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The Justice Department has reportedly turned its attention toward New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) as part of what critics are calling a revenge campaign aimed at punishing President Donald Trump’s political adversaries. But questions are already being raised about the credibility and competence of the effort’s leader.
According to The New York Times, Associate Deputy Attorney General Edward Martin is now at the helm of the department’s so-called “weaponization” initiative. Trump has long claimed that the DOJ was “weaponized” against him, and Martin is now tasked with pursuing investigations into Trump’s perceived enemies.
However, appellate lawyer Sean Marotta pointed out glaring missteps in Martin’s filings against Letitia James. Marotta noted that Martin didn’t even have proper contact information for James’ attorney.
“Imagine being an Associate Deputy Attorney General, but you don’t have a direct email for opposing counsel, so you send your letter via the general inquiries mailbox for his law firm,” Marotta mocked on social media.
Martin, however, has leaned into Trump’s rhetoric. Speaking on Fox News Sunday, he defended his aggressive approach. “We’re gonna go to the very bottom of the facts, and if somebody did something wrong, we’re not only gonna hold them accountable, we’re also gonna look at everything else they’ve been doing.
Because when you’re a liar, you lie not just on one thing. When you’re a cheater, you cheat not just on one thing. When you’re doing corruption, you generally don’t just do it on one thing,” he said.
Critics say this kind of sweeping rationale is a dangerous departure from legal norms. Kristy Greenberg, the former deputy chief of the criminal division at the Southern District of New York, fired back at Martin’s comments in a post on Bluesky.
“That’s not how it works,” Greenberg wrote. “A criminal investigation is not an excuse to pry, harass, and threaten people about non-criminal conduct. This is dangerous.”
The criticism underscores broader concerns about politicizing the DOJ. By going after officials like James, who led Trump’s civil fraud case, and Schiff, one of his most vocal critics during impeachment proceedings, Martin’s efforts could be seen as retaliation rather than impartial enforcement of the law.
As scrutiny builds, Martin faces increasing pressure to prove his initiative is grounded in legal merit rather than partisan payback.
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