WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia reached out to Elon Musk on the tech billionaire’s X platform this week, telling him federal prosecutors were at his service should workers at his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) face any threats.
“Dear @elon, Please see this important letter,” Ed Martin wrote Monday. “We will not tolerate threats against DOGE workers or law-breaking by the disgruntled.”
In the attached letter, Martin wrote that it was “good to work with the DOGE team” over the weekend, and he asked Musk to “utilize me and my staff to assist in protecting the DOGE work and the DOGE workers.”
The offer by a top Justice Department official to protect a specific group of government employees — political appointees who, along with Musk, have thrown federal agencies into turmoil — was notable, in part because of his silence as another group of federal workers is also being targeted.
Martin has so far indicated no plans to investigate a conservative research opposition group that appears to be behind the website “DEI Watch List,” which has published the names and photos of federal health workers involved in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — at one point describing them as “targets.”
Martin declined to comment on the “DEI watch list” through the U.S. attorney’s office.
Inside the Justice Department, the public letter to Musk sparked what one official described as “second-hand embarrassment” over what they saw as an overly fawning public message that was inappropriate for someone in the role of acting U.S. attorney.
“The creation of this so-called ‘DEI watch list’ — a public database targeting Black individuals and others involved in DEI efforts — is nothing short of reprehensible,” one former federal prosecutor who worked Jan. 6 cases wrote to NBC News. “This is a blatant attempt to intimidate, silence, and endanger our federal health care workers. The creation of this list is not only morally indefensible but poses serious threats to the safety of these health care workers.”
The person said that Martin should take “prompt action to pursue any and all legal action against those who have made threats against these people,” and echoed the language of his DOGE letter.
“As Mr. Martin is aware, any threats, confrontations, or other actions in any way that impact these employees’ work may break numerous laws,” they said.
A note at the bottom of the website “DEI Watch List” says it’s a project of the American Accountability Foundation. The website terrified federal health workers Tuesday as it began to circulate among private group chats as well as on social media. It lists mostly Black employees who work in agencies primarily within the Department of Health and Human Services.
HHS houses several agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health.
The site published workers’ names and photos. It also described what it called “DEI offenses,” including political donations, screenshots of social media posts or being part of DEI initiatives.
A government worker whose name was on the list said they were concerned about their safety.
“I don’t know what the intention of the list is for,” the person said. “It’s just kind of a scary place to be.”
The American Accountability Foundation did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The conservative group is based in Washington, D.C., according to the group’s X account. It’s unclear whether the group would be subject to Virginia’s and Maryland’s racial intimidation laws, where many federal health workers live and work. According to Maryland’s attorney general’s office, discrimination in the workplace, as well as cyberbullying and intimidation online, is prohibited by state law.
In December, the group sent a list of names to Pete Hegseth, then Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, of people in the military whom it deemed too focused on DEI, according to the New York Post.
Meanwhile, inside the Justice Department, employees are anxious about what moves Martin may take next and wondering if he plans to pursue federal prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases.
A Justice Department official said they believed that Martin was too “busy hunting down enemies of the president” to look at whether the DEI targeting list could pose a threat.
Martin’s arrival at the Justice Department has been exasperating for many within federal law enforcement because of his involvement in pushing the baseless claim that Trump won the 2020 election.
Martin was a “stop the steal” organizer who gave a speech at the Capitol on Jan. 5, 2021, calling on “die-hard true Americans” to fight until their “last breath” to “stop the steal,” and then worked as an advocate for Jan. 6 defendants while spreading conspiracy theories about the Capitol attack itself.
