Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Chris Hayes plays bonkers ‘sizzle reel’ of ex Fox News host, now US attorney, Jeanine Pirro

Not your typical US attorney

Mary Papenfuss
in San Francisco
Friday 09 May 2025 07:39 BST
Comments
Fox News host Jeanine Pirro loses it after Donald Trump loses the 2020 election

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Thursday aired a “sizzle reel” of clips of now-former Fox News star Jeanine Pirro just hours after Donald Trump appointed her the new interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C.

The former co-host of Fox’s The Five immediately stepped down to take the job after Trump failed to win support for Ed Martin, who currently holds the role. Republican North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis vowed to block Martin because of his support for violent rioters in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Pirro served as a judge in Westchester County, New York, and later the county’s district attorney. She launched an unsuccessful Senate race in 2006.

The frequently over-the-top right-wing conspiracy theorist was presented in characteristic form in the reel Hayed presented on his program All In. Pirro attacked against Hollywood, Bill Barr and FBI agents who “need” to be “in handcuffs.”

“As for those liberal Hollywood leftists in need of a lobotomy like Rosie O’Donnell, they are straight-up communists!” she spouts in a 2023 clip.

“There is a cleansing needed in our FBI and Department of Justice ... of individuals who ... need to be taken out in handcuffs,” Pirro rants in another attack.

At one point Pirro scolds the president’s attorney general in his first term, Bill Barr: “You, Mr. Barr, are so deep in the swamp, you can’t see beyond your fellow reptiles!”

Hayes’ guest was Sam Stein, the laughing managing editor of The Bulwark.

I was very impressed by that sizzle reel you played. That’s good TV!” Stein guffawed.

Hayes pointed out to Stein: “When it comes time to staff the government, the president of the United States is, like, ‘Who’s on my TV box? How about them?’

Stein called the Fox TV link “almost essential” to Trump’s government, noting that as many as 23 appointments have “some sort of tie to Fox News.”

Pirro’s former Fox News program, Justice with Judge Jeanine, was canceled in 2022 after she became a key figure in a lawsuit brought against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems, which accused the network of making false claims about its voting machines in the 2020 election, which Fox relentlessly, baselessly claimed was rigged.

Fox paid Dominion a massive $787.5 million settlement.

Now Pirro will be the top protector of truth, justice and the law in the District of Columbia.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in