Top DC prosecutor, who promoted false 2020 voter fraud claims, forms
'election accountability' unit
[March 18, 2025]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ALI SWENSON
WASHINGTON (AP) — The top federal prosecutor for the nation's capital,
who promoted President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020
election was rigged, has formed a “special unit” to investigate election
offenses, according to an email sent to lawyers in his office on Monday.
Interim District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Ed Martin said the “Special
Unit: Election Accountability" has already opened one investigation and
“will continue to make sure that all the election laws of our nation are
obeyed,” according to the email reviewed by The Associated Press.
Martin, who is awaiting Senate confirmation to permanently take the
position, was involved in the “Stop the Steal" movement, which was
animated by lies about fraud after Trump lost the 2020 election to
Democrat Joe Biden. Martin also served on the board of a nonprofit that
raised money for Capitol riot defendants and their families and legally
represented at least three defendants in Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot
criminal cases, including a Proud Boys member who pleaded guilty to
felony charges.
In the email announcing the new unit, Martin recounted uncovering “voter
registration fraud” while serving as chairman of the Board of Elections
in St. Louis years ago. That led to the implementation of
“accountability measures to make sure that electronic machines had a
paper trail," he wrote.
“Nearly 20 years later, Americans do not have confidence in our election
systems," Martin wrote. “One of the best ways to restore that confidence
is to protect our systems and demand accountability.”
Martin did not provide additional details about the investigation his
office has already opened, and spokespeople for the office didn’t
immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials at the Justice
Department didn’t immediately respond to questions about Martin’s
effort, which was first reported by Bloomberg Law.
Democrats reacted skeptically to Martin establishing the unit, noting
his involvement with Trump's efforts to spread false claims about the
2020 election.
California Sen. Alex Padilla, the top Democrat on the Senate Rules
Committee, which oversees elections, said he is concerned that the unit
would be “more focused on attacking political enemies than protecting
all Americans’ right to vote in free and fair elections.”
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said Martin’s new unit is “all about
installing a nationwide policy of ‘heads I win, tails you lose.’”
“If the GOP wins, there’s a mandate to trash the Constitution; if they
lose, it means the election was stolen,” said Raskin, the top Democrat
on the House Judiciary Committee. “America is going to have to defend
free and fair elections against these autocrats and veteran saboteurs of
democracy.”
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The Trump administration had been expected to shift the Justice
Department’s priorities around investigating voting and elections. The
agency has historically targeted voter suppression efforts and state
laws that could disenfranchise certain groups, but conservatives have
called for an increased focus on voter fraud.
The scope of Martin's unit is unclear and raises questions about whether
he is seeking to investigate cases outside the realm of his authority,
which is limited to the District of Columbia, said David Becker, a
former U.S. Justice Department attorney who leads the Center for
Election Innovation and Research, a Washington-based nonprofit.
“I’m waiting to see more about what this unit actually is, what
jurisdiction it purports to claim, what authority it tends to seize and
what laws it purports to enforce,” Becker said.
Voting and elections experts expressed doubts that the new unit would
improve American's confidence in elections.
The false idea that there is rampant fraud in U.S. elections “undermines
public faith” in the vote, rather than bolstering it, said Sean
Morales-Doyle, director of the voting rights program at the nonprofit
Brennan Center for Justice,
There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. The
results were confirmed through multiple recounts, reviews and audits.
Trump lost dozens of court challenges, including before judges he
appointed during his first term. His allies also have raised the specter
of widespread illegal noncitizen voting in U.S. elections, though in
reality this form of fraud is exceptionally rare.
Republicans in 2024 filed numerous lawsuits ahead of the presidential
election about various aspects of vote-casting and voter roll
management, setting the stage to contest the results if Trump had lost.
Martin has roiled the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office since he was appointed
to the job in January. He recently demoted senior leaders who handled
politically sensitive cases and forced the chief of the office’s
criminal division to resign after directing her to scrutinize the
awarding of a government contract during the Biden administration.
Martin has also raised eyebrows for describing federal prosecutors as
the “president’s lawyers,” using his office as a platform for parroting
Trump’s political priorities and sending warning letters to at least two
members of Congress for statements they had made. He recently sent a
“letter of inquiry” to Georgetown University Law Center's dean that
warned that his office won’t hire the private school’s students if it
doesn’t eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
___
Swenson reported from New York. Associated Press writer Christina A.
Cassidy in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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