GEOFF BENNETT: In President Trump's continued# push for greater control over Washington, D.C.,## he's relying more on his friend and# former FOX News host Jeanine Pirro.## She's the new U.S. attorney# for the District of Columbia.

And, as William Brangham reports,# she brings her outspoken,## controversial style to one of the top law# enforcement jobs in the nation's capital.

JEANINE PIRRO, U.S. Attorney for# the District of Columbia: No more## tolerance of hatred.

No .. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: She's often one# of the loudest voices in the room.

JEANINE PIRRO: I see too much violent crime# being committed by young punks who think## that they can get together in gangs and crews# and beat the hell out of you or anyone else.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Jeanine Pirro, the former# FOX News commentator, has emerged as one of## the central figures in the federal takeover# of Washington, D.C.'s law enforcement.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States:# Today, we're honored to swear in Jeanine Pirro,## somebody I have known for a long# time, and she's an incredible person.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: A close friend of the# president, Pirro was appointed the city's interim## U.S. attorney in May after Trump was forced to# withdraw Ed Martin, his first choice for the job,## after pressure from Senate Republicans.

Pirro# was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in August.

GLENN THRUSH, The New York Times: She is unique.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Glenn Thrush of The New# York Times has covered Pirro for .. GLENN THRUSH: Pirro, unlike a lot# of these other folks, has had a 30-,## 35-year history with Trump.

She comes# from a time and a place where he is from,## New York in the '80s and '90s.

I was there# too.

And there's not much of a learning curve.

MAN: The Honorable Judge Jeanine Pirro presiding.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Pirro first rose# to national fame as a TV judge... JEANINE PIRRO: The Washington, D.C., swamp.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: ... and then on FOX News as a# political commentator known for her blunt talk.

JEANINE PIRRO: We need to kill# them.

We need to kill them.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: She vigorously# attacked Democrats like Hillary Clinton.

JEANINE PIRRO: The woman's either had a lobotomy# or she's been out in the woods too long.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: President Joe Biden.

JEANINE PIRRO: You might as well# put the president on a milk carton,## because Joe Biden is nowhere to be found.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And President# Obama's Justice Department.

JEANINE PIRRO: The stench coming out of the# Justice Department and the FBI is like that## of a Third World country, where money# and bullies and clubs decide elections.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Her in-your-face demeanor earned## her a legion of adoring conservative fans# and a skewering on "Saturday Night Live."

ACTOR: Judge Jeanine, I have# not seen you in a while.

ACTRESS: Oh, I'm still here.

(LAUGHTER) ACTRESS: My show o.. a full hour before the nursing# homes turn off the TV in the lobby.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But Pirro's rhetoric# has also gotten her in trouble.

JEANINE PIRRO: Is her adherence to this Islamic## doctrine indicative of her# adherence to Sharia law?

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In 2019, Pirro was suspended# by FOX after she suggested the Democratic## Representative Ilhan Omar's wearing of# a hijab was un-American and her repeated## promotion of groundless conspiracy# theories about the 2020 campaign.

JEANINE PIRRO: The president's lawyers# alleging a company called Dominion,## which they say started in Venezuela with# Cuban money and with the assistance of## Smartmatic software, a backdoor# is capable of flipping votes.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Comments like that are# why she was one of the defendants in the## successful defamation lawsuit brought by# Dominion Voting Systems against FOX News,## which the network settled# for $787 million in 2023.

GLENN THRUSH: Jeanine Pirro was informed multiple# times, according to the Dominion affidavit,## that things she was saying on the air were# not supported by fact.

FOX had an in-house## fact-checking organization that was in contact# with Pirro's producer and the producer was## in touch with Pirro.

She was armed with the# information, which we should call the truth,## and she chose to go on the air and# spout falsehoods in support of Trump.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Pirro's# deposition in another lawsuit,## one brought by a different voting machine# company, showed Pirro acknowledging that,## contrary to what she said on air, she# knew the 2020 election was free and fair.

But long before television, Pirro had# a legal career, first as a prosecutor## and then New York county judge.

In 1983, she# was elected district attorney for Westchester## County after running as a moderate Republican.# She was beloved by the tabloids and cable TV## for her quotability.

In 2006, she lost a# bid to be New York state attorney general.

GLENN THRUSH: She was a serious prosecutor,# viewed as an effective and serious prosecutor,## who began her career at a time when# prosecutions for domestic violence## and sexual abuse against women and children were# not prioritized.

She was a real pioneer in that.

JEANINE PIRRO: And on May 22... WILLIAM BRANGHAM: As the new U.S.# attorney for Washington, D.C.,## Pirro has moved quickly to beef up her office... JEANINE PIRRO: If you want a# job in the nation's capital,## in the premier office, the largest# U.S. attorney's office, contact me.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: ... and immediately implement# Trump's law and order campaign.

She ordered## her prosecutors to seek the maximum possible# criminal charges for anyone arrested in D.C. and## has repeatedly called for changes to local laws# she says are too lenient on juvenile offenders.

JEANINE PIRRO: And I want to send a message that# we are going to catch you, that we are going to## change the laws, that if you're 14, 15, 16, 17,# we're going to bring you into the justice system.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: She's also# embraced social media in her new job.

JEANINE PIRRO: So it is a coordinated effort.## We are in full throttle right now# trying to make the District safe.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But it hasn't all been# successful for Pirro.

D.C. grand juries,## seemingly angry at the federal takeover of# their city, have refused to approve charges## against some defendants, including Sean Dunn,# the man who became a symbol of the anti-Trump## resistance when he threw a sandwich at# a federal agent in the nation's capital.

JEANINE PIRRO: And we're going to# back the police to the hilt.

So,## there, stick your Subway sandwich somewhere else.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So why did she leave a## multimillion-dollar TV job# to come back to government?

GLENN THRUSH: I think there are two reasons why# she's back in the game.

First, Trump needed her.## But I think -- on another level, I think she# wants to have circularity in her career.

She## began as a serious prosecutor.

And I think,# kind of confounding the caricature of her,## she perhaps wants to conclude# her career doing the same thing.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: For the "PBS# News Hour," I'm William Brangham.