President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Judge Jeanine Pirro, best known for her role as a Fox News commentator, had been tapped to serve as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, one of the most influential prosecutorial positions in the country.
The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia is uniquely influential, as the post entails oversight of both federal and local D.C. code. It handles cases ranging from homicide to political corruption to federal fraud violations.
Trump cited Pirro’s extensive legal background in his post announcing her nomination.
“Jeanine was Assistant District Attorney for Westchester County, New York, and then went on to serve as County Judge, and District Attorney, where she was the first woman ever to be elected to those positions. During her time in office, Jeanine was a powerful crusader for victims of crime. Her establishment of the Domestic Violence Bureau in her Prosecutor’s Office was the first in the Nation.”
“She excelled in all ways,” Trump said.
Pirro previously hosted the show “Justice with Judge Jeanine” on Fox News for ten years. She is currently a co-host of “The Five,” also on Fox News.
She’s become known for her tough-on-crime attitude toward law enforcement, often speaking critically of policies on violent crime, which aligns with Trump’s plans to reduce crime in the nation’s capital.
If confirmed by the Senate, Pirro would instantly become one of the most powerful and important prosecutors in the country, rivaled only by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which includes Manhattan.
It remains to be seen whether the Senate will be more amenable to Pirro’s nomination than they were to Martin’s.
Without Senate confirmation, the choice of a permanent replacement will fall to a panel of federal judges on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, led by Chief Judge James Boasberg.
Tillis tied this opposition to Martin’s legal work and advocacy related to Jan. 6 defendants arrested under President Joe Biden’s administration.
Martin, known for representing defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, defended his past advocacy in a meeting with Tillis on Monday evening. While the senator said Martin “did a good job” of explaining that some individuals were “over prosecuted,” he said “there were some—two or three hundred of them—that should have never gotten a pardon.”
The senator said he believes that anyone who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, should serve prison time.
“Whether it’s 30 days or three years is debatable,” he said, “but I have no tolerance for anybody who entered the building—and that’s probably where most of the friction was.”
In lieu of the position, Trump announced that he would be appointing Martin to several roles at the Department of Justice where he would oversee investigations into alleged weaponization of law enforcement against conservatives under the Biden administration.
“In these highly important roles, Ed will make sure we finally investigate the Weaponization of our Government under the Biden Regime, and provide much needed Justice for its victims. Congratulations Ed!”
