Like the proverbial bad penny, Ed Martin has become the scourge that just won鈥檛 go away.
The former Missouri political gadfly, having flamed out as President Donald Trump鈥檚 pick for a key U.S. attorney post, now has announced he has a new mission within the administration: To use the power of the federal government鈥檚 prosecutorial apparatus to publicly harass even those Trump critics who, by Martin鈥檚 own admission, have done nothing that justifies criminal charges.
Don鈥檛 take our word for it. Martin said during a news conference Tuesday announcing his new role heading up the Justice Department鈥檚 鈥淲eaponization Working Group鈥:
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鈥淭here are some really bad actors, some people that did some really bad things to the American people. And if they can be charged, we鈥檒l charge them. But if they can鈥檛 be charged, we will name them ... And in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are shamed. And that鈥檚 a fact, that鈥檚 the way things work. And so that鈥檚 how I believe the job operates.鈥
Of course, that鈥檚 not how this or any other job in the federal government is supposed to operate. The Justice Department either prosecutes people or it doesn鈥檛; publicly saying nasty things about those it can鈥檛 prosecute isn鈥檛 anywhere in its mandate. That鈥檚 called trolling and, though you wouldn鈥檛 know it from this president, it is (or should be) beneath the dignity of any presidency. It鈥檚 also arguably illegal government harassment.
And what are the 鈥渞eally bad things鈥 that these 鈥渂ad actors鈥 did to deserve this official harassment, according to Martin?
They were prosecutors or plaintiffs attorneys who pursued Trump in various courts for various 鈥渞eally bad things鈥 that Trump actually did. These things include deploying a mob against the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with the intent of overthrowing a valid election; threatening and cajoling state and election officials for the same goal; and sexually abusing and then defaming author E. Jean Carroll.
The 鈥渂ad actors鈥 Martin refers to also include prosecutors who filed charges against the Jan. 6 rioters themselves 鈥 among them, rioters who assaulted police officers. Martin鈥檚 support for these lawless anti-democracy thugs is the reason some Senate Republicans finally forced the withdrawal of his U.S. attorney nomination (never mind that the president they slavishly serve fully pardoned those same thugs).
The tendency of Trump and his people toward what the psychologists call 鈥減rojection鈥 has been well-documented. Their fixation on the supposed 鈥渨eaponization鈥 of the justice system against Trump prior to his return to power ignores the fact that he was demonstrably guilty of everything for which he was convicted or adjudicated. And that the real 鈥渨eaponization鈥 is happening right now, from a president who openly vowed 鈥渞etribution鈥 against people whose only offense was to attempt to hold him accountable for his crimes.
Martin is the perfect agent of retribution for Trump because he has shown throughout his political and legal careers that he harbors nothing but contempt for political and legal norms.
As a Missouri gubernatorial staffer, he improperly withheld public records and engineered a politically motivating firing that ultimately cost the state $2 million in legal expenses. As Missouri GOP chairman, he divided the party and decimated its fundraising with his determination to turn it into a right-wing tea party mouthpiece. As an adviser to conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, he achieved the seemingly impossible by pushing her so far to the MAGA right that it split her organization in two.
All of which indicates it鈥檚 perhaps fitting that Martin has ended up as one of Trump鈥檚 go-to bullies for the Justice Department.
This administration has already deported people convicted of no crime to a foreign prison, has sought to scuttle habeas corpus and other fundamental due process rights, has illegally cut off congressionally approved funding for urgent medical research and has claimed unilateral authority to ignore the constitutionally protected principle of birthright citizenship.
And now the White House puts someone with Martin鈥檚 toxic history in a position to announce, with perverse pride, that his new (federally funded) job is to dole out vengeance against fellow Americans who haven鈥檛 committed any crime but will still be targets of his 鈥渟hame鈥 offensive.
Seriously, Mr. Martin: At this point, why even talk about 鈥渟hame鈥?
