‘Dangerous’: Sen. Blumenthal Sounds Alarm on Trump Appointing ‘Political Zealot’ Jeanine Pirro as US Attorney
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) fears former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro will act as a “zealot” as the top Washington, D.C. prosecutor, a role she’s been nominated for by President Donald Trump.
Pirro, a longtime television personality who previously served as both a prosecutor and judge, was appointed last week by Trump as the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. On the Sanity podcast with Alisyn Camerota and Dave Briggs, Blumenthal made it clear he will not be supporting Pirro’s nomination, calling her potentially “dangerous.”
Blumenthal cited his own history as a prosecutor and argued that Pirro would be more of a “politician” in the role. Pirro was co-host of the popular Fox News show The Five before her appointment by Trump.
“I’m worried because I was a prosecutor. In fact, for most of my career, I was in law enforcement. I was the U S attorney for Connecticut. She’s going to be the U.S. Attorney for D.C. The reason I’m worried is that she’s a politician,” the senator said. “And there’s nothing wrong with being a politician, but she is a zealot. And there is nothing wrong being a zealot, but to have a political zealot in a prosecutorial role is dangerous because they can use the office to go after political adversaries or opponents.”
Under a “vengeful” Trump, he added, there is potential Pirro could be directed to target Trump critics and enemies, especially those he feels previously targeted him with the law.
“The question is whether she will follow orders from Donald Trump via the attorney general or some other source to go after political enemies,” Blumenthal said.
The senator argued that even if charges can be beaten, they can hurt one’s reputation by sticking with them, something that Blumenthal’s is “very worried” Pirro would take advantage of in that role.
“The most fateful decision I made was whether or not to indict. Because most people assume that if you’re charged with a crime, you’ve done it. You’ve done something,” he said. “Even if you are acquitted by a jury, that charge remains with you and it can destroy reputation, finances, political careers. So her decision just to charge someone, which she can do, is gonna be enormously faithful for people who are potentially having to defend themselves.”
Watch above via Sanity with Alisyn and & Dave (the relevant portion begins at approximately 28:44)
