The Weaponization Working Group: institutionalizing the enemies-list function inside DOJ

Editor's note: the Attorney General's own memorandum directs the group at the prosecutors and agents who investigated the president.

Hours after being sworn in as Attorney General, Pam Bondi signed a memo on February 5, 2025 creating a DOJ 'Weaponization Working Group,' to be led by the Office of the Attorney General and tasked with reviewing prior investigations touching Trump and, per Martin's own public statements, to 'name' and publicly 'shame' individuals it could not charge. Ed Martin, a Jan 6 defense advocate who had himself repeated false 2020 election-fraud claims, was named to lead it in May 2025.

The group is the organizing structure behind several individual cases in this bucket: Martin was also the Pardon Attorney (PRG-10), and as Weaponization Working Group director was assigned the Schiff investigation (WLE-06). On September 20, 2025, Trump posted a message to Bondi quoting complaints of 'all talk, no action. Nothing is being done,' and saying nothing was going to be done about Comey, Schiff and Letitia James.

Martin was removed from the group's leadership in early February 2026 with no public explanation, and department leaders pressed the group to deliver results within weeks; the group's current leadership was not identified in available reporting as of the write-up date.