The hyperpartisan Trump loyalist said he didn't know he was celebrating a Nazi sympathizer last year. There's reason to believe otherwise.
https://bsky.app/profile/juanmunoz.bsky.social/post/3lnvhivcxgk2l
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/ed-martins-earlier-praise-nazi-sympathizer-jan-6-rioter-draws-fresh-sc-rcna203336
But perhaps the most important development of all are recent allegations about
Martin’s support for a man NBC News has described as a “Nazi sympathizer” and “Jan. 6 rioter.”
Late last week, ProPublica published a stunning report on Martin’s record of ghostwriting online attacks against a judge overseeing a case he was involved in. The ethics of such conduct were obviously suspect, but the same article also noted Martin’s work on behalf of Jan. 6 criminal defendants:
Last summer, Martin gave an award to a convicted Jan. 6 rioter named Timothy Hale-Cusanelli. According to court records, Hale-Cusanelli held “long-standing white supremacist and Nazi beliefs,” wore a “Hitler mustache” and allegedly told his co-workers that “Hitler should have finished the job.” ... After hugging and thanking Hale-Cusanelli at the ceremony, Martin told the audience that one of his goals was “to make sure that the world — and especially America — hears more from Tim Hale, because he’s extraordinary.”
The fact that
Martin publicly praised a Nazi sympathizer seems like the sort of thing that might be a problem for his nomination to take over one of the nation’s largest prosecutorial offices.
Last week, the Trump-appointed interim U.S. attorney apologized for having celebrated Hale, claiming that he wasn’
t aware of Hale’s radical and hate-filled beliefs. The trouble is, Martin’s defense is difficult to believe: The Washington Post reported, “n videos and podcasts, Martin has defended the man since at least 2023, calling him a friend who was ‘slurred and smeared’ by antisemitism allegations.”
Six weeks before the awards ceremony ... Martin interviewed Hale-Cusanelli about the allegations and defended him in a more than hour-long episode of his “Pro America Report” podcast, which he hosted from 2020 until early this year. A video of the episode was posted July 2 on a video-sharing platform called Rumble.
All of which leads to a rather obvious concern, emphasized by Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee
who’ve scrutinized the lawyer’s record: The only thing worse than celebrating a Nazi sympathizer is lying about having celebrated a Nazi sympathizer......
The Senate has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Martin, and the calendar is of increasing relevance: If he isn’t confirmed by May 20, his interim appointment will expire, and he’ll have to be replaced at the U.S attorney’s office. Watch this space.
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