Trumps Pardon Attorney Faces Backlash Over Photo With Russell Brand

“Good morning, America. How are ya’?” Martin captioned his photo with Brand, which he posted Monday on his official X account.

Brand, 50, who starred in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (2008) and whose voice appears in the animated “Despicable Me” series, has taken a rightward shift in recent years, leaning into conspiracy theories in his online content.

He was charged in the United Kingdom earlier this year with rape and sexual assault following an 18-month investigation into incidents that allegedly took place between 1999 and 2005. He pleaded not guilty in a London court.

Back in the U.S., Brand is facing a lawsuit filed in New York by a woman who accused him of assaulting her while filming “Arthur” in 2010. The suit is ongoing, according to court records, and Brand has denied the woman’s allegations.

Martin’s post on Monday received backlash on social media in light of the allegations against Brand and the Trump administration’s ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Neither Brand nor Martin immediately responded to questions from celebrity.land on how they came to meet.

Stacey Young, a former federal attorney who stepped down from the Department of Justice amid a series of resignations and firings during the early months of Trump’s second term, slammed Martin on LinkedIn, calling him a ‘failed D.C. U.S. Attorney nominee.’

Young’s remarks are in reference to Trump dropping Martin as his nominee for the post after Martin served as the interim U.S. attorney for D.C. for months. Martin bounced back into a new government position as pardon attorney and director of the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group in May.

Young also condemned the timing of Martin’s post, saying that it comes as the DOJ is canceling grants that would help sexual assault survivors and has left the victims of Jeffrey Epstein “as an afterthought.”

“Ed Martin’s post encapsulates the callousness, hypocrisy, and misogyny oozing from DOJ’s current leadership,” Young wrote.

Former Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer, who claimed she was fired in March after refusing to restore actor and Trump pal Mel Gibson’s gun rights, replied to Young’s post.

“It’s absolutely blowing my mind that this person sits in what was once my office and occupies my former job as Pardon Attorney!” Oyer said.