Latest news with #Hale-Cusanelli
Washington Post
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Under oath to Senate, Martin claims ignorance of Nazi sympathizer's views
A top Senate Democrat accused Ed Martin Monday of dodging or giving false answers to questions by a committee weighing his nomination as President Donald Trump's pick to serve as U.S. attorney for D.C. — such as by claiming he hadn't seen photographs of a man he praised who had posed as Adolf Hitler and made statements supporting Nazi ideology. Sen. Dick Durbin (Illinois), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that in answering roughly 500 written questions by committee members, 'Mr. Martin makes a number of false statements that are easily debunked and dodges at least 80 questions outright,' such as by stating he did not 'recall' answers more than 39 times. Among questions Durbin posed was whether Martin had seen photos of Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a pardoned Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot defendant, posing as Hitler while wearing a short mustache. Martin called Hale-Cusanelli 'an extraordinary man and extraordinary leader' at an awards ceremony put on by Martin's nonprofit group on Aug. 14 at Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. 'No,' Martin responded, adding that he now found Hale-Cusanelli's views 'abhorrent and deplorable. I condemn his comments and pictures in the strongest possible terms. Additionally, I condemn all antisemitism in any form.' But in an interview Martin conducted with Hale-Cusanelli that was posted on Rumble in July, Martin told him that prosecutors 'leaked a photo to say, ah, look, these people, these people, MAGA people are antisemitic. And the photo was of you; I've heard you say it before, you know, you had like a mustache shaved in such a way that you looked vaguely like Hitler and making jokes about it. Again, you know, not your best moment, but not illegal.' A similar photo was included in a government brief in March 2021 opposing Hale-Cusanelli's pretrial release from jail. Durbin also asked Martin how many times he had interviewed Hale-Cusanelli. 'Once in June of 2024,' Martin responded. 'I do not recall interviewing him again afterward,' Martin said, according to a 113-page document submitted to the committee. A copy of the document was obtained by The Washington Post. Martin interviewed Hale-Cusanelli four times last year, once in January, then in July, September and October. He also interviewed him in June 2022, according to podcast recordings. Martin's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening, nor on Friday for an earlier article about a report last week by the Forward, a Jewish publication. The Forward said that Martin apologized for praising Hale-Cusanelli and claimed he did not know about all of the latter's statements about Jews and other groups beforehand. Durbin said Martin's responses, 'which are under oath, leave me with even more questions and further underscore the need to hear live testimony from Ed Martin at a hearing.' The Post reported last week that Martin had defended Hale-Cusanelli since at least 2023, calling him a friend who was 'slurred and smeared' by antisemitism allegations. In 2021, Martin began serving as one of three top officers of a nonprofit led by Hale-Cusanelli's aunt, Cynthia Hughes, which advocated and raised money for people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, tax records show. Martin has told the Senate he stepped down early this year. He also spoke frequently with Hughes, hosting her on his podcast more than a dozen times since 2021. Martin disclosed receiving $30,000 last year for serving on the board of the Patriot Freedom Project, Hughes's group. Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also questioned Martin. His first inquiries were about his relationship with Hale-Cusanelli. 'I am not close with him,' Martin responded. 'I know of him in the same vein that I know many of the January 6 defendants — through my role as a defense attorney for three of the defendants. I am aware of his name and some details involving his case, and I otherwise do not have close, consistent interactions with him.' Durbin included in his questions three examples of racist, homophobic or antisemitic slurs by Hale-Cusanelli, according to exhibits in his Jan. 6 court case. Martin called the first example 'unacceptable in any context' and the latter two examples 'abhorrent and inappropriate in any context,' and he said he was not aware of the statements before honoring Hale-Cusanelli. 'I would never promote or engage in white nationalism or antisemitism,' Martin told the Senate committee. In his July podcast with Hale-Cusanelli, Martin stated, 'I've never met a white supremacist that is actively a part of the Republican Party.' In April 2022, Martin defended Republican podcast guest Steve King, a former Iowa congressman who was stripped of committee assignments and censured by the House in January 2019 after questioning whether the terms 'white nationalist' or 'white supremacist' should be offensive. 'White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?' King asked a New York Times reporter. King disputed the accuracy of the quote, but fellow lawmakers rebuked him after he had employed racist language and amplified the voices of far-right figures for years, tweeting his support for ethnic nationalism and recirculating a message from a self-described 'Nazi sympathizer.' In his podcast, Martin criticized Congress and suggested King had been smeared for airing conservative opinions. 