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.
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 after the 2020 election . Martin also served on the board of a nonprofit that raised money for and their families and legally represented at least three defendants in 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.â€
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.â€
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said Martin’s new unit is “all about installing a nationwide policy of ‘heads I win, tails you lose.’â€
“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.â€
The Trump administration had been expected to shift the Justice Department’s priorities around investigating voting and elections. The agency has 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 in the 2020 election. The results were confirmed through multiple , and . Trump , 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 .
Republicans in 2024 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 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 for statements they had made. He recently sent a “letter of inquiry†to Georgetown University Law Center's dean that warned if it doesn’t eliminate programs.
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Swenson reported from New York. Associated Press writer Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta contributed to this report.
