How Jeanine Pirro became a central figure in Trump’s D.C. takeover

Geoff Bennett:

In President Trump's continued push for greater control over Washington, D.C., he's relying more on his friend and former FOX News host Jeanine Pirro. She's the new U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

And, as William Brangham reports, she brings her outspoken, controversial style to one of the top law enforcement jobs in the nation's capital.

Jeanine Pirro, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia: No more tolerance of hatred. No more mercy for criminals.

William Brangham:

She's often one of the loudest voices in the room.

Jeanine Pirro:

I see too much violent crime being committed by young punks who think that they can get together in gangs and crews and beat the hell out of you or anyone else.

William Brangham:

Jeanine Pirro, the former FOX News commentator, has emerged as one of the central figures in the federal takeover of Washington, D.C.'s law enforcement.

Donald Trump, President of the United States: Today, we're honored to swear in Jeanine Pirro, somebody I have known for a long time, and she's an incredible person.

William Brangham:

A close friend of the president, Pirro was appointed the city's interim U.S. attorney in May after Trump was forced to withdraw Ed Martin, his first choice for the job, after pressure from Senate Republicans. Pirro was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in August.

Glenn Thrush, The New York Times:

She is unique.

William Brangham:

Glenn Thrush of The New York Times has covered Pirro for years.

Glenn Thrush:

Pirro, unlike a lot of these other folks, has had a 30-, 35-year history with Trump. She comes from a time and a place where he is from, New York in the '80s and '90s. I was there too. And there's not much of a learning curve.

MAN:

The Honorable Judge Jeanine Pirro presiding.

William Brangham:

Pirro first rose to national fame as a TV judge…

Jeanine Pirro:

The Washington, D.C., swamp.

William Brangham:

… and then on FOX News as a political commentator known for her blunt talk.

Jeanine Pirro:

We need to kill them. We need to kill them.

William Brangham:

She vigorously attacked Democrats like Hillary Clinton.

Jeanine Pirro:

The woman's either had a lobotomy or she's been out in the woods too long.

William Brangham:

President Joe Biden.

Jeanine Pirro:

You might as well put the president on a milk carton, because Joe Biden is nowhere to be found.

William Brangham:

And President Obama's Justice Department.

Jeanine Pirro:

The stench coming out of the Justice Department and the FBI is like that of a Third World country, where money and bullies and clubs decide elections.

William Brangham:

Her in-your-face demeanor earned her a legion of adoring conservative fans and a skewering on "Saturday Night Live."

Actor:

Judge Jeanine, I have not seen you in a while.

Actress:

Oh, I'm still here.

(Laughter)

Actress:

My show on FOX is on every Saturday at 9:00, a full hour before the nursing homes turn off the TV in the lobby.

William Brangham:

But Pirro's rhetoric has also gotten her in trouble.

Jeanine Pirro:

Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law?

William Brangham:

In 2019, Pirro was suspended by FOX after she suggested the Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar's wearing of a hijab was un-American and her repeated promotion of groundless conspiracy theories about the 2020 campaign.

Jeanine Pirro:

The president's lawyers alleging a company called Dominion, which they say started in Venezuela with Cuban money and with the assistance of Smartmatic software, a backdoor is capable of flipping votes.

William Brangham:

Comments like that are why she was one of the defendants in the successful defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against FOX News, which the network settled for $787 million in 2023.

Glenn Thrush:

Jeanine Pirro was informed multiple times, according to the Dominion affidavit, that things she was saying on the air were not supported by fact. FOX had an in-house fact-checking organization that was in contact with Pirro's producer and the producer was in touch with Pirro. She was armed with the information, which we should call the truth, and she chose to go on the air and spout falsehoods in support of Trump.

William Brangham:

Pirro's deposition in another lawsuit, one brought by a different voting machine company, showed Pirro acknowledging that, contrary to what she said on air, she knew the 2020 election was free and fair.

But long before television, Pirro had a legal career, first as a prosecutor and then New York county judge. In 1983, she was elected district attorney for Westchester County after running as a moderate Republican. She was beloved by the tabloids and cable TV for her quotability. In 2006, she lost a bid to be New York state attorney general.

Glenn Thrush:

She was a serious prosecutor, viewed as an effective and serious prosecutor, who began her career at a time when prosecutions for domestic violence and sexual abuse against women and children were not prioritized. She was a real pioneer in that.

Jeanine Pirro:

And on May 22…

William Brangham:

As the new U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Pirro has moved quickly to beef up her office…

Jeanine Pirro:

If you want a job in the nation's capital, in the premier office, the largest U.S. attorney's office, contact me.

William Brangham:

… and immediately implement Trump's law and order campaign. She ordered her prosecutors to seek the maximum possible criminal charges for anyone arrested in D.C. and has repeatedly called for changes to local laws she says are too lenient on juvenile offenders.

Jeanine Pirro:

And I want to send a message that we are going to catch you, that we are going to change the laws, that if you're 14, 15, 16, 17, we're going to bring you into the justice system.

William Brangham:

She's also embraced social media in her new job.

Jeanine Pirro:

So it is a coordinated effort. We are in full throttle right now trying to make the District safe.

William Brangham:

But it hasn't all been successful for Pirro. D.C. grand juries, seemingly angry at the federal takeover of their city, have refused to approve charges against some defendants, including Sean Dunn, the man who became a symbol of the anti-Trump resistance when he threw a sandwich at a federal agent in the nation's capital.

Jeanine Pirro:

And we're going to back the police to the hilt. So, there, stick your Subway sandwich somewhere else.

William Brangham:

So why did she leave a multimillion-dollar TV job to come back to government?

Glenn Thrush:

I think there are two reasons why she's back in the game. First, Trump needed her. But I think — on another level, I think she wants to have circularity in her career. She began as a serious prosecutor. And I think, kind of confounding the caricature of her, she perhaps wants to conclude her career doing the same thing.

William Brangham:

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm William Brangham.