'Judge Jeanine' Pirro pushed election falsehoods. She's Trump's pick for D.C. prosecutor.
The top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. used her Fox News show to question the legitimacy of the 2020 election and became so outspoken that the network canceled one of her episodes out of fear for what she might say.
Jeanine Pirro, who hosted "Justice with Judge Jeanine" for 11 years, was one of eight prominent personalities on the network named in a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems that ended in a $787.5 million settlement. Many of Pirro's comments advanced the false theory that machines made by Dominion were being used to flip votes from Trump to Biden.
A 2022 report from conservative legal experts found that Trump's allies did not provide evidence of widespread election fraud, and judges threw out virtually all of Trump's cases based on lack of evidence.
Since May, she has been the acting U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., after President Donald Trump tapped her for the powerful post. The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to advance her nomination for permanent appointment July 17, and the Senate could confirm her as soon as this week.
While the U.S. attorney job doesn't generally involve election issues, the office led the prosecutions of Trump supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in effort to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election.
Democrats and other critics say Pirro's record of espousing debunked conspiracy theories make her unqualified for the position.
'I have serious concerns over somebody who was such a vocal proponent of these completely false election theories in 2020 taking over the office that was primarily responsible for prosecuting the perpetrators of a violent attack on the Capitol,' said Jonathan Diaz, the voting advocacy director for the left-leaning Campaign Legal Center.
Harrison Fields, a spokesperson for the White House, defended Pirro's qualifications. The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the U.S. attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
'Judge Jeanine, a highly respected and accomplished attorney and judge, is dedicated to President Trump's agenda to restore safety and justice in our nation's capital,' Fields said in a statement. 'Baseless, last-minute character assassination attempts are desperate and undermine the safety of D.C. residents and tourists who would benefit from her swift confirmation.'
Here's what to know about Pirro and her record of promoting baseless accusations of voting fraud.
Pirro's career as judge, district attorney
Pirro had a long career as a prosecutor in Westchester County, New York before becoming part of Trump's inner circle. She worked as an assistant district attorney for 15 years before being elected judge on the Westchester County Court. She later spent 12 years as the elected Westchester district attorney.
She was the first woman president of the New York District Attorneys Association, and she started the first domestic violence unit in a prosecutors office in the nation, according to her Justice Department bio.
For nearly two decades, Pirro largely has been known to Americans a television personality with a lawyer's punch and a New Yorker's bluntness. She hosted "Justice with Judge Jeanine" on Fox News and later joined the network's roundtable program "The Five."
Since the U.S. Attorney's office for D.C. also functions as the local prosecutor for the district, Pirro is leaning on her local prosecution record and emphasizing how she will help victims in the community.
'No more tolerance of hatred,' Pirro said after her swearing in at the White House. 'No more mercy for criminals. Violence will be addressed directly with the appropriate punishment. And this city again will become a shining city on a hill in an America that President Trump has promised to make great again and will make safe again.'
Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, said shortly before voting against her confirmation that this experience was not enough. Padilla noted she hasn't litigated in more than 20 years, is not admitted to the D.C. bar, and never practiced in a federal court before Trump appointed her.
'These are serious law enforcement jobs,' Padilla said of being U.S. attorney. 'They are not patronage positions to be handed out to the president's unqualified friends and allies as a thank you for their loyalty.'
Trump has appointed many other Fox News hosts to his administration, most notably Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Defense and Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Some of his judicial appointments have been criticized for their perceived lack of experience. Trump has also staffed top Justice Department positions with his former personal lawyers, sparking fears among Trump critics that the lawyers could place loyalty to Trump over neutrally enforcing the law.
'She may belong on Fox News, but she does not belong in a federal law enforcement role,' Padilla said of Pirro.
'Reckless maniac'
Pirro was one of the most outspoken critics of the 2020 election, and documents from the Dominion lawsuit show her skepticism started more than a month before Trump lost.
When a Fox News employee asked her Sept. 27, 2020 if she would accept the results of the election, the lawsuit says she responded, 'I will accept the results, but I reserve my right to challenge the massive fraud I am justifiably anticipating.'
The Dominion suit was settled just before opening arguments in the trial, with Fox News agreeing to pay the company $787.5 million.
A Fox News spokeswoman said in a statement that the network acknowledged the court's rulings that some Dominion statements were false, and that the settlement reflected the network's commitment to high journalistic standards.
By Nov. 7, 2020, the Saturday after the presidential election, executives were 'worried about her discussion conspiracy of theories' and canceled her show for that day. A few days later, a Fox producer emailed Pirro saying she would need to include statements from Dominion on her show, and then forwarded it to another person calling her a 'reckless maniac.'
Pirro cited a Hugo Chavez conspiracy theory
On Nov. 14, 2020, the day of her next scheduled show, the lawsuit says a Fox News producer received information from the network's internal research department debunking conspiracy theories about the Dominion machines. The lawsuit also says Pirro 'flashed Dominion's general denial on air for fifteen seconds.'
That night, she hosted Sidney Powell, another Trump-affiliated lawyer who aggressively challenged the legitimacy of the 2020 election results. Before introducing Powell to discuss 'what she has unearthed in the creation of Dominion," Pirro said: 'The Dominion software system has been tagged as one allegedly capable of flipping votes.''
Pirro discussed with Powell how she might 'get to the bottom of exactly what Dominion is, who started Dominion, how it can be manipulated if it is manipulated at all.'
Powell suggested Dominion machines were originally designed to alter votes for Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez, and that military intelligence officials should investigate the issue.
Pirro agreed about the investigation.
'Yes, and it — hopefully, the Department of Justice, but — but who knows anymore,' Pirro replied. 'Sidney Powell, good luck on your mission.'
On Nov. 21, 2020, during a segment she would refer to as her opening statement, Pirro described the case that Trump's lawyers were laying out: 'An organized criminal enterprise, a conspiracy by Democrats, especially in cities controlled and corrupted by Democrats,' and 'a company called Dominion which they say started in Venezuela with Cuban money and with the assistance of Smartmatic software' in which 'a back door is capable of flipping votes.'
Democrats objected to her nomination
The Senate Judiciary Committee did not hold a confirmation hearing on Pirro's nomination, but the committee's Republicans voted to advance her nomination on July 17. Democrats spent a few minutes before the vote criticizing Pirro.
Sen Maizie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii said: 'Like all of president Trump's nominees, she has demonstrated unwavering loyalty to him, and if confirmed, we can expect that she will misuse the U.S. attorney's office to go after President Trump's political enemies.'
Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said when he met with Pirro personally she refused to answer whether it was appropriate to terminate prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office for their work on the Jan. 6 prosecutions.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa who chairs the committee, entered a letter of recommendation into the record from the National Fraternal Order of Police that he quoted as saying Pirro is 'widely praised in her work prosecuting domestic abusers, sexual abusers, stalkers, and rapists.'
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