Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told reporters Wednesday that he was “concerned” about President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney to Washington D.C., Ed Martin. However, he stopped short of saying he’s out on him altogether.
Tillis cited Martin’s past controversial statements and his defense of those who participated in the Jan. 6 riot as reasons for concern, according to Punchbowl News. Martin, who refers to himself as Ed the Eagle, has had his nomination held up in the Senate by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) over these remarks.
“I’ve got to do due diligence. I’m not going to say I’m a ‘no’ now. I’m going to say: I’m concerned with some of his public comments… particularly on Jan. 6,” Tillis said, per CBS News.
Martin has been acting U.S. attorney for D.C. since Trump’s inauguration. He called himself “Trump’s lawyer,” running counter to the actual duties of the role.
He has faced more scrutiny in recent weeks after failing to disclose more than 150 appearances on Russian state media. He defended Russia Today after the U.S. State Department characterized it as propaganda from the Kremlin.
In response to a number of questions sent to him by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Martin refused to acknowledge the violence on January 6, 2021, did not directly answer if he believed in the claim 2020 election was stolen, and did not definitively say Trump could not run for a third term, according to a recent CNN report.
In the questioning, he was asked if he ever equated a Democratic lawmaker to Adolf Hitler. He responded, “I do not recall doing so.”
In an October 2022 episode of his own podcast, however, Martin said, “President Joe Biden is Hitler.”
“There’s only one character on the world stage right now who actually is utilizing some of the techniques, maybe many of them that were used by people like Hitler and by Hitler himself. And that’s Joe Biden,” Martin said.
Some former staff in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. have criticized him for dismissing prosecutors who handled cases involving Jan. 6 rioters. More than 100 additional former prosecutors have called for a public hearing to address his support for the rioters and his past claims surrounding the 2020 election.
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“In every way he can, Ed Martin has demolished the firewalls between the White House and his own office within the Department of Justice,” Schiff said in a statement.
“Confirming him to serve permanently in the role he has already abused in his interim capacity would cross the prosecutorial Rubicon that every single Senator would come to regret and that would threaten the rights of Americans from all walks of life,” Schiff added.