Trump Nominates “Reckless Maniac” for District Attorney in DC - Bulwark Takes

Summary

Summary of "Trump Nominates 'Reckless Maniac' for District Attorney in DC" - Bulwark Takes

Release Date: May 9, 2025

In this episode of Bulwark Takes, hosted by Tim Miller and featuring insights from The Bulwark team, the discussion centers around former President Donald Trump's controversial nomination of Jeanine Pirro—referred to derogatorily as “Judge Box of Wine”—for the position of U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C. The episode delves into Pirro’s background, her questionable qualifications, and the broader implications of her nomination for the integrity of the justice system.

1. Introduction to the Nomination

Tim Miller opens the discussion with breaking news about Donald Trump's nomination of Jeanine Pirro:

“Donald Trump has named Jeanine Pirro, otherwise known as Judge Box of Wine.” [00:00]

This immediate introduction sets a critical tone, highlighting the unexpected and contentious nature of the nomination.

2. Jeanine Pirro’s Controversial Background

The conversation quickly shifts to evaluate Pirro’s credentials and history:

Tim Miller criticizes Pirro’s lack of recent legal practice and her track record in media:

“She has not practiced law in many, many years. In a couple decades, I don't believe. I guess coming up on that 2005 campaign would have been the last time she actually practiced law.” [02:00]

Further scrutiny is directed at her tenure at Fox News:

“Since she's been on Fox, she has been utterly irresponsible.” [02:40]

Pirro’s involvement in the “Stop the Steal” movement and her propagation of election conspiracy theories are highlighted as significant concerns:

“She was one of the most ostentatious promoters of the Stop the Steal effort, talking about how the election was stolen, making up lies about the 2020 election.” [02:31]

3. Internal Criticism and Professionalism

The episode references internal communications from Fox News that condemn Pirro’s behavior:

Tim Miller cites statements from Fox executives who deemed Pirro too extreme for the network:

“Justin Wells, who's Tucker Carlson's producer, wrote that they took her off because she was being crazy. Optics are bad, but she is crazy.” [02:50]

These admissions underscore the depth of concern within Fox regarding Pirro’s suitability for a significant public role.

4. Public Statements and Extreme Views

Pirro’s radical statements about the FBI and Department of Justice are examined in detail:

“There is a cleansing needed in our FBI and Department of Justice. It needs to be cleansed of individuals who should not just be fired, but, but who need to be taken out in handcuffs.” [04:53]

Tim Miller interprets these remarks as indicative of Pirro’s potential misuse of prosecutorial power:

“She is arguing that her colleagues in the Justice Department, if she becomes U.S. attorney, should be handcuffed and jailed.” [05:07]

Her comments on Islam and Sharia law further illustrate her controversial viewpoints:

“Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?” [05:36]

These statements raise significant concerns about her impartiality and respect for constitutional principles.

5. Comparisons to Previous Nominees and Fox Personalities

The discussion draws parallels between Pirro and former nominee Ed Martin, noting a pattern in Trump’s selections:

“She is indistinguishable from Eagle Eyed Martin.” [05:30]

Tim Miller emphasizes the problematic nature of nominating media personalities with questionable ethics and lack of legal expertise:

“She is the 23rd person that is a FOX News personality nominated to this administration by Donald Trump.” [05:45]

6. Implications for the Justice System

Concluding remarks focus on the broader implications Pirro’s nomination holds for the U.S. Attorney’s office and the justice system:

Tim Miller articulates the risks associated with appointing someone with Pirro’s background:

“This is not somebody that you would put in place for that. Like, this is a job for a serious lawyer with a long career prosecuting hard criminals.” [05:50]

He underscores the mismatch between Pirro’s media persona and the responsibilities of a U.S. Attorney:

“From her temperament to her resume to her stated comments, this is a totally unacceptable choice.” [05:50]

7. Conclusion and Ongoing Monitoring

The episode concludes with a commitment to monitor the situation and its developments:

“We're going to keep monitoring it and see what we hear from Republicans in the Senate and see what we hear from Judge Pirro herself.” [05:57]

Tim Miller reiterates the preposterousness of the nomination and the need for vigilance:

“It's just, it's preposterous. This is a preposterous choice.” [05:57]

Notable Quotes Summary

Jeanine Pirro's Nomination:

“Donald Trump has named Jeanine Pirro, otherwise known as Judge Box of Wine.” [00:00]
Pirro’s Lack of Legal Practice:

“She has not practiced law in many, many years.” [02:00]
Promotion of "Stop the Steal":

“She was one of the most ostentatious promoters of the Stop the Steal effort.” [02:31]
Internal Criticism at Fox:

“Justin Wells... wrote that they took her off because she was being crazy.” [02:50]
Calls for DOJ Cleansing:

