Ed Martin exits US attorney's office in DC as Pirro set to take over

Ed Martin, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, passed the baton Tuesday to Fox News host and former judge Jeanine Pirro to serve as the top prosecutor in the nation's capital, after his nomination faltered.

At a press conference, Martin announced his resignation and said that President Trump has reassigned him to two different Justice Department roles: Pardon attorney and director of the Weaponization Working Group, established earlier this year to root out apparent weaponization of the justice system.

"When President Donald J. Trump asked me to be his U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia on day one, I immediately accepted because I knew it was what we call a 'tip of the spear' assignment," Martin said. "And I knew if I did the job the way President Trump wanted me to, that it would get plenty of attention — and so it has."

The Office of the Pardon Attorney's website already reflects Martin's updated role. At the press conference, he criticized President Biden's last-minute pardons and said they would come under the microscope in his new office.

"I do think that the Biden pardons need some scrutiny," Martin said. "And they need scrutiny because we want pardons to matter and to be accepted and to be something that's used correctly. So I do think we're going to take a hard look."

The already-tenuous nomination of the controversial U.S. attorney pick fell apart after he lost backing from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a key vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee, over his support for those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

A former "Stop the Steal" organizer, Martin has zealously defended Jan. 6 rioters. As interim U.S. attorney, he launched a probe into the decision to bring felony obstruction charges against some rioters and oversaw the firings and reassignments of prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases.

"Ultimately, the president decided we didn't want to keep going forward," Martin said Tuesday.

When it became apparent last week that Martin's chances of confirmation were slim, Trump tapped Pirro to fill the role on an interim basis. It was not immediately clear if the president intended to nominate her to the job on a full-time basis, which would require Senate confirmation.

Pirro, a Fox News host who regularly appears on "The Five," is a former judge and prosecutor who was elected multiple times to serve as district attorney for Westchester County in New York.

Martin said he's "really going to love" how Pirro takes on the mantle, complimenting her "intelligence and real-world experience." Pirro is set to be sworn in Wednesday.