A key Republican senator said he won't support the nomination of Ed Martin to be the next U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, potentially complicating the confirmation of the Trump-endorsed candidate who has been closely associated with Jan. 6 defendants and praised a Nazi sympathizer.
Concretely, Sen. Thom Tillis told press that he has "indicated to the White House I wouldn't support his nomination." Tillis is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Considering that there are 12 Republicans and 12 Democrats in the panel, his nomination would not even make it to the floor if all Democrats reject it.
Tillis mentioned Martin's support of Jan. 6 defendants as the main reason for his decision. "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, two or three hundred of them that should have never gotten a pardon," Tillis said.
"If Mr. Martin were being put forth as a U.S. attorney for any district except the district where Jan. 6 happened, the protest happened, I'd probably support him, but not in this district," he added.
NBC News detailed that Martin began an investigation into the D.C. office's handling of Jan. 6 cases after being appointed as interim U.S. attorney. Prosecutors who worked on such cases were fired or remoted during his tenure.
Martin also made headlines over the past days after apologizing for praising a Nazi sympathizer and white supremacist, claiming he didn't know about his views.
"I denounce everything about what that guy said, everything about the way he talked, and all as I've now seen it," Martin said in an interview, as reported by Forward. "At the time, I didn't know it," he added.
Martin had called Timothy Hale-Cusanelli "extraordinary" at an awards ceremony at Trump's golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey, organized by the Patriot Freedom Project, a nonprofit that supports defendants charged for assaulting the Capitol on January 6. The man has been described by the Department of Justice as a Nazi sympathizer and white supremacist.
Martin said the event was followed by one on antisemitism held by Trump donor Miriam Adelson, and that he stayed for that one. He added that he serves as special adviser to Leo Terrell, head of the task force to fight antisemitism, and that he came up with an idea to go to 10 colleges and universities the administration says are not doing enough to protect Jewish students.
The nominee went on to say that the incident has made him "think and talk more" about the matter and "it's going to help me learn to be more careful and smart."
Martin also made headlines earlier this year after writing a letter to Elon Musk, vowing to shield DOGE employees from threats and legal repercussions, "no matter what."
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