Trump pick for D.C. federal prosecutor opposed by key Republican-OxBig News Network

A key Republican senator on Tuesday said he would not support the nomination of Ed Martin, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, dealing a potentially fatal blow to Martin’s chances of winning Senate confirmation.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said, “I’ve indicated to the White House I wouldn’t support his nomination.”

Tillis cited Martin’s support for criminal defendants in Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot cases. Those cases were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. before Trump issued blanket pardons to defendants in the cases on his first day back in the White House in January.

Tillis’ decision is likely to doom Martin’s hope of his nomination even being reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Tillis is a member.

Tillis told reporters that he met with Martin on Monday evening, and that it went well.

“But let me be very clear,” Tillis said,

“Mr. Martin did a good job of explaining the one area that I think he’s probably right, that there were some people that were over prosecuted, but there were some [200 to 300 of them] that should have never gotten a pardon,” Tillis said.

“If Mr. Martin were being put forth as a US Attorney for any district except the district where January 6 happened, the protest happened, I’d probably support him, but not in this district.”

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