Weaponization Working Group
The Weaponization Working Group is a working group of the Office of the Attorney General within the United States Department of Justice created in 2025. The working group has received criticism for itself being weaponized as part of a broad use of federal powers against the political opponents of Donald Trump; and for the appointment, actions, and strategy of its director Ed Martin.
| Founded | February 5, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To review instances of politicized prosecutions |
Director | Vacant |
| Part of a series on |
| Authoritarian drift in the United States during the second Trump administration |
|---|
The Weaponization Working Group is a working group of the Office of the Attorney General within the United States Department of Justice created in 2025. The working group has received criticism for itself being weaponized as part of a broad use of federal powers against the political opponents of Donald Trump; and for the appointment, actions, and strategy of its director Ed Martin.
History
[edit]On February 5, 2025, hours after being sworn in as attorney general, Pam Bondi signed a memorandum establishing the Weaponization Working Group to review politicized prosecutions.[1] The working group involved the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, then led on an acting basis by Ed Martin, who praised the January 6 Capitol attack and repeated false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.[2]
In May 2025, amid pressure from Republicans in the Senate to withdraw Martin's nomination for United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, President Donald Trump announced that Martin would serve as director of the Weaponization Working Group.[3] Martin outlined a strategy to shame individuals who cannot be charged with crimes at a press conference days later.[4] Martin received criticism for breaking Justice Department protocol in his pursuit of Trump's enemies as part of the working group, which legal experts described as being "so outside the bounds that it could undermine any criminal case".[5]
Martin notably accused Fed governor Lisa Cook on social media of being a "crook" and posted an article accusing her of fraud despite there being no formal allegations of wrongdoing at the time. On August 12, Martin wrote a letter to Cook saying it would be seen as "good faith" if she were to resign, later appeared posing for pictures in front of her house in a trench coat for the New York Post, and then went on Fox News to discuss his actions as a prosecutor regarding his allegations against Cook. The New York Times described Martin's actions as having "stoked the base, leading them to believe that the president's perceived enemies, including Ms. James, former President Barack Obama, the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey and the former C.I.A. director John O. Brennan, will soon be punished".[5]
Organization
[edit]The Weaponization Working Group was initially led by Ed Martin.[3] In July, The New York Times reported that Jared Wise, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who was charged with encouraging January 6 Capitol attack rioters to "kill cops", had become a counselor to Martin.[6][7][8] In February 2026, The Washington Post reported that Martin had been demoted as the working group's chair.[9]
Responsibilities
[edit]Prosecutions against Trump
[edit]Pam Bondi's memorandum tasked the Weaponization Working Group with reviewing prosecutions against Donald Trump prior to his second inauguration, including the Smith special counsel investigation, his prosecution in New York, and the New York business fraud lawsuit against the Trump Organization.[1]
Other prosecutions
[edit]Bondi's memorandum ordered the working group to review potential "prosecutorial abuse" relating to criminal proceedings in the January 6 Capitol attack, anti-abortion protesters who obstructed access to facilities that perform abortions, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's alleged targeting of Catholics.[1] According to NBC News, Bondi ordered charges against Michael Kirk Moore, a Utah doctor indicted for allegedly selling fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine cards, to be dismissed after his prosecution was reviewed by the Weaponization Working Group.[10]
Prosecutions, investigations, and threats
[edit]Federal criminal indictments have been issued against:
- James Comey
- Letitia James
- John Bolton (investigation began under the first Trump Administration and continued under the Biden Administration[11])
Adam Schiff was reportedly under federal investigation, with Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding he apologize for serving as an impeachment manager in the first impeachment of Donald Trump.[12]
Prosecutions were threatened against former CIA Director John O. Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.[13]
Responses
[edit]The establishment of the Weaponization Working Group marked a dramatic effort to utilize the United States federal government against perceived enemies of Donald Trump.[14][15][16][17][18][19] Donald Voiret, the special agent who led the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Seattle field office and served as the bureau's attaché to London, criticized the working group as an attempt to politicize the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Mallin, Alexander (February 5, 2025). "Bondi, as new AG, launches 'Weaponization Working Group' to review officials who investigated Trump". ABC News. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
- ^ Sullivan, Eileen; Feuer, Alan; Berzon, Alexandra (February 8, 2025). "Advocate of Jan. 6 Rioters Now Runs Office That Investigated Them". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
- ^ a b Haberman, Maggie; Thrush, Glenn; Savage, Charlie (May 8, 2025). "Trump Names Jeanine Pirro as Interim U.S. Attorney in Washington". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
- ^ Reilly, Ryan (May 13, 2025). "DOJ 'weaponization' group will shame individuals it can't charge with crimes, new head says". NBC News. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
- ^ a b Bromwich, Jonah E.; Thrush, Glenn; Feuer, Alan; Schmidt, Michael S. (August 19, 2025). "In Pursuing Trump Rival, Weaponization Czar Sidesteps Justice Dept. Norms". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ Feuer, Alan; Goldman, Adam (July 1, 2025). "Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioter Who Threatened Police Joins Justice Dept". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
- ^ Landay, Jonathan et. al (20 October 2025). "Exclusive: Wide-ranging group of U.S. officials pursues Trump's fight...". Reuters website Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ Mike Spector, M.B. Pell, Benjamin Lesser, Ned Parker and Isaac Vargas. (17 December 2025). "They prosecuted the Capitol rioters. Now the rioters and the DOJ are after them." Reuters website Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ Stein, Perry; Reinhard, Beth (February 2, 2026). "Justice Dept. demotes Ed Martin, stripping Trump ally of most authority". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ^ Reilly, Ryan (July 14, 2025). "Pam Bondi dismissed charges in alleged Covid scam after the case had passed review for 'weaponization'". NBC News. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
- ^ Biden Admin Advanced Bolton Probe Over Foreign-Intercepted Emails: Report
- ^ Hailey Fuchs (October 7, 2025). "Bondi tells Schiff he should 'apologize' for impeaching Trump". Politico.
- ^ Ashleigh Fields (September 27, 2025). "Brennan on Trump prosecution threats: 'I'm not going to be intimidated'". The Hill.
- ^ a b Feuer, Alan; Goldman, Adam; Thrush, Glenn (February 6, 2025). "Justice Dept.'s Weaponization Group Underscores Trump's Quest for Retribution". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
- ^ Savage, Charlie (April 30, 2025). "Trump's Maximalist Assertion of Presidential Power Tests the Rule of Law". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
The president, far more than in his first term, has cast aside a post-Watergate norm that the White House should stay out of law enforcement decisions. After years of baselessly accusing Barack Obama and Joseph R. Biden Jr. of directing investigations into him, he has made a reality the very weaponization of the Justice Department he once railed against.
- ^ Lowell, Hugo (January 24, 2025). "Trump enlists attorney general to investigate Biden administration". The Guardian. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
Donald Trump has tasked the attorney general in two executive orders to conduct far-reaching investigations into the previous administration, using the weight of the justice department to pursue what are effectively politically charged reviews into his personal grievances.
- ^ "A little poetic justice for Donald Trump". The Economist. July 24, 2025. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
Now that he has been re-elected, Mr Trump has chosen to do the things he loves, and he has set aside conventions that insulated the Department of Justice from White House pressure. He is paying a price for erasing any expectation the department would operate independently
- ^ Lucas, Ryan (May 5, 2025). "Critics warn of weaponization of the DOJ despite administration calls to end it". NPR News. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ Stone, Peter (August 4, 2025). "Trump contorting justice department into his 'personal weapon', experts warn". The Guardian. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
