'Amateur hour': Trump official blasted over 'stunt' outside New York AG’s home

Ed Martin, President Donald Trump’s Justice Department “weaponization chief” called for the resignation of New York Attorney General Letitia James and posed for photos outside of her Brooklyn home last week – while conducting investigations into her conduct.

James’ office brought successful civil fraud charges against Trump, his adult sons, and the Trump Organization, resulting in a half-billion-dollar judgment last year.

CNN reports former prosecutor Elie Honig blasted the photo op as working against prosecutors’ case against James.

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“This is amateur hour,” Honig told CNN. “Ed Martin has never been a prosecutor at any level until he got his current high-ranking job with DOJ a few months ago and it shows. What he has done here is completely inappropriate. To do a stunt like this to create a public spectacle, a photo op at the home of a person who has not been charged, not been convicted of anything, is under investigation, it violates DOJ policy. It violates every prosecutorial ethic.”

Honig pointed out that he was also critical of James when she publicly grandstanded about civil charges against Trump.

CNN reports James's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said Martin’s behavior went “outside the bounds of DOJ and ethics rules" and that the “stunt” could actually help James.

“It's something that her lawyers could use to argue if there ever is an indictment, that this was selective prosecution that was politically motivated and that it potentially could taint the jury pool,” said CNN reporter Kara Scannell.

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Honig pointed out that Martin admitted to being OK with “shaming” people, even if there are no charges.

“God help us if that was the job of prosecutors,” Honig said. “You are not in the public shaming business. … In every case you do, you will find information that may be damaging or embarrassing about other people. If you charge them, fine. Put it in your indictment, back it up in court. But if you don't charge them, it is not your job at all — it is the opposite of the job of the prosecutor — to engage in public shaming or photo ops. Ed Martin is just 180 degrees wrong here.”

"Maybe Ed Martin's getting a couple social media posts out of this now, but he's going to regret this,” Honig said.

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