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CBS News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
After Jeanine Pirro picked to replace Edward Martin, a potential pivotal change looms for Justice Department post in Washington
The collapse of the nomination of Edward Martin as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia — and the surprise announcement of FOX News personality Jeanine Pirro as his replacement — has triggered a unique and mixed wave of reaction from former prosecutors, President Trump's critics and people involved in the U.S. Capitol riot prosecutions. The selection of Pirro, an ardent loyalist of Mr. Trump and a cable news fixture who spread claims of a rigged 2020 election, has triggered a wave of criticism from some Democrats. But the implosion of Martin's nomination for the top D.C. prosecutor post has drawn celebratory statements from Mr. Trump's other critics and potentially softened some of the backlash against the choice of Pirro. Martin, a "Stop the Steal" advocate and MAGA political activist, was among the crowd outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He defended Capitol riot cases, including the case of an accused Nazi-sympathizer, and made frequent appearances on Russian-linked media outlets and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's program. Named acting U.S. Attorney on Inauguration Day 2025 by Mr. Trump, Martin promptly fired prosecutors who handled some of the Jan. 6 criminal cases. In the weeks before it became clear his confirmation was blocked by at least one Republican Senator, Martin frequently posted on social media, including one X post in which he controversially referred to U.S. Attorneys as "Trump's lawyers." "Ed Martin's appointment was about rewriting the history of January 6, so having him specifically gone is a huge step forward, even if he's replaced by another TV lawyer," said Brendan Ballou, a former Justice Department attorney who handled Jan. 6 criminal cases. Ballou, who a year ago was immersed in the Capitol riot case of a group from Lakeland, Florida, who'd gone on the run from authorities shortly after their charges were filed, told CBS News that Martin is better suited for a position where, instead, "He can just tweet." Ballou resigned from his position shortly after Martin was named acting U.S. Attorney in January. As for Martin's would-be successor, Pirro — who is a former judge and prosecutor — Ballou said, "I think these TV lawyers will struggle to get the respect of the judges." Although Congressional Democrats issued waves of statements and comments criticizing Martin, the response to Pirro's selection was more muted in its first 48 hours. Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who led opposition against Martin's nomination, responded tersely to Pirro's selection, posting on social media, "Because the other Fox News host in this administration is doing such a stellar job." Judge Jeanine Pirro in New York City. / Getty Images One former assistant U.S. Attorney who worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia told CBS News there were no immediate red flags about Pirro that compared to concerns about Martin. Another former assistant U.S. Attorney said Pirro would have to shift from her provocative TV pronouncements to abide by the Justice Department's tradition of not "tarnishing someone's name in public until we can prove it in court beyond a reasonable doubt, they committed a crime. Yet on her show, Pirro has time and time again amplified truly wild conspiracy theories." Sen. Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican who publicly declared his opposition to Martin's nomination, promptly posted a statement of support for Pirro, an indication that GOP opposition might be non-existent for her service as U.S. Attorney. Michael Caputo, an aide to Martin, told CBS News, "Many of us are angry that Senator Tillis broke faith with President Trump, but Jeanine Pirro is a tremendous pick as successor to Ed Martin. I'm also excited for Ed's next role with the Justice Department. I'm definitely buying more popcorn." Martin will instead be assigned to a Justice Department task force and will serve as a pardon attorney. Edward Martin in Washington, DC, on March 25, 2025. Photo by Valerie Plesch/For The Washington Post via Getty The U.S. Attorney for Washington D.C. has a unique portfolio, including federal corruption cases, high-profile defendants and a large set of local criminal prosecutions in the D.C. Superior Court. Pirro will be handling a distinctively broad set of cases, ranging from government fraud to local burglaries and domestic violence. In the days after the announcement, the response to Pirro's nomination fell along party lines. Patrick Mara, a Republican party leader in Washington, D.C., told CBS News: "I am optimistic on her nomination and hope she uses her prosecutorial experience to the fullest extend to crackdown on violent crime in D.C." "We look forward to working with her on this. The D.C. Council has created an environment where violent crime is able to flourish," Mara said. Rep. Glenn Ivey, a Maryland Democrat who once served as a federal prosecutor, told CBS News that the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia is a very important posting. "From local violent crimes and community intervention programs to national security matters and the January 6th insurrectionists, this prosecutor's job needs serious courtroom skills, managerial experience and sound judgement not just looking good on a TV talk show, salacious soundbite or worse yet – uttering of outright falsehoods on voting machines or other issues important to the American people," he said. For Jan. 6 victims and police responders, the collapse of Martin's nomination outweighed concerns about Pirro. "I'm glad that Mr. Martin won't be serving the people of Washington, D.C," Harry Dunn, a former Capitol Police officer who testified at a public hearing of the Jan. 6 Select Committee, told CBS News. "For him to even have been nominated is disgusting considering how he feels about January 6th." Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who was a member of the Jan. 6 committee, was critical of Martin, but also has blasted the selection of Pirro. "The U.S. Attorney in D.C. should have unquestioned commitment to justice, public integrity and the truth," he said. "Jeanine Pirro has used her platform at Fox News to promote dangerous conspiracy theories and to traffic in election lies so outlandish they landed her network in court and cost it hundreds of millions of dollars. America deserves a serious public lawyer of the highest scruples, not another election-denying Fox Corporation propagandist." The Justice Department did respond to requests for information about the timing of a transition from Martin to Pirro at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump names Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as D.C.'s top federal prosecutor
MSNBC's Chris Hayes reports on the news that Trump is appointing Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.— replacing Ed Martin, a "stop the steal" organizer closely aligned with Jan. 6 defendants, as his nominee. Trump mentioned Pirro's prior roles as a prosecutor and judge, and that she was "currently Co-Host of The Five, one of the Highest Rated Shows on Television."
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Thom Tillis' opposition ends Ed Martin's nomination. Trump to pick new nominee
Sen. Thom Tillis' opposition quashed President Donald Trump's nomination of Ed Martin to serve as Washington's top prosecutor. Trump said Thursday he would announce another candidate for the role in the next 48 hours and find something else for Martin to do within the administration. 'He's a terrific person and he wasn't getting the support from people I thought,' Trump said, adding that crime is down in the District of Columbia. 'To me it was disappointing. I'll be honest. I have to be straight. I was disappointed. A lot of people were disappointed, but that's the way it works sometimes.' Trump added that Martin 'wasn't rejected.' Martin currently serves as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. His term expires after 120 days — May 20 — and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary had not so far scheduled a hearing to take up Trump's nomination of Martin for a permanent role. Tillis, a Republican from Huntersville, serves on the committee, which needed to vote on Martin's nomination before it moved to the Senate floor for a vote of the full chamber. And Martin could not lose a single Republican in order to be move forward. Tillis told reporters Monday he called the White House to let the president know he could not support Martin. Tillis' opposition of Martin stemmed from Martin's actions surrounding the defendants in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Martin was an organizer of the Stop the Steal movement, which promoted the false belief that President Joe Biden lost the election. That belief eventually helped lead to people storming the Capitol as they tried to stop the election certification and called for the deaths of several politicians. When Martin took his post in Washington following Trump's inauguration, he immediately dismissed pending Jan. 6 cases and dismissed staff who worked on the prosecutions. Tillis said he opposed Martin because Congress needed to be clear that what happened on that day 'was wrong.' This was the first time during Trump's second term that Tillis went against a Trump nominee. 'I'm very disappointed in that,' Trump said from the Oval Office on Thursday, as he announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom. 'I have so many things I'm doing now with the trade. I'm one person. Boom. I can only lift that little phone so many times in a day.' It's not clear who Trump plans to appoint now. 'We have somebody else that will be great,' he teased. He added that 'Ed is unbelievable.' 'Hopefully we can bring him into, whether it's DOJ or whatever, in some capacity because he's really outstanding,' Trump said. There are many roles within the administration that can be filled without Senate approval.
CBS News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Trump suggests he will replace controversial U.S. attorney pick Ed Martin
Washington — President Trump said Thursday he will announce a replacement for interim U.S. attorney Ed Martin, his controversial pick to be the top prosecutor in the District of Columbia. Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Martin appeared to lack enough support in the Senate needed for confirmation and he hoped to find another place for him at the Justice Department. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said Tuesday that he would not vote to advance Martin's nomination to the full Senate. "I was disappointed. A lot of people were disappointed, but that's the way it works sometimes," Mr. Trump said. "He wasn't rejected, but we felt it would be very, it would be hard. And we have somebody else that we'll be announcing over the next two days who's going to be great." Martin, a "Stop the Steal" activist, was appointed to the post on an interim basis and can serve until May 20. This is a developing story and will be updated.
