That fall & winter, #EdMartin also spoke about #Ukraine. In a flurry of 14 spots over a 5-wk span in 2022 before #Russia’s invasion, Martin criticized what he cast as the drumbeat for war by interventionist Americans & repeated that #NATO should rule out Ukrainian membership, a key Russia demand.
In Oct 2021, Martin on his podcast & on Twitter promoted #RT; Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief of RT & #Sputnik; & an RT host over US authorities & social & traditional media.
#law #NationalSecurity

…#EdMartin’s …appearances on #RT surged again in 2021, when he did roughly 60 spots, compared w/ 50 over the prior 4½ years. He was often asked about #Jan6, 2021, Capitol riot prosecutions, 3 of whose defendants HE REPRESENTED, & mounting federal & state investigations of #Trump, which he strongly & repeatedly criticized.

…last Sept #US authorities charged 2 #RT employees w/ allegedly funneling $10M to bankroll *unknowing* pro-#Trump #influencers to publish thousands of videos that pushed #Kremlin #propaganda. Dual Russian-American citizens Dimitri Simes & his wife, Anastasia, were charged w/ violating economic sanctions, in part for his paid work for another #Russia state television network.…

…AG #PamBondi shut down the #FBI task force investigating #ForeignInfluence….

#EdMartin has been a prolific user of social & other media to defend #Trump & his policies. His presence on #Russia #StateMedia puts a twist on Trump’s frequent tapping of TV personalities to stock his 2nd admin.

Martin appeared as a panelist or commentator on more than a dozen #RT or #Sputnik programs beginning in Aug 2016, often introduced as a #Republican strategist….

“We want to use these terms carefully, but this is a kind of #ForeignInfluence,” FilterLabsAI founder & CEO Jonathan Teubner said, adding that #RT is cultivating relationships w/American #conservative #influencers & micro-influencers as #Trump emerges as a leading figure in a #global wave of hard-line conservative #populism, inspiring #nationalist parties in #Europe & elsewhere.

…#RT & #Sputnik relied on #EdMartin to explain #America in terms that…match the perspective of the #Kremlin, mostly to its international audiences, acc/to FilterLabsAI, a firm that analyzes #socialmedia, #state-run #news organizations & other internet postings to track public sentiment in #Russia. Those audiences were in the #US & in “hinge countries” in Central #Europe such as #Poland & #Hungary, & Martin had minimal exposure within Russia except for his criticism of US support for #Ukraine….

…#Trump risks abandoning leadership of a liberal democratic order that spreads American values & global prosperity, siding instead w/ #autocratic #strongman govts.

#EdMartin advocated greater #US - #Russia cooperation before Trump’s 1st meeting as pres w/ #Putin, in Germany in July 2017, saying on #RT that he expected Trump to come away w/ “some affinity w/Putin.” He struck the same note just after the #Ukraine invasion, as the US imposed sanctions on Putin personally.

…Since 2017 & 2018, the #DOJ [under #Trump 1.0] has required #RT & #Sputnik to register as #ForeignAgents, reflecting #Russian government control over their operations. 5 months after #EdMartin’s final appearance last April, the #UnitedStates, #Canada & #Britain announced new sanctions on RT & several employees meant to cripple funding for… #disinformation operations around the world.

Fmr US #NationalSecurity ofcls & analysts said #EdMartin’s #RT & #Sputnik appearances, & his failure to disclose them, raise questions about his judgment & candor. The #DC #USAttorney’s office is the largest in the country & has wide jurisdiction to prosecute important national security offenses. Its leader should be alert to the threats & risks posed by #Russia & other #influence operations from overseas, such as the ones the office has prosecuted in recent years….

#EdMartin did not disclose the appearances last month on a #Senate #Judiciary Cmte questionnaire, which asks nominees to list all media interviews. Analysis of television archives suggests he went on #RT & #Sputnik more often than on any major cable network during that span.

But as a *conservative* activist & fmr #Missouri Republican ofcl, #EdMartin appeared >150 times on #RT & #Sputnik — networks funded & directed by the Russian govt — as a guest commentator from August 2016 to April 2024, acc/to a search of their websites & the #InternetArchive’s database of TV broadcasts.

In early 2022, #EdMartin 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 US officials as warmongering & ignoring #Russia’s security concerns. Russia invaded 9 days later, igniting a war that continues today.

Martin is now interim #USAttorney for #DC & #Trump’s pick to serve full time in the role.

Hours before #Trump announced US 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.”