United States Senator Ankit Jain: Rejection of Ed Martin Nomination Is a Victory for D.C.

(Washington, D.C.)—United States Senator Ankit Jain (D-D.C.) issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s announcement that he would pull Ed Martin’s nomination for U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and choose a different nominee. The decision comes after months of pushback against Martin for his support of Jan. 6th defendants and his role as a “Stop the Steal” organizer.

Ed Martin, a conservative activist from Missouri with no previous prosecutorial experience, also came under fire for a number of social media posts threatening educational institutions and the press and indicating that he would focus the U.S. Attorney’s Office on prosecuting President Trump’s political opponents rather than violent criminals. Recent allegations of support for a known neo-Nazi also called into question Martin’s qualifications and fitness for office.

“The failure of Ed Martin’s nomination for U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia is a victory for public safety and the rule of law in Washington, D.C. I was one of the only D.C. elected officials who advocated aggressively against Martin because I saw early on how much damage he could do to my constituents. I couldn’t let that happen, so I met with Senators on the Judiciary Committee and their staff to convey that Washingtonians do not want Martin and drove media coverage highlighting his unfitness for the office,” U.S. Senator Ankit Jain said.

“I do not expect to agree on much with any of President Trump’s nominees, but I do expect a basic level of competency and respect for D.C. and the Constitution. The U.S. Attorney for D.C. is an incredibly important position. If this person does not do their job well, people die. This is not a game, this is not a joke, and I urge the President to take seriously a position with so much power over the people of D.C. Ed Martin’s rejection shows what happens when he doesn’t,” Sen. Jain continued.

“My sincere hope is that whoever takes the position of U.S. Attorney for D.C. next refocuses the office on its core priority of prosecuting violent crime and reverses Martin’s most destructive and anti-democratic decisions.”