Earlier
this
week,
the
Trump
administration
attorney
in
charge
of
pardons,
Ed
Martin,
decided
for
reasons
that
remain
unclear
to
post
a
picture
of
himself
with
comedian
Russell
Brand.
Martin
is
no
stranger
to
bad
press.
He’s
notably
controversial
even
in
MAGA-land
and
had
to
be
pulled
from
consideration
from
the
DC
US
Attorney
job
after
harassing government
officials, Wikipedia,
and random
medical
journals.
Plus,
using
his
interim
DOJ
role
to free
his
own
clients.
Classy.
But
Martin’s
post
is
especially
curious.
Brand
is
currently
facing
sexual
assault
charges
in
the
United
Kingdom.
But
the
conspiracy
theorist’s
legal
woes
also
extend
to
this
side
of
the
pond;
Brand
is
being
sued
in
a
New
York
court
over
allegations
he
assaulted
a
woman
during
the
filming
of
Arthur.
So,
why
is
Martin
posting
pics
with
Brand?
Does
he
want
to
reinforce
the
association
of
the
Trump
administration
with
sexual
assault
allegations?
Is
he
a
super
fan
of
Forgetting
Sarah
Marshall?
Who
can
say.
But
the
internet
sure
has
THOUGHTS.
But
for
my
$0.02,
the
most
poignant
burns
come
from
DOJ
alums.
Stacey
Young
left
the
Department
after
18
years
in
the
early
days
of
the
Trump
II
reign,
and
is
deeply
concerned
about
the
new
direction
of
the
DOJ,
as
exemplified
by
her
post
on
LinkedIn.
Ed
Martin,
the
failed
D.C.
U.S.
Attorney
nominee
who
now
heads
DOJ’s
“Weaponization
Working
Group”
(named
during
a
round
of
“I
know
you
are
but
what
am
I?”),
posted
this
photo
this
morning.
It
features
Martin
standing
gleefully
next
to
nobody’s
favorite
comedian,
Russell
Brand,
who’s
out
of
prison
on
bail
as
he
awaits
trial
on
multiple
charges
of
rape
and
sexual
assault.Martin
shared
this
photo
with
the
world
at
a
time
when
DOJ
is
canceling
hundreds
millions
of
dollars
in
grants
that
fund
programs
serving
crime
victims,
including
sexual
assault
survivors;
when
the
Office
on
Violence
Against
Women
removed
all
open
funding
opportunities
from
its
website;
when
FBI
agents
are
being
pulled
away
from
their
normal
work,
such
as
investigating
sexual
predators,
so
they
can
do
ICE’s
job;
and
when
the
department,
in
promoting
conspiracy
theories
surrounding
Jeffrey
Epstein,
has
left
his
sexual
assault
victims
as
an
afterthought.Ed
Martin’s
post
encapsulates
the
callousness,
hypocrisy,
and
misogyny
oozing
from
DOJ’s
current
leadership.
But
Young
wasn’t
the
only
DOJ
alum
to
sound
off.
Former
Justice
Department
pardon
attorney
Elizabeth
G.
Oyer,
who
said
she
was
fired
after
refusing
to
let
Trump’s
friend
Mel
Gibson
get
his
pew-pew
back,
commented
on
Young’s
LinkedIn
post.
“It’s
absolutely
blowing
my
mind
that
this
person
sits
in
what
was
once
my
office
and
occupies
my
former
job
as
Pardon
Attorney!”
That
sentiment
hits
hard.
2025
is
filled
with
all
sorts
of
horrors.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].