DOJ Leadership and Independence

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has effectively sidelined Ed Martin from leading the Justice Department’s internal "weaponization" working group, consolidating the previously dormant task force inside the deputy AG’s office and directing deputies to kick‑start a push to bring more cases in the coming months. Martin will keep the formal title of U.S. Pardon Attorney but has been marginalized — a move officials attribute both to a long‑running feud with Blanche and to perceptions that Martin was ineffective at producing the swift "revenge" cases sought by Trump — and he is reportedly considering leaving DOJ or moving to a White House role; Martin is a former Stop the Steal activist, lawyer for Jan. 6 defendants, and brief interim U.S. attorney for D.C.