim term and be replaced.