The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced the selection of a former Fox News host for a federal prosecutor post along with half a dozen other U.S. attorney