'Anyone who turns around, they call a white supremacist. Anyone who has an opinion that's conservative is considered not only cancelable but, you know, needs to be canceled,' Martin said. He said King was speaking up for ethics and values, or what King called 'our faithful Christian-based moral foundation.' Martin has taken a tougher stand against Republican lawmakers, including senators, on other political issues. Examples cited by Durbin in his questions included a February 2020 podcast, in which Martin called Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) and other 'supposed Republicans' who voted to extend a deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment 'traitors' who should face primary challenges. In June 2022, he called Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) 'a guy that sort of goes soft' for supporting bipartisan gun-control legislation after mass killings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo. Martin wrote in 2021 that Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaksa) should also face a primary challenge for voting for Trump's impeachment, and he praised the Maine GOP for considering a censure of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) for doing the same. Martin said in December 2023 that then-Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) was part of a 'swamp fix' who became rich from work in government. Martin criticized more than 40 Republican senators who called for the transfer of Soviet-era MiG fighter jets to Ukraine three weeks after Russia's Feb. 24, 2022, invasion as lacking any 'brain.' He also criticized Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) for supporting aid to Ukraine because of the 'military industrial complex' in his state and suggested Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) lacked knowledge of history after Graham suggested the violent overthrow of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In response to Durbin's questions about his past criticism of Republicans, Martin said, 'I do not recall doing so,' and referred to an answer he gave about civility in political discourse. 'In my capacity as a private citizen I have expressed strong opinions, at times taking rhetorical liberties,' Martin said. He added, 'I agree with your question that it is important for public officials to maintain a degree of civility and I pledge to you that if confirmed I will follow all Department of Justice policies and procedures as regards public statements and comment on any policy matters.' Trump nominated Martin to serve a full term in February. If he is not confirmed by May 20, the end of his 120-day interim appointment, judges in the U.S. District Court in D.C. will name a new interim U.S. attorney until one is confirmed.
CNN
28-04-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘A great friend': Audio undercuts Trump US attorney nominee's disavowal of alleged Nazi sympathizer
Ed Martin, the Trump-appointed interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia and nominee to serve in the role permanently, says he now regrets praising a Capitol rioter who is an alleged Nazi sympathizer — claiming he was unaware of the man's extremist views at the time. 'I denounce everything about what that guy said, everything about the way he talked, and all as I've now seen it,' Martin told The Forward, a Jewish publication, last week after previously calling the rioter, Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 'extraordinary.' 'At the time, I didn't know it,' Martin said. But a CNN KFile review of Martin's podcast shows he repeatedly praised Hale-Cusanelli in interviews with him, including two where they openly discussed — and dismissed — allegations that Hale held pro-Nazi views, including an infamous photo of Hale posing with a Hitler-style mustache. Martin hosted Hale-Cusanelli at least five times on podcasts in 2024, including his show 'The Pro-America Report with Ed Martin.' The interviews were conducted well after Hale's Nazi sympathies had been widely reported in media coverage and documented in court records. In the January 2024 episode, Martin and Hale-Cusanelli discussed how media coverage before his trial portrayed him as a far-right extremist and 'the reincarnation of the Führer.' Martin described the coverage as 'character assassination' and a 'caricature' of Hale. In the July 2024 episode, Martin explicitly referenced the infamous Hitler-style mustache photo and framed it as an attempt to smear Hale and other Trump supporters as antisemitic. 'Again, you know, not your best moment,' Martin told Hale-Cusanelli on air in July 2024, referring to the photo. 