Ed Martin, former interim US Attorney for DC and head of President Donald Trump's pardon office, is defending against allegations that the clemency process was a "pay-to-play" scheme where fixers charged up to $600,000 for access. In an interview, Martin denied claims made by provocateurs Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl on 60 Minutes and emphasized that Duke Tanner, whose drug sentence Trump both commuted and pardoned, did not use brokers or lawyers. Martin also revealed that Trump encouraged him to go on media tours before the November midterms during their final meeting in the Oval Office.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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President Donald Trump's former pardon attorney left his post to dive back into the political scrum as November's midterm elections approach.
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elections → sign → scrum
But Ed Martin, who served as interim US Attorney for DC, headed the Department of Justice's 'weaponization' initiative and pardon chief, is also hitting back against allegations Trump's clemency office partially operated as a pay-to-play scheme.
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office → serve → scheme
A recent 60 Minutes investigation accused high-priced fixers of selling backdoor access to presidential pardons for as much as $600,000.
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investigation → accuse → 600,000
The broadcast placed infamous right-wing provocateurs Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl square in its crosshairs.
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broadcast → place → crosshairs
In a series of covertly recorded meetings, the pair were caught boasting about their supposed back-door leverage with the White House, assuring clients they could lock in executive clemency - for a staggering price.
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they → record → price
'Those clowns that were on 60 Minutes, they basically admitted that they were playing fast and loose with what they could do,' Martin declared.
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Martin → admit → what
'The one guy complaining failed to get a pardon, and the two guys that said they'd get it for him failed.'
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they → complain → him
To counter the 'pardons for sale' narrative, Martin pointed to a recent online broadcast he hosted with Duke Tanner, a former inmate whose drug sentence Trump commuted and later fully pardoned.
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Trump → counter → sentence
Tanner told the audience he never had a lawyer or a broker, Martin said.
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Martin → tell → lawyer
President Donald Trump's former pardon attorney Ed Martin is hitting back against allegations that Trump's clemency office partially operated as a pay-to-play scheme
Martin - a deeply entrenched MAGA loyalist, former right-hand man to conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, and self-described 'fighter' - has cycled through several administration re-brandings
He dismissed conflict-of-interest critiques over Blanche's history as Trump's personal defense attorney as 'silly' saying, it's actually better
'
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it → hit → attorney
He just was doing the right things in prison, and everything found him.
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everything → do → him
Martin said claims that applicants routinely bypass official channels ignore an overwhelmed DOJ bureau slogging through nearly 20,000 petitions and sending vetted batches of roughly 2,000 names to the White House each quarter.
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applicants → say → House
Trump personally urged Martin to embark in a media tour during an hour-long Oval Office exit interview ten days ago.
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Trump → urge → interview
'Trump would say to me, 'You like doing media.
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Trump → say → media
It's important to get out there,' Martin revealed.
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Martin → get → ?
'I said, 'I want to go out and talk more about it, especially before November 3.'
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I → say → November
And he said, 'Yeah, it's a good idea.'
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it → say → ?
As pardon attorney, Martin rarely had such facetime with the president.
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Martin → have → president
But his bond with Trump traced back to 2016 with Schlafly, an early Trump fan who the president still loves to raise.
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president → trace → who
Martin also dismissed as 'silly' conflict-of-interest critiques of Attorney General Todd Blanche, who served as Trump's personal defense lawyer.
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who → dismiss → lawyer
It was a surprisingly generous stance given their rocky history.
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It → give → history
Behind closed doors, Blanche had previously clashed with Martin over press leaks, eventually stripping the pardon chief of his duties leading the anti-weaponization initiative.
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Blanche → clash → initiative
Yet Martin played down the past turf wars.
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Martin → play → wars
Martin, the firebrand originally tapped to dismantle the 'weaponization' of the federal government, left his role to become the pardon attorney.
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Martin → tap → role
He then was moved out of that role and now working outside government
In other revelations, Martin addressed the current leadership under Attorney General Todd Blanche
'
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Martin → move → Blanche
You have to sort of grow into understanding what the boss wants,' he explained, referring to Blanche and how he can succeed in his new role.
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he → have → role
He also said FBI Director Kash Patel has grown into the job, with improved energy and focus, admittedly after a rocky start.
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Patel → say → start
'Kash took a little bit of time to get things going, and then he got things going.
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things → take → time
But inside DOJ, you see energy.
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you → see → energy
So I felt and saw more energy out of the FBI than I did when Kash first started,' he revealed.
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he → feel → FBI
'The FBI under Kash has always moved aggressively but it is not a coincidence that it is moving better than ever after the change at AG,' a law enforcement official tells the Daily Mail.
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official → move → Mail
But Martin said his exit from government was strategic, timed to rally conservative voters before the midterms, and tied to an administration push to restore gun rights to non-violent felons.
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exit → say → felons
He says he plans to visit 10 states including New York, New Jersey, Iowa, New Hampshire and more.
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he → say → York
'If you want more of this, you're going to have to vote for Republicans,' he said.
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he → want → Republicans
Trump has not announced a new pardon attorney yet.
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Trump → announce → attorney
The White House pushed back on the 'pardon economy.
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House → push → economy
'
'Anyone spending money to lobby for pardons is foolishly wasting their money and the President doesn't even know who these so-called 'lobbyists,' said spokesman Lauren Bis.
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Bis → spend → money
The Aporia
