North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, outed himself Tuesday as a supporter of a weaponized Department of Justice when he explained to Capitol Hill reporters his lack of support for Ed Martin's nomination to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Because of his position on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tillis is in the position of quashing Martin's nomination before it even gets to the floor. Perhaps that's one reason he felt he really needed to let everyone know why he's opposed to even allowing the full Senate to vote on Martin's nomination.
🚨BREAKING🚨 GOP Senator Thom Tillis says he OPPOSES the nomination of Ed Martin for DC US Attorney.
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 6, 2025
“At this point I’ve indicated to the White House I wouldn't support his nomination.” pic.twitter.com/PqJOiJc4PO
“Most of my concerns relate to January 6,” Tillis told reporters. The Senator condescended to admit that Martin "had a point" that many January 6 defendants were overcharged or even charged under an inapplicable statute, but made clear that he believes the DOJ should have gone harder and charged many, many more people. (Be sure to read Bill Shipley's excellent article, "Who Was Responsible for Using an Inapplicable Felony Charge Against J6 Defendants?" on that point.)
Tillis said:
Where we probably have a difference is I think that anybody who breached the perimeter should have been imprisoned for some period of time - whether it’s 30 days or three years is debatable - but I have no tolerance for anybody who entered the building on January 6 and that’s probably where most of the friction was.”
As Charlie Kirk pointed out on X:
Tillis' logic is absurd. He ignores or forgets that many J6ers who entered the Capitol were waved in by Capitol Police. Many simply looked inside the building or took a selfie and left. Those people did NOT deserve to spend a day in prison.
Tillis' contempt for those who went to the Capitol on January 6 - the vast majority of whom were there to peacefully protest election fraud and to bring attention to the need for election integrity - is palpable, and despite being on the Senate Judiciary Committee he still labors under delusions about how it all started.
“We have to be very, very clear that what happened on Jan. 6 was wrong. It was not prompted or created by other people to put those people in trouble. They made a stupid decision and they disgraced the United States by absolutely destroying the Capitol."
Tillis also expressed disagreement with Trump's pardon of J6'ers, and said that if Martin were being nominated as U.S. Attorney for any other district except the one where the January 6 protests happened he would "probably" support the nomination. That is a nonsensical distinction. Either the man is qualified to be a U.S. Attorney - regardless of jurisdiction - or he's not. Tillis is attempting to enforce a litmus test on this nominee related to past events and the ability to punish political enemies, and that says a whole lot more about Tillis than it does Martin.
Perhaps Tillis would rather have someone like Merrick Garland in the position since Tillis voted to confirm Garland as Attorney General.
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