Adam Schiff vows to stop Ed Martin's confirmation as US Attorney for DC

The confirmation of President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as the top federal prosecutor in Washington, DC has been held up in the Senate as Senator Adam Schiff has placed an indefinite hold on the nomination.

Ed Martin was selected by Trump to serve as US attorney for the District of Columbia and has been serving as acting US attorney for DC since Inauguration Day. Schiff, who previously served in the House and is a first-term Democrat Senator for California, plans to indefinitely hold Martin’s nomination.

The Senate is allowed to invoke a hold on a presidential nominee, which can slow or stall the confirmation of a nominee for days or even weeks. Time on the Senate floor is often needed to overcome holds on presidential nominees, per CBS News.

In a statement, Schiff said, "In every way he can, Ed Martin has demolished the firewalls between the White House and his own office within the Department of Justice. Confirming him to serve permanently in the role he has already abused in his interim capacity would cross the prosecutorial Rubicon that every single Senator would come to regret and that would threaten the rights of Americans from all walks of life."

"For the past nine weeks, Ed Martin has consistently undermined the independence and abused the power of the US Attorney's office in DC, openly threatening and intimidating political opponents, dismissing charges against his own clients, firing public servants for their roles in legitimate investigations and using his office as a cudgel to chill dissent and free speech."

Schiff said that "No one embodies Donald Trump’s personal weaponization of the Justice Department more than Ed Martin," and that Martin is "He is unfit to serve as a lawyer, let alone one with the resources – and cover from the Senate – to further twist the power of the law and law enforcement to go after Americans who stand up for the rule of law and for our democracy."

"With all of the power I am afforded as a United States Senator, I intend to place a hold on his nomination and block attempts to jam through his appointment at every stage," Schiff concluded.

In nominating Martin, Trump said that he has "been doing a great job as Interim US Attorney, fighting tirelessly to restore Law and Order, and make our Nation’s Capital Safe and Beautiful Again."