Joe Holleman | Post-Dispatch
Political correspondent/columnist
Ed Martin, seen in a 2017 radio station’s publicity photo.
For those worrying about, or rooting for, Ed Martin’s recent removal from the national spotlight, please be advised:
The erstwhile St. Louisan has no plans for a quiet exit.
Earlier this week, the former Missouri Republican Party chair — who had been the interim federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia until President Donald Trump withdrew his support — announced this week he has big plans for the new post the Trump administration found for him.
As the Justice Department’s new pardon attorney, he plans to take close looks at pardons that former President Joe Biden issued before leaving office.
“They need scrutiny because we want pardons to matter and to be accepted and to be something that’s used correctly,â€Â said Martin, the man who dismissed hundreds of Capitol riot cases after Trump issued pardons to nearly all of the 1,500 people charged with crimes in the Jan. 6 Capitol.
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As an associate deputy attorney general, Martin also will direct a Justice Department group created to probe examples of what Republicans claim to be unfair targeting of conservatives during Biden’s term.
Martin said he was “excited†about his new duties and seemed at peace about Trump pulling his support of Martin in his previous role.
“The president of the United States said we have other battles to do,†Martin told the Associated Press. “And so I’m excited about that.â€
Post-Dispatch photographers capture hundreds of images each week; here's a glimpse at the week of May 4, 2025. Video edited by Jenna Jones.
