THE NEWS

Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times,

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.

“I am pleased to announce that Judge Jeanine Pirro will be appointed interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. 

“Jeanine is incredibly well qualified for this position, and is considered one of the Top District Attorneys in the History of the State of New York. She is in a class by herself. Congratulations Jeanine!”

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.

The announcement came after Trump withdrew the nomination of his previous pick for the job, attorney Ed Martin. That decision came after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced he wouldn’t support Martin’s confirmation, making it unlikely he could be approved by the Senate.

The announcement came after Trump withdrew the nomination of his previous pick for the job, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin, due to insurmountable opposition in the Senate. Appointed in January, Martin’s term in the role expires on May 20, and he would need Senate confirmation by then to take up the post in a full capacity.

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.

“If Mr. Martin were being put forward for any district except the district where Jan. 6 happened—the protest happened, I’d probably support him, but not in this district,” Tillis told reporters on Tuesday.

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.

“Ed Martin has done an AMAZING job as interim U.S. Attorney, and will be moving to the Department of Justice as the new Director of the Weaponization Working Group, Associate Deputy Attorney General, and Pardon Attorney,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“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!”