Democracy Dies in Darkness

U.S. attorney hints at prosecutions over ‘targeting’ of DOGE employees

In an unusual public statement, the interim U.S. attorney said he had found evidence that people had apparently violated the law in ‘targeting’ DOGE employees.

Updated

February 3, 2025 at 7:45 p.m. ESTtoday at 7:45 p.m. EST

6 min

Security personnel stand at a checkpoint in the lobby of the U.S. Agency for International Development building in Washington on Monday. (Shawn Thew/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

By Spencer S. Hsu

and

Patrick Marley

Interim D.C. U.S. attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. alleged in a statement Monday that his office had found evidence that people “committed acts that appear to violate the law in targeting” employees of Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” — an unusual statement that came without any public criminal charges.

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Hours after making public a letter he wrote to Musk saying the U.S. attorney’s office would “pursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people,” Martin posted on X that his “initial review of the evidence” had found wrongdoing and hinted that he planned to take legal action.

By Spencer S. Hsu

Spencer S. Hsu is an investigative reporter, two-time Pulitzer finalist and national Emmy Award nominee. Hsu has covered homeland security, immigration, Virginia politics and Congress.@hsu_spencer

By Patrick Marley

Patrick Marley writes about voting issues in the Upper Midwest for The Washington Post. He previously covered the Wisconsin Capitol for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.@patrickdmarley

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