CNN
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President Donald Trump has been making calls to Republican senators on behalf of Ed Martin, his controversial nominee to serve as US attorney for Washington, DC, who faces a difficult confirmation process, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
The White House and Department of Justice have shepherded Martin through what has so far been a turbulent confirmation, including helping him complete mandated disclosure forms and other paper work.
But Trump, whose calls on Martin’s behalf have not been previously reported, may be needed to convince a handful of skeptical Republicans who are putting the nomination at risk.
As CNN previously reported, Martin failed to disclose nearly 200 media appearances in his initial disclosures last month, and claimed under oath he did not recall some of his most controversial past statements in response to a series of questions put to him by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Facing a potential collision course over one of Trump’s favorite nominees, and up against a ticking clock, GOP senators are trying to keep their options open even though numerous Republicans have expressed concerns over Martin’s past controversies.
A committee vote on Martin’s nomination has not yet been scheduled. Still, the White House remains confident that Martin will get confirmed, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee in charge of Martin’s nomination, said last week that Republicans needed more time to vet Martin and meet with him – a nod to the growing angst behind the scenes.
North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told CNN last week he has “serious questions” about Martin, given his previous comments denigrating police officers who defended the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021, attack.
“I don’t talk about that stuff,” Tillis said when asked if the president had reached out to him.
GOP Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, who also serve on the panel, have also privately expressed concerns about supporting Martin, a source familiar with the process told CNN. Cornyn told CNN on Monday that Trump had not reached out to him, and he declined to say how he would vote on the nomination.
Grassley told CNN last week that his panel still had not received the necessary paperwork from the FBI to move forward with Martin’s nomination. However a committee aide told CNN Monday that all outstanding materials on Martin have now been received, including the FBI materials Grassley was waiting on.
Trump and his allies have a short window to get Martin over the finish line. If Republicans don’t confirm him by May 20 when his interim position expires, there would be a new process to play out in picking a new nominee.
One option could be US District Judge James Boasberg appointing someone to become DC’s top prosecutor. Boasberg, a Barack Obama appointee, has presided over a number of high-profile cases challenging Trump policies, drawing the ire of the president and his allies.
Top Justice Department officials, who had preferred another candidate for the job, have had to caution Martin about some of his public activities since taking on the job on an interim basis, sources briefed on the matter told CNN.
Despite growing blowback on the nomination, allies of Trump and Martin have made clear that the president has so far been thrilled with Martin’s job performance.
“Martin is President Trump’s favorite US Attorney,” one source familiar with his nomination process previously told CNN. .
On top of Trump’s direct calls to GOP senators, 23 Republican state attorneys general sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley and Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Monday urging them to move forward on Martin’s confirmation, according to a copy shared with CNN. Trump ally Charlie Kirk also posted on X over the weekend about the need to successfully confirm Martin.
DOJ officials who may have wanted someone else for the job have come to terms with the fact that he is Trump’s pick and are doing everything they can to help get him confirmed, sources briefed on the matter told CNN.
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are expected to keep Trump’s nominee on track, despite diminishing odds Martin will advance to see a full Senate vote.
Martin’s nomination process has been riddled with controversies since the president formally nominated him to the job in March.
Martin has had to update his mandated disclosure to Congress detailing all of his past media appearances at least three times after his initial filing failed to report media appearances he’s made in the past few years, including many on far-right outlets and Russian-state media. He has also had to answer for his previous praise of a Capitol rioter who is an alleged Nazi sympathizer, despite his more recent denouncement. And he did not recall some of his most controversial past statements in response to a series of questions under oath put to him by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
During his short tenure as acting US attorney, Martin has drawn attention for having referred to the nation’s largest office of federal prosecutors as “President Trumps’ [sic] lawyers,” and demoting senior attorneys who worked on January 6, 2021, Capitol riot cases.
CNN’s Ted Barrett contributed to this report.
