{"id":2424662,"date":"2025-04-17T12:15:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T16:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-us-attorney-ed-martin-faces-scrutiny-over-russian-media-appearances-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-04-17T12:17:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T16:17:00","slug":"dc-us-attorney-ed-martin-faces-scrutiny-over-russian-media-appearances-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dc-us-attorney-ed-martin-faces-scrutiny-over-russian-media-appearances-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"DC US Attorney Ed Martin faces scrutiny over Russian media appearances &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdc-us-attorney-ed-martin-faces-scrutiny-over-russian-media-appearances-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2424662&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses Ed Martin, the interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., who has come under scrutiny for failing to disclose his extensive appearances on Russian state media platforms like Russia Today and Sputnik. Martin participated in over 150 interviews from August 2016 to April 2024, often advocating against U.S.intervention in conflicts and defending Russian media even as they were labeled propaganda by the U.S. government. His most prolific year of appearances was 2021, largely discussing the January 6th prosecutions. While he has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-warns-of-the-danger-posed-by-enemies-of-peace-during-speech-in-northern-ireland\/\" title=\"Biden ...ns of the Danger Pos... by \u2018Enemies of Peace\u2019 During Speech in Northern Ireland\">made statements suggesting<\/a> a probability of conflict between U.S. interests and Russia,his connection to Russian media raises concerns about his impartiality,especially since he did not disclose these appearances during his confirmation hearings,presenting only a fraction of his actual engagements.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters have defended MartinS right to free speech, arguing that there is nothing illegal about appearing on Russian media, but critics, including former Department of Justice lawyers, worry that his actions compromise the integrity of the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office. Martin, who has previously positioned himself as a defender of President Trump, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gettr-founder-says-authoritarian-regimes-are-behind-attacks-on-the-app\/\" title=\"Gettr Founder Says \u2018Authoritarian Regimes\u2019 Are Behind Attacks on the App\">faces challenges<\/a> to his confirmation as U.S. Attorney, which usually proceeds without controversy.If confirmed, he could possibly impact U.S. legal proceedings involving key political matters.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">DC US Attorney Ed Martin faces scrutiny over undeclared Russian state media appearances<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2095591\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Washington, D.C.\">Washington, D.C.<\/a>, interim U.S. Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/op-eds\/3380895\/dc-us-attorney-ed-martin-making-washington-safe-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Ed Martin\">Ed Martin<\/a> appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Russian\">Russian<\/a> state media over 150 times, something he didn&rsquo;t disclose during his confirmation hearing.<\/p>\n<p>Martin appeared on <em>Russia Today<\/em> and <em>Sputnik<\/em> over 150 times between August 2016 and April 2024, according to a <em>Washington Post<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2025\/04\/16\/ed-martin-rt-sputnik-usattorney\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"analysis\">analysis<\/a>. His highest volume of appearances was in 2021, when he participated in over 60 interviews to discuss Jan. 6 prosecutions. While many of his appearances were unrelated to Russia or Ukraine, Martin urged against a U.S. intervention in Syria and dismissed speculations that Russia would invade Ukraine in February 2022.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3383213\/trump-administration-cutting-habitat-protections-endangered-species\/\">Trump administration proposes cutting habitat protections for endangered species<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3383177\/onerepublic-bassist-tim-myers-challenge-ken-calvert-california-seat\/\">OneRepublic former bassist mounts Democratic challenge for Ken Calvert&#8217;s California seat<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3383144\/white-house-celebrate-easter-return-golden-era\/\">White House to celebrate Easter in &#8216;return to golden era&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ed Martin speaks at an event at the Capitol in Washington, June 13, 2023. (AP Photo\/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In an early 2022 interview, just nine days before the invasion, Martin told a Russian outlet, &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no evidence&rdquo; of a Russian buildup on Ukraine&rsquo;s borders. His appearances were scaled back after the beginning of the war, with his last interview being in April 2024.<\/p>\n<p>In a Jan. 21, 2022, interview, he defended <em>Russia Today<\/em> after the U.S. State Department characterized it as an arm of Kremlin propaganda.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3329027\/ed-martin-unusual-activity-jeopardizes-nomination-lead-d-c-office\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ED MARTIN&rsquo;S UNUSUAL ACTIVITY JEOPARDIZES NOMINATION TO LEAD DC OFFICE <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They weaponize this kind of crap. &hellip; Big tech and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-lawyers-pa-lawsuit-dismissal-moves-us-closer-to-supreme-court\/\" title=\"... Lawyers: PA Lawsuit Dismissal Moves Us Closer to Supreme Court\">big media<\/a> are backed up by big government, and they&rsquo;re forcing the message,&rdquo; Martin said, blaming U.S. interests that push &ldquo;war all the time.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There are very few voices saying hold on, and your show and others on this network are some of those voices,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p>In his first 4 1\/2 years of Russian media appearances, Martin was usually featured on a panel opposite a Democratic commentator.<\/p>\n<p><em>Russia Today<\/em> noted that there is no evidence Martin acted at the direction of any Russian official or entity. Rather, he is part of a branch of American conservatives sympathetic to Russia&rsquo;s foreign policy.