Piro’s statement on Fox News about the 2020 election was heavily featured in a lawsuit against the Dominion Voting System network.
Who is Trump’s new US lawyer?
President Donald Trump has appointed Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as U.S. Attorney General, depriving him of the need for a Senate confirmation hearing.
Top federal prosecutors in Washington, DC, used her Fox News Show to question the legitimacy of the 2020 election, becoming extremely open, and the network cancelled one of the episodes out of fear of what she said.
Janine Piro, who hosted “Judg Johnny’s Justice” for 11 years, was one of eight prominent personalities on the network named in the defamation lawsuit brought by the Dominion voting system, which ended with a $787.5 million settlement. Many of Piro’s comments advanced the false theory that machines created by Dominion are being used to overturn Trump-for-Biden’s votes.
A 2022 report from conservative legal experts found that Trump’s allies were not providing evidence of widespread election fraud, and the judges dumped virtually all of Trump’s cases based on the lack of evidence.
Since May, she was a US lawyer representing Washington, DC, after President Donald Trump slammed her for a powerful post. The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee voted along the party’s line to advance the appointment of a permanent appointment on July 17th, and the Senate was able to confirm her immediately this week.
The US lawyer’s job generally does not involve election issues, but he led the prosecution of Trump supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
Democrats and other critics say she is unable to qualify for the position because of records that she supported a conspiracy theory that shook Pira’s support.
“I have serious concern for someone who was a supporter of such voices in 2020 for these completely false election theories, who took over the office that was primarily responsible for prosecuting the perpetrators of violent attacks against the Capitol,” said Jonathan Diaz, Voting Advocacy Director for the left and right Campaign Law Center.
White House spokesman Harrison Fields defended Piro’s qualification. The Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the District of Columbia US law firm.
“A highly respected and skilled lawyer and judge, Judge Janine is dedicated to President Trump’s agenda to restore security and justice in our country’s capital,” Fields said in a statement. “A baseless, last-minute character assassination attempt is desperate and undermines the safety of DC residents and tourists who benefit from her quick confirmation.”
Here’s what you need to know about Pirro and her record of promoting unfounded accusations of voting fraud:
Pilro’s career as a judge, district attorney
Pillo had a long career as a prosecutor in Westchester County, New York, before becoming a part of Trump’s inner circle. She worked as a subsidy district attorney for 15 years before being elected judge at Westchester County Courthouse. She later spent 12 years as an elected Westchester district attorney.
She was the first female president of the New York District Attorneys Association, and according to the Department of Justice Bio, she started the first domestic violence unit at the prosecutor’s office in the country.
For nearly 20 years, Pira has been known to Americans for her television personality, with her lawyer punch and the dullness of a New Yorker. She hosted “Just Just Jeanine” on Fox News and later joined the network’s roundtable program, “The Five.”
The DC office of U.S. Attorneys also serves as the local prosecutor for the district, so Piro is leaning towards local prosecutor records, highlighting how he will help victims in the community.
“There’s no more tolerance of hatred,” Pillo said after swearing at the White House. “There is no more mercy for criminals. Violence will be dealt directly with proper punishment, and this city will become a glittering city on the American hills where President Trump has promised to be great again and again safe.”
Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, said just before he voted against confirming that the experience wasn’t enough. Padilla pointed out that she had not filed a lawsuit in more than 20 years, has not been approved by DC Barr, and that she had never practiced in federal court before Trump appointed her.
“These are serious law enforcement jobs,” Padilla said, as a US lawyer. “They are not the kind of patronage that they are given to unqualified friends and allies as they appreciate their loyalty.”
Trump has appointed many other Fox News hosts to his administration. Most notably, Pete Hegzes is to run the Department of Defense and Mike Huckabee to become Israel’s ambassador. Some of his judicial appointments have been criticized for their perceived lack of experience. Trump also serves as a top position in the Justice Department along with his former personal attorney, causing fear among Trump critics that lawyers can place loyalty to Trump in neutrally enforce the law.
“She may be on Fox News, but she is not in the role of federal law enforcement,” Padilla said of Pira.
“Reckless Mania”
Piro is one of the most outspoken critics of the 2020 election, and documents from the Dominion lawsuit show that her skepticism began more than a month before Trump was defeated.
When an employee at Fox News asked him whether he would accept the election results on September 27, 2020, the lawsuit says she answered.
The Dominion lawsuit was settled shortly before the trial was debated, with Fox News agreeing to pay the company $787.5 million.
A Fox News spokesperson in a statement said the network acknowledged that the court’s ruling was false that some control statements were false, and that the settlement reflected the network’s commitment to high journalistic standards.
By November 7, 2020, on Saturday after the presidential election, executives cancelled her show that day, saying they were “worried about her conspiracy.” A few days later, the Fox producers forwarded it to others calling it “reckless maniacs” saying that the show should include a statement from Dominion.
Pillo cited Hugo Chavez Conspiracy Theory
On November 14, 2020, the day of the upcoming show, the lawsuit states that Fox News producers received information from the network’s internal investigators exposing conspiracy theories about Dominion Machines. The lawsuit states that Pillo “aired a general denial of Dominion for 15 seconds.”
That night she hosted Sidney Powell, another Trump lawyer who actively challenged the legitimacy of the 2020 election results. Before introducing Powell to discuss “what he unearthed in the creation of Dominion,” Pillo said:
Pillo told Powell that “we might get to the bottom of what the Dominion is, who started Dominion, and how it can be operated if it’s operated at all.”
Powell suggested that the Dominion Machine was originally designed to change the votes of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, and suggested that the military intelligence agency should investigate the issue.
Pillo agreed to the investigation.
“Yes, and that – hopefully, the Ministry of Justice, but someone I already know,” Piro replied. “Sydney Powell, please do your best on your mission.”
On November 21, 2020, during a segment she calls the opening statement, Piro explained the case where Trump’s lawyers were laid out.
Democrats opposed her nomination
The Senate Judiciary Committee did not hold a confirmation hearing on Pilro’s appointment, but Republicans on the committee voted to advance her appointment on July 17th. Democrats criticized Piro minutes before the vote.
Maisie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, said: “Like all Trump’s candidates, she has shown unwavering loyalty to him, and if confirmed, can be expected to misuse the US lawyer’s office to chase President Trump’s political opponents.”
Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said when she met Pillo personally, she refused to answer whether it was appropriate to terminate the prosecutors at the U.S. Lawyer’s Office for the January 6 prosecution.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa who chairs the committee, entered recommendations into records from the National Brothers Police Order, which he cited as Pillo as “widely praised for his work prosecuting domestic abusers, sexual abusers, stems and rapists.”
