Ed Martin’s extensive appearances on Russian state media raise concerns about his judgment and suitability as U.S. Attorney for D.C. amid concerns about RT Russian influence operations. On April 16, 2025, The Washington Post reported that Trump’s pick for U.S. Attorney for D.C. appeared on Russian state television RT over 150 times, often echoing Kremlin talking points. The article begins:
Hours before President Donald Trump announced U.S. missile strikes on Syria in response to a chemical attack that killed 90 civilians in April 2017, Ed Martin said on the Russian state television network RT America that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad might not be to blame. Instead, Martin told viewers, the situation was “engineered” in Washington “by the people that want war in Syria.” In early 2022, Martin told an interviewer on the same arm of RT’s global network that “there’s no evidence” of a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s borders, criticizing U.S. officials as warmongering and ignoring Russia’s security concerns. Russia invaded nine days later, igniting a war that continues today. Martin is now interim U.S. attorney for D.C. and Trump’s pick to serve full time in the role. But as a conservative activist and former Missouri Republican official, he appeared more than 150 times on RT and Sputnik — networks funded and directed by the Russian government — as a guest commentator from August 2016 to April 2024, according to a search of their websites and the Internet Archive’s database of television broadcasts.
Key Points
- Martin failed to disclose these appearances on his Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire despite appearing on Russian state media more frequently than major cable networks.
- National security analysts criticize Martin for amplifying anti-American propaganda on platforms that U.S. authorities have identified as engaging in covert influence operations.
- As interim U.S. Attorney, Martin would oversee an office that had previously prosecuted cases related to Russian influence efforts, including those against Trump allies Roger Stone and Michael Flynn.
- Martin has frequently aligned with Russian geopolitical views, including questioning the Ukraine invasion and suggesting closer U.S.-Russia cooperation.
RT Russian Influence Operations
RT (formerly Russia Today) stands at the heart of Russian influence operations, serving as a primary vehicle for the Kremlin’s global disinformation campaigns. GIOR Investigations reveal that RT’s international expansion, including new offices in Serbia, is closely coordinated with Russian state interests, providing a platform to amplify pro-Kremlin narratives and undermine Western institutions. Intelligence agencies across Europe have repeatedly warned about RT’s role in election interference and disinformation efforts, as seen in Germany and Moldova, where RT-backed networks have been implicated in attempts to sway public opinion and destabilize democratic processes. RT’s strategy relies on leveraging Western voices and controversial figures to legitimize Kremlin talking points, saturating social media and traditional outlets with misleading content that exploits existing societal divisions. This approach, often described as the “firehose of falsehood,” enables RT to inject propaganda into mainstream discourse, making it a persistent and adaptive threat to information integrity across democratic societies.
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Disclaimer:
The Global Influence Operations Report (GIOR) employs AI throughout the posting process, including generating summaries of news items, the introduction, key points, and often the “context” section. We recommend verifying all information before use. Additionally, images are AI-generated and intended solely for illustrative purposes. While they represent the events or individuals discussed, they should not be interpreted as real-world photography.
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