'But not illegal.' Martin repeatedly referred to Hale-Cusanelli as 'a great friend' and 'an amazing guy,' and said they had grown close after his release from prison. Martin's disavowal of Hale-Cusanelli's comments comes as he faces a tough confirmation battle to become DC's top prosecutor as Democrats try to stall the process and force Republicans to hold a hearing on his nomination. A bipartisan group of senators have submitted over 500 questions for Martin to respond to, Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley said at a committee meeting earlier this month. Among his own questions, Grassley asked Martin about Hale-Cusanelli, a source familiar with the process told CNN. Martin's status as acting US attorney expires on May 20, according to federal law, setting up a tight timeline for him to get confirmed by the Senate. A spokesperson for Martin declined to comment to CNN beyond the public apology when asked if Martin had discussed his ties to Hale-Cusanelli with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The spokesperson also pointed to Martin telling The Forward that he was 'unaware of the full scope of his repulsive behavior,' which, Martin said, is 'clearly far more serious than a singular act that, by itself, might look like a mistake.' Hale-Cusanelli, an Army reservist who previously worked as a security contractor at a Naval base, was convicted of breaching the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and sentenced to four years in prison in 2022. An internal Navy investigation uncovered numerous incidents in which Hale-Cusanelli promoted racist and antisemitic views. Colleagues told investigators Hale-Cusanelli made daily disparaging comments about Jews and one recalled Hale-Cusanelli saying, 'Hitler should have finished the job.' At his trial, Hale-Cusanelli denied that he is a white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer. He said that his comments were 'ironic' and a form of 'self-deprecating humor' he used with friends. 'I'm half Jewish and half Puerto Rican,' Hale-Cusanelli testified, telling jurors that his comments were meant to be ironic. 'I know it's offensive. I know it bothers a lot of people. I know it's repugnant.' Hale-Cusanelli was released from prison in late 2023 and spent the next year on a media blitz tour to discuss his incarceration, including appearing on Martin's podcast. 'Tim Hale is an extraordinary guy. I've gotten to know him really well. I'd say we're friends over the last few years, and especially in the last month since he's been out of jail,' Martin said when hosting Hale-Cusanelli in July 2024. On that program, Martin made clear he was aware of the Nazi allegations levied against Hale-Cusanelli, twice-bringing it up. 'The leaking of the photo where, you know, you resemble, uh, Hitler - or whatever - goofing around, whatever that is, that was done in such a way that you had to live with it everywhere you turned,' he said. 'They used your phone and took a photo and leaked a photo to say, 'Ah, look. These people, these people, MAGA people are antisemitic,'' Martin said. 'And the photo was of you, I've heard you say it before, you know, you had like a mustache shaved in such a way that you looked vaguely like Hitler and making jokes about it.' The photo was recovered from Hale-Cusanelli's cell phone and included in the initial criminal complaint filed by the Justice Department when it indicted Hale-Cusanelli in March 2021 – not in a leak like Martin claimed. Martin then asked Hale-Cusanelli if he had ever attended a Nazi rally. 'No, I have not,' Hale-Cusanelli responded. 'I wouldn't know where to find one.' The episode was the second time that Martin and Hale-Cusanelli discussed the allegations of Nazi sympathies. In the January appearance, Martin lamented that Hale-Cusanelli was 'tried in the media' and that he was a victim of 'character assassination' before he was on trial. 'l'll be the first one to admit, to admit that I haven't always been a great person throughout my life,' replied Hale-Cusanelli. 'I have a very dark sense of humor. And frankly, a wannabe actor, a comedian. And so, you know, I kind of dug my own grave to some extent when it comes to, you know, saying horrible things to get a few chuckles out of five people.' 'And ultimately they were able to portray me as a far-right extremist, they were able to portray me as basically the reincarnation of the Fuhrer. Unfortunately, that's – part of that is my fault. But, you know, at the end of the day, being a jerk is not a crime.' Martin's ties to Hale-Cusanelli have come under scrutiny as his nomination is considered by the Senate. A previous review by CNN's KFile found that Martin failed to report in his Senate paperwork nearly 200 media appearances he made over the past few years, many of which were on far-right programs and Russian-state media. The Washington Post reported that Martin failed to disclose more than 150 appearances on Russian state TV. The paperwork is reviewed by staffers and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to evaluate nominees. While it is common for nominees from either party to amend their paperwork, and Martin himself acknowledged that there 'may be other materials I have been unable to identify, find or remember,' Martin's initial disclosures failed to capture the vast majority of his media appearances over the years. 'I regret the errors and apologize for any inconvenience,' Martin wrote in one disclosure update he filed earlier in April. Congressional Democrats have sought probes into Martin's prosecutorial conduct and have raised concerns about Martin's missing disclosures. They even requested a confirmation hearing for Martin – a rare step taken for US Attorney nominations. But a spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley told CNN that the senator does not intend to hold hearings on Martin's nomination.