<\/p>\n<p>Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Martin has expressed conflicting views about Russian President Vladimir Putin and his country in dozens of X posts, most of them negative. Though he accused &ldquo;Deep State\/globalists&rdquo; of continuing the Ukraine-Russia conflict to &ldquo;take down Putin&rdquo; in February 2024, Martin&rsquo;s sentiment has largely presented Putin and Russia as enemies to the United States, and he accused former President Joe Biden of appeasing them.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Am I right?<br \/>The Ukraine-Russia war is being continued because the Deep State\/globalists want to take down Putin.<\/p>\n<p>They want to take down the United States, too.<br \/>But till they can, they want U.S. to fund the take down of Putin.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ed Martin (@EagleEdMartin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EagleEdMartin\/status\/1762274825710485684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 27, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;You know, those Democrats who say Trump loves Putin, who handed 20% of the U.S.&rsquo;s uranium over to Putin (H. Clinton), who told Putin they&rsquo;d be more flexible to help him after reelection (Obama). Biden hands $100M <em>latest tech<\/em> drone airbase over to Russians. Dems enable Putin. Trump kept Putin within Russian borders,&rdquo; Martin <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/eagleedmartin\/status\/1793305102440128569?s=46&amp;t=QImh_XVez_-AE3fI8sAeww\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"said\">said<\/a> in a May 22 post.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;At first I thought this was about Biden&rsquo;s recent turning our state of the art drone air base in Niger over to Russia and Putin. But it&rsquo;s about another event in the Biden anti-American administration. One closer to home,&rdquo; he said in a Nov. 24 <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/eagleedmartin\/status\/1793983181101895958?s=46&amp;t=QImh_XVez_-AE3fI8sAeww\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"post\">post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The primary issue with Martin&rsquo;s appearances was his failure to disclose them to the Senate during his confirmation hearing. He only disclosed 16 media appearances between 2016 and 2024. He added that &ldquo;despite my searches, there may be other materials that I have been unable to identify, find, or remember.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Spokesman Neil McCabe said Martin &ldquo;disclosed all of the identified links in a supplemental letter to the Senate&rdquo; over the past two days.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;President Trump made a brilliant choice in selecting Ed Martin to serve a full, permanent term as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. With a distinguished record of service, Ed is the perfect leader to restore law and order and make our Nation&rsquo;s Capital safe and beautiful once again,&rdquo; a White House official told the <em>Washington Post<\/em> when asked about Martin&rsquo;s appearances.<\/p>\n<p>Some people have defended Martin, including University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer, a critic of U.S. policies toward Russia.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Although the U.S. government and other governments have been waging war on RT for some time, it is not illegal for an American to appear on its shows,&rdquo; Mearsheimer said. Absent allegations of specific wrongdoing, &ldquo;this is a matter of free speech,&rdquo; and scrutiny should be focused on the content of his appearances rather than where.<\/p>\n<p>Martin has emerged as a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3329027\/ed-martin-unusual-activity-jeopardizes-nomination-lead-d-c-office\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"unusually controversial\"> controversial<\/a> U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-democrats-urge-biden-to-keep-chicago-prosecutor-probing-corrupt-pols\/\" title=\"Top Democrats Urge Biden to Keep Chicago Prosecutor Probing Corrupt Pols\">attorney nominee<\/a> for a position usually approved with little fanfare. The longtime lawyer and former Missouri Republican Party chairman has presented himself as a partisan for President Donald Trump, even saying he is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump<\/a>&rsquo;s lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>In response to that comment, a group of six former DOJ lawyers publicized their concerns over Martin, saying, &ldquo;Collectively, Mr. Martin&rsquo;s actions threaten to undermine the integrity of the U.S. Attorney&rsquo;s Office and the legal profession in the District of Columbia. In word and in deed, he has portrayed himself as an advocate for private and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">political interests<\/a> of others, in violation of his oath of office and the Rules of Professional Conduct.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3340936\/who-is-ed-martin-dc-top-prosecutor-trump-lawyers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">WHO IS ED MARTIN, DC&rsquo;S NEW US ATTORNEY WHO SAYS HE&rsquo;S ONE OF &lsquo;TRUMP&rsquo;S LAWYERS&rsquo;?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Martin has made liberal use of inquiry letters against Democratic lawmakers, has frequently used social media, and has been described as &ldquo;cowboy-ish&rdquo; in his overall approach to the attorney&rsquo;s office.<\/p>\n<p>If his confirmation fails, Martin will retire from the office at the end of his interim term and be replaced.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2095591\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2095591\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DC US Attorney Ed Martin under fire for undisclosed Russian media appearances<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2424663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ed-Martin-Hearing.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50501,50500,33577],"class_list":["post-2424662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-dc-2","tag-ed-martin","tag-us-attorney"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Ed-Martin-Hearing.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2424662"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2424666,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424662\/revisions\/2424666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2424663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2424662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2424662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2424662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}