Ed Martin, the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, has sent letters to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), accusing the two of threatening public officials.
Garcia, who publicly shared the letter Thursday, was accused by the new prosecutor of threatening Elon Musk.
The letter, dated Monday, asks Garcia about an interview on CNN in which he said, “What the American public wants is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight. This is an actual fight for democracy.”
The interview came the same day Garcia held up a photo of Musk during a hearing and called it a “d–k pic,” – a reference to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) previously showing a lewd photo of Hunter Biden.
“This sounds to some like a threat to Mr. Musk – an appointed representative of President Donald Trump who you called a ‘d–k’ – and government staff who work for him. Their concerns have led to this inquiry,” Martin wrote in the letter.
Garcia said he would not be deterred by the letter.
“So if you criticize Elon Musk, Trump’s DOJ will send you this letter. Members of Congress must have the right to forcefully oppose the Trump Administration. I will not be silenced,” he wrote on X.
Martin’s office declined to comment but he previously telegraphed his plans to probe “confrontations” with Musk or his staff.
“I recognize that some of the staff at DOGE has been targeted publicly. At this time, I ask that you utilize me and my staff to assist in protecting DOGE work and the DOGE workers. Any threats, confrontations, or other actions in any way that impact their work may break numerous laws,” Martin wrote earlier this month.
“Let me assure you of this: we will pursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people.”
Martin has made a habit of scanning his letters to Musk and advertising that they have only been shared via X, a platform owned by Musk.
In a second letter to Musk, Martin said he would go after those who “even acted simply unethically,” saying he would “chase them to the ends of the earth to hold them accountable” and added that “noone [sic] is above the law.”
Martin, who previously represented some Jan. 6 defendants and is a former conservative radio host, has been nominated to continue to serve in the role.
Martin’s letters to Schumer, first reported by Reuters Wednesday and later shared by The Washington Post, go further back, with one sent the day after the Inauguration and referencing comments made more than four years ago.
Martin pointed to a 2020 speech from Schumer about a pending abortion access case.
“I want to tell you [Neil] Gorsuch. I want to tell you [Brett] Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions,” Schumer said.
At the time, Schumer’s staff said the comments were in reference to political blowback for Republicans.
“Your comments at a private rally off the campus of the U.S. Capitol were not just strong language born of a Brooklyn upbringing. Like Senator McConnell and Chief Justice Roberts, any reasonable person would hear your words as threatening, even inciting violence,” Martin wrote in a follow up letter to Schumer sent Feb. 3.
A response to Martin’s office from a Schumer staffer pointed to his own defense on the Senate floor in 2020.
“Now, I should not have used the words I used yesterday. They didn’t come out the way I intended to. My point was that there would be political consequences–political consequences–for President Trump and Senate Republicans if the Supreme Court, with the newly confirmed Justices, stripped away a woman’s right to choose,” he said at the time.
“Of course, I didn’t intend to suggest anything other than political and public opinion consequences for the Supreme Court, and it is a gross distortion to imply otherwise.”
According to multiple outlets, Martin has named his probe Operation Whirlwind in a nod to Schumer’s 2020 comments.
Schumer’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Any advancement of Martin’s probe would stretch the bounds of speech and debate clause protections, which bars prosecution of lawmakers on matters directly tied to their jobs.
His letter to Schumer notes that the minority leader’s remarks were made “off the campus of the U.S. Capitol,” an apparent nod to those limitations.
