By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump will nominate his top prosecutor in Washington, Edward Martin, for a full and permanent term as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Trump said on social media on Monday.
Martin is already in the role in an interim capacity.
Martin asked a judge last month to drop charges against a man who took part in the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol whom he also represented as a defense attorney. Trump granted clemency on his first day in office to nearly all of the 1,600 people charged with playing a role in the riot.
Lawyers generally are prohibited from taking both sides in the same case and U.S. Justice Department regulations require lawyers to step aside from cases involving their former clients for at least a year.
Martin’s nomination will need to be approved by the Senate.
Martin, who has said he was present outside the Capitol during the siege, also represented two other people found guilty of taking part in the attempt to overturn Trump’s 2020 election defeat. He has faulted the Justice Department for what he described as misconduct in investigating the attack.
A private spokesperson for Martin had told Reuters earlier this month that he was in compliance with the requirements for his position.
Trump supporters attacked the Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Trump’s 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden after weeks of false claims by the Republican that he won the contest.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Toby Chopra and Mark Porter)