“There is a cleansing needed in our FBI and Department of Justice.” [04:53]
Concerns About Sharia Law:

“Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law...” [05:36]
Comparison to Ed Martin:

“She is indistinguishable from Eagle Eyed Martin.” [05:30]
Final Assessment:

“This is a totally unacceptable choice.” [05:50]

Final Thoughts

The Bulwark Takes episode presents a critical examination of Jeanine Pirro’s nomination as U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., highlighting significant concerns regarding her qualifications, past behavior, and ideological stances. The hosts argue that Pirro’s appointment poses a threat to the impartiality and integrity of the justice system, given her history of promoting conspiracy theories and displaying extremist viewpoints. The episode serves as a cautionary analysis of the implications such nominations hold for the rule of law and democratic institutions.

Transcript

Tim Miller (0:00)

Hey, guys. Tim Miller from the Bulwark here. Breaking news. Donald Trump has named Jeanine Pirro, otherwise known as Judge Box of Wine.

Unnamed Speaker (0:07)

Well, next day, I wake up, Judge Jeanine was drunk last night.

Tim Miller (0:12)

What?

Unnamed Speaker (0:13)

I was drunk.

Tim Miller (0:14)

His nominee for U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. pirro's own executive producer called her a reckless maniac who is nuts and promotes conspiracy theories. That is the type of person that Trump wants to be the lead prosecutor in this important Post in Washington, D.C. it's his second choice for that pick after Eagle Ed Martin, who we've discussed a lot on this feed, had to be withdrawn because there were six Republican senators who showed a rare amount of backbone, saying that they were not going to put someone in as US Attorney who had, like, been on Russia TV a million times and hung out with white nationalists. But. But it's unclear that Jeanine Pierrot is any better of a pick. And I'm going to go through her lowlights. I want to shout out Matt Gertz, who's at Media Matters for America. We've had his boss, Angela Carson, on this podcast and very, very friendly with those guys. So shout out to Matt, who kind of cataloged a lot of these various lowlights from the Jeanine Pirro career. I guess before I get to Gertz's lowlights, from her time on Fox and on the Five and on her own show before it was canceled and then taken off air, we'll get into all that. Uh, it's worth pointing out that before that, she ran an absolutely embarrassing campaign for Senate in 2005. She famously, like in her announcement speech, forgot a page. Campaign launches in 2005. It was a 2006 campaign before she went on onto Fox. So she has not practiced law in many, many years. In a couple decades, I don't believe. I guess coming up on that 2005 campaign would have been the last time she actually practiced law. And since she's been on Fox, she has been utterly irresponsible. Obviously, we'll focus first on the comments around January 6th. That is the Dominion lawsuit that allowed us to see a lot of the internal communication that Fox was having about her comments.

Unnamed Speaker (2:11)

The president's lawyers alleging that American votes in a presidential election are actually counted in a foreign country. These are serious allegations, but the media has no interest in any of this. But you and I do, as we should.

Tim Miller (2:31)

She was one of the most ostentatious promoters of the Stop the Steal effort, talking about how the election was stolen, making up lies about the 2020 election. Her coverage was Just. Just flagrantly insane and off the rails. Next to Maria Bartiromo, maybe the most like lunacy that you've seen on the Fox network in promotion of Donald Trump's Stop the Steel Eyes. It was so crazy that Fox executives canceled her show Nov. 7, 2020, because they didn't trust her to cover it. Going through some of the emails from the Dominion lawsuit, the executive vice president of primetime programming, David Clark, who made the decision to take her off air, he wrote that her guests are all going to say the election is being stolen and if she pushes back at all, it will be just token. He was a direct supervisor of the show. He also said that Pirro was, quote, not a credible source of news, even though the viewers rely on her to be. Justin Wells, who's Tucker Carlson's producer, wrote that they took her off because she was being crazy. Optics are bad, but she is crazy. That is Tucker Carlson's producer saying that Jeanine Pirro was too crazy to be on Fox. Donald Trump wants her to be the representative for the government in Washington, D.C. talk about crazy. Talk about lunacy. Republican senators are going to go along with this. They're going to confirm somebody that Tucker's producer thought was too crazy to be on tv once you go on there. She returned to her show November 14th. They briefed her, the executives did, on a document about what they're supposed to say, what she's supposed to say. But, you know, she continues to. Platform kooky, people. This is now where we get to the emails where some of these producers are saying she's nuts. So that was just around the January 6th part of it. And then we go to the Matt Gertz going back to shout out to Matt Gertz this feed on X where he's kind of laying out some of her greatest hits. She called for a cleansing of the FBI and the Justice Department, which she said are full of individuals who should not just be fired, but who need to be taken out in handcuffs.