CNN
28-04-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘A great friend': Audio undercuts Trump US attorney nominee's disavowal of alleged Nazi sympathizer
Ed Martin, the Trump-appointed interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia and nominee to serve in the role permanently, says he now regrets praising a Capitol rioter who is an alleged Nazi sympathizer — claiming he was unaware of the man's extremist views at the time. 'I denounce everything about what that guy said, everything about the way he talked, and all as I've now seen it,' Martin told The Forward, a Jewish publication, last week after previously calling the rioter, Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 'extraordinary.' 'At the time, I didn't know it,' Martin said. But a CNN KFile review of Martin's podcast shows he repeatedly praised Hale-Cusanelli in interviews with him, including two where they openly discussed — and dismissed — allegations that Hale held pro-Nazi views, including an infamous photo of Hale posing with a Hitler-style mustache. Martin hosted Hale-Cusanelli at least five times on podcasts in 2024, including his show 'The Pro-America Report with Ed Martin.' The interviews were conducted well after Hale's Nazi sympathies had been widely reported in media coverage and documented in court records. In the January 2024 episode, Martin and Hale-Cusanelli discussed how media coverage before his trial portrayed him as a far-right extremist and 'the reincarnation of the Führer.' Martin described the coverage as 'character assassination' and a 'caricature' of Hale. In the July 2024 episode, Martin explicitly referenced the infamous Hitler-style mustache photo and framed it as an attempt to smear Hale and other Trump supporters as antisemitic. 'Again, you know, not your best moment,' Martin told Hale-Cusanelli on air in July 2024, referring to the photo. 'But not illegal.' Martin repeatedly referred to Hale-Cusanelli as 'a great friend' and 'an amazing guy,' and said they had grown close after his release from prison. Martin's disavowal of Hale-Cusanelli's comments comes as he faces a tough confirmation battle to become DC's top prosecutor as Democrats try to stall the process and force Republicans to hold a hearing on his nomination. A bipartisan group of senators have submitted over 500 questions for Martin to respond to, Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley said at a committee meeting earlier this month. Among his own questions, Grassley asked Martin about Hale-Cusanelli, a source familiar with the process told CNN. Martin's status as acting US attorney expires on May 20, according to federal law, setting up a tight timeline for him to get confirmed by the Senate. A spokesperson for Martin declined to comment to CNN beyond the public apology when asked if Martin had discussed his ties to Hale-Cusanelli with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The spokesperson also pointed to Martin telling The Forward that he was 'unaware of the full scope of his repulsive behavior,' which, Martin said, is 'clearly far more serious than a singular act that, by itself, might look like a mistake.' Hale-Cusanelli, an Army reservist who previously worked as a security contractor at a Naval base, was convicted of breaching the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and sentenced to four years in prison in 2022. An internal Navy investigation uncovered numerous incidents in which Hale-Cusanelli promoted racist and antisemitic views. Colleagues told investigators Hale-Cusanelli made daily disparaging comments about Jews and one recalled Hale-Cusanelli saying, 'Hitler should have finished the job.' At his trial, Hale-Cusanelli denied that he is a white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer. He said that his comments were 'ironic' and a form of 'self-deprecating humor' he used with friends. 'I'm half Jewish and half Puerto Rican,' Hale-Cusanelli testified, telling jurors that his comments were meant to be ironic. 'I know it's offensive. I know it bothers a lot of people. I know it's repugnant.' Hale-Cusanelli was released from prison in late 2023 and spent the next year on a media blitz tour to discuss his incarceration, including appearing on Martin's podcast. 'Tim Hale is an extraordinary guy. I've gotten to know him really well. I'd say we're friends over the last few years, and especially in the last month since he's been out of jail,' Martin said when hosting Hale-Cusanelli in July 2024. On that program, Martin made clear he was aware of the Nazi allegations levied against Hale-Cusanelli, twice-bringing it up. 