Conservative activist and failed US attorney nominee Ed Martin will take over as the Justice Department’s pardon attorney as a spree of clemency grants by Donald Trump sets off a scramble by people trying to find an access point to the president.

The Office of Pardon Attorney has tallied on its website more than 7,400 active clemency bids, including more than 400 pardon applications filed since Jan. 20, an “eye popping” rate, said former Clinton-era pardon attorney Margaret Love, who now specializes in clemency in private practice.

The office has been without a formal head since early March, when Trump DOJ leadership ousted Liz Oyer. Oyer told Congress that she was fired after refusing to recommend actor Mel Gibson have his firearms rights reinstated following a domestic violence conviction.

The unit is responsible for reviewing and making recommendations on petitions for presidential pardons and sentence commutations. But it’s seen its influence decline under Trump, who so far this term has granted reprieves to a growing body of people he claims were unfairly targeted during the Biden administration.

The combination of Oyer’s firing and Martin’s appointment “suggests that Trump plans to make more use of the office in his second term than his first but in a way that emphasizes his control over the office’s decision-making,” said Bernadette Meyler, a Stanford Law School professor and expert on presidential pardons.

Trump on May 8 announced Martin’s appointment as pardon attorney and associate deputy attorney general after pulling his nomination to be US attorney for the District of Columbia after his Senate confirmation prospects collapsed.

It’s unclear how the Trump ally will divide his responsibilities. Trump said they’ll include leading a group Attorney General Pam Bondi created to review Justice Department activities during the Biden administration, including criminal probes into Trump tied to the 2020 election and classified records.

In a Truth Social post Thursday, Trump said Martin would “make sure we finally investigate the Weaponization of our Government under the Biden Regime, and provide much needed Justice for its victims.”

In an interview with Bloomberg Law, Martin said he wants draw on his experience representing Capitol rioters. “It can’t be that government has been weaponized only against Donald Trump,” Martin said. “It’s likely that it’s been weaponized against regular people, and they should be able to say, ‘hey, look at me.’”

Faster Pardons

Presidents have sweeping pardon powers under Article II of the Constitution, though in recent decades they’ve mainly used them near the end of their tenures.

Trump is moving much faster on pardons and commutations so far this term. Upon returning to office, he pardoned more than 1,500 people with convictions stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot attack, which was carried out by his supporters with the aim of disrupting the certification of the 2020 election that he lost.

Other Trump actions include clemency grants to some white-collar fraud convicts , pro-life activists prosecuted for blocking access to an abortion clinic, and those linked to Republican politics.


Martin’s contentious nomination for US attorney in the District of Columbia cratered after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) balked at his views on Jan. 6. In addition to defending some rioters in court, Martin has called Capitol riot participants “patriots” and “victims.”

As acting US attorney under Trump, Martin oversaw the dismissal of criminal charges against hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants after Trump’s mass pardon. He also demoted multiple senior supervisors involved in Capitol right cases after taking the acting US attorney job.

Martin’s background is largely in Republican advocacy circles. He once served as the chair of the Missouri Republican Party before becoming the president of the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund, part of the group founded by conservative advocate Phyllis Schlafly.

The DOJ’s Office of Pardon Attorney has historically been a vehicle for addressing issues such as wrongful convictions, legal reforms, and controversial sentences.

Trump in February also named Alice Marie Johnson, a woman whom he pardoned during his first term for a nonviolent drug offense, as his White House “pardon czar.”

Trump said at the time he would listen to Johnson’s recommendations, a move that earned cheers from criminal justice reform advocates.

“Her appointment could lead to a more diverse, streamlined, and meaningful review of pardon cases,” Lisa Wayne, the executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said in a statement prior to Martin’s appointment. “We hope to see an increase in the processing of applications as well as notification to the applicants of the status of any action taken.”