'The leaking of the photo where, you know, you resemble, uh, Hitler - or whatever - goofing around, whatever that is, that was done in such a way that you had to live with it everywhere you turned,' he said. 'They used your phone and took a photo and leaked a photo to say, 'Ah, look. These people, these people, MAGA people are antisemitic,'' Martin said. 'And the photo was of you, I've heard you say it before, you know, you had like a mustache shaved in such a way that you looked vaguely like Hitler and making jokes about it.' The photo was recovered from Hale-Cusanelli's cell phone and included in the initial criminal complaint filed by the Justice Department when it indicted Hale-Cusanelli in March 2021 – not in a leak like Martin claimed. Martin then asked Hale-Cusanelli if he had ever attended a Nazi rally. 'No, I have not,' Hale-Cusanelli responded. 'I wouldn't know where to find one.' The episode was the second time that Martin and Hale-Cusanelli discussed the allegations of Nazi sympathies. In the January appearance, Martin lamented that Hale-Cusanelli was 'tried in the media' and that he was a victim of 'character assassination' before he was on trial. 'l'll be the first one to admit, to admit that I haven't always been a great person throughout my life,' replied Hale-Cusanelli. 'I have a very dark sense of humor. And frankly, a wannabe actor, a comedian. And so, you know, I kind of dug my own grave to some extent when it comes to, you know, saying horrible things to get a few chuckles out of five people.' 'And ultimately they were able to portray me as a far-right extremist, they were able to portray me as basically the reincarnation of the Fuhrer. Unfortunately, that's – part of that is my fault. But, you know, at the end of the day, being a jerk is not a crime.' Martin's ties to Hale-Cusanelli have come under scrutiny as his nomination is considered by the Senate. A previous review by CNN's KFile found that Martin failed to report in his Senate paperwork nearly 200 media appearances he made over the past few years, many of which were on far-right programs and Russian-state media. The Washington Post reported that Martin failed to disclose more than 150 appearances on Russian state TV. The paperwork is reviewed by staffers and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to evaluate nominees. While it is common for nominees from either party to amend their paperwork, and Martin himself acknowledged that there 'may be other materials I have been unable to identify, find or remember,' Martin's initial disclosures failed to capture the vast majority of his media appearances over the years. 'I regret the errors and apologize for any inconvenience,' Martin wrote in one disclosure update he filed earlier in April. Congressional Democrats have sought probes into Martin's prosecutorial conduct and have raised concerns about Martin's missing disclosures. They even requested a confirmation hearing for Martin – a rare step taken for US Attorney nominations. But a spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley told CNN that the senator does not intend to hold hearings on Martin's nomination.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ed Martin's earlier praise for a Nazi sympathizer and Jan. 6 rioter draws fresh scrutiny
Though it hardly seemed possible for Ed Martin's record to become even more controversial, the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., suffered yet another setback two weeks ago: The Washington Post reported that the hyperpartisan Trump loyalist and former 'Stop the Steal' organizer appeared more than 150 times on media outlets run by the Russian government — a detail he initially failed to disclose to the Senate panel considering his nomination — where he offered commentary aligned with Kremlin talking points. Two days prior, a group of former Jan. 6 prosecutors and conservative attorneys, pointing to Martin's ridiculous antics, asked the Office of Disciplinary Counsel at the U.S. District Court of Appeals to investigate Martin, arguing that Trump's right-wing nominee — who has no prosecutorial experience — has a 'fundamental misunderstanding of the role of a federal prosecutor.' Common sense might suggest that the Republican lawyer would scale back his partisan and political behavior, if for no other reason than to improve his confirmation odds, but Martin has instead put his foot on the gas, adding Wikipedia and prominent medical journals to his increasingly bizarre list of targets. 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, '[I]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. Nevertheless, Martin told The Forward that he 'completely' denounces the 'terrible things' Hale said. Hale's lawyer, meanwhile, has said prosecutors have painted a 'misleading' picture of his client's record. 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. This post updates our related earlier coverage. This article was originally published on
Yomiuri Shimbun
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Video Casts Doubt on Ed Martin's Apology for Praising Nazi Sympathizer
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Timothy Hale-Cusanelli in a photo attached to a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. attorney for D.C. in 2021. Interim D.C. U.S. attorney Ed Martin apologized this week for praising a pardoned Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot defendant who supported Nazi ideology and photographed himself posing as Adolf Hitler, saying he didn't know about the man's extremist statements. But in videos and podcasts, Martin has defended the man since at least 2023, calling him a friend who was 'slurred and smeared' by antisemitism allegations. Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, 35, was one of the first Capitol riot defendants charged and one of the first to enter the building through a smashed window. Court filings outlined his history of alleged antisemitic statements, posts and affinity for Hitler. At the time, Martin was a conservative activist and a Jan. 6 'Stop the Steal' fundraiser and organizer. He defended riot defendants in court, on his podcasts and through a nonprofit led by Hale-Cusanelli's aunt. Now he's working as D.C.'s top prosecutor and is President Donald Trump's pick to remain in that role. Neither Martin's office nor a lawyer for Hale-Cusanelli commented Friday for this article, and Hale-Cusanelli did not respond to a request for comment. But in remarks published Thursday by the Forward, a Jewish publication, Martin apologized for praising Hale-Cusanelli as 'an extraordinary man, and extraordinary leader' while presenting him with an honorary award from Martin's nonprofit group on Aug. 14 at Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. 'I'm sorry,' Martin told the Forward. 'I denounce everything about what that guy said, everything about the way he talked, and all as I've now seen it … At the time, I didn't know it.' Six weeks before the awards ceremony, however, 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. 'In your case, they used your phone and took a photo and leaked a photo to say, 'Ah, look … MAGA people are antisemitic,'' Martin said. 'You had like a mustache shaved in such a way that you looked vaguely like Hitler and making jokes about it. Again, you know, not your best moment, but not illegal.' Martin added that he knew of the allegations against Hale-Cusanelli close to when he was charged on Jan. 15, 2021. 'When I think of this case, Tim, when it first was ongoing, I thought, wow, it's almost impossible to, to sort of recover from that.' Hale-Cusanelli defended himself, noting that his mother has some Jewish ancestry. 'I'm not an Aryan like the government would allege,' he told Martin. Hale-Cusanelli told the FBI he was not a Nazi or white supremacist. Martin in 2021 began serving as one of three top officers of a nonprofit led by Hale-Cusanelli's aunt, Cynthia Hughes, which advocated and raised money for people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, tax records show. Martin has told the Senate he stepped down early this year. He also spoke frequently with Hughes, hosting her on his podcast more than a dozen times since 2021. Martin's attempt to distance himself from Hale-Cusanelli came as Senate Democrats have attacked their relationship, demanding a hearing and floor votes to force GOP leaders to decide how much time and political capital to spend on the nomination. 'It is well-documented that Ed Martin is a Donald Trump loyalist who has embraced a Nazi sympathizer and attacked law enforcement who kept lawmakers and staff safe during the January 6 insurrection,' Sen. Dick Durbin (Illinois), the No. 2 Senate Democrat and the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement last week before his announcement Wednesday that he will not seek reelection. Durbin has said Martin's 'shocking conduct' regarding Hale-Cusanelli 'necessitates sworn testimony' before Martin's interim appointment expires May 20, and compounds questions about his prosecutorial 'temperament' that have been raised by his initial omission of hundreds of his appearances on far-right and Russia state media outlets from committee disclosure statements. Hale-Cusanelli, an Army reservist found guilty of misdemeanor trespassing and disorderly conduct in the Capitol riot, was described by prosecutors as subscribing to 'Nazi-sympathizer ideologies,' a central theme in court filings in his widely reported case. At the time of his arrest, he was a civilian security contractor at a naval weapons station in New Jersey, where all but 10 of 44 colleagues interviewed by Navy investigators described him as 'having extremist or radical views pertaining to the Jewish people, minorities and women,' and his phone contained many examples of antisemitic and racist content, according to a government court filing that March. One sailor told investigators that he heard Hale-Cusanelli say that if he were a Nazi, 'he would kill all the Jews and eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner,' according to a court filing. A search of his home turned up copies of Hitler's autobiography 'Mein Kampf' and 'The Turner Diaries,' an influential 1978 novel for right-wing extremists, among hundreds of books. 'Statements and actions like yours make [Jewish people] less safe and less confident they can participate as equal members of our society,' a federal judge appointed by Trump said at Hale-Cusanelli's sentencing hearing in September 2022. U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden kept the jury from hearing allegations of antisemitism but called Hale-Cusanelli's testimony that he didn't realize Congress sat in the Capitol building 'a risible lie.' Video evidence showed he was among the first rioters to enter the building through a smashed window and was part of a group that overwhelmed police in its lower-level crypt. Martin on his podcast defended Hale-Cusanelli, interviewing him several times between June 2022 and October 2024. Martin has said his guest was wrongly charged by prosecutors with a felony count of obstructing an official proceeding of Congress. He served nearly three years in prison before the Supreme Court overturned that count, leaving him guilty of only misdemeanors. He was among the nearly 1,600 Capitol riot defendants pardoned by Trump on Jan. 20. In the July podcast, Martin agreed when Hale-Cusanelli said he was a victim of a 'smear' campaign, and described him as a friend 'over the last few years.' Hale-Cusanelli went on later in the podcast to suggest that Jan. 6 was an attempted 'color revolution' by the U.S. military and 'a staged fake insurrection.' 'The truth is that those in law enforcement and military, such as the DOD, the DHS, what have you, they're probably the ones who were involved in orchestrating January 6th,' Hale-Cusanelli told Martin in a September episode. Martin responded by alluding to the mystery of who placed two pipe bombs on Capitol Hill before the riot. There are other signs that Martin has known of at least some of the allegations against Hale-Cusanelli. In podcasts in September 2023 and January 2024, Martin said Hale-Cusanelli was 'slurred and smeared.' The nonprofit Hughes Advocacy Foundation, for which Martin served as director under Hale-Cusanelli's aunt, has a Patriot Freedom Project website that raised money to support and defend Jan. 6 'political prisoners.' The site has a page dedicated to news about Hale-Cusanelli's case, including a July 2021 article headlined 'The Government's Case Against a 'White Supremacist,'' which argued that while his actions might not be the easiest to defend, they were not criminal. In the Forward article, Martin acknowledged that he should have known better than to honor Hale-Cusanelli. 'But,' he added, 'I certainly didn't know all the terrible things that he said and how he had acted. I think that's terrible, and I denounced it completely. I hate it. I hate that it happened.' Martin told the Forward he is advising Leo Terrell, head of a Trump Justice Department task force to combat antisemitism, and said he was behind the idea of visiting 10 universities for potential civil rights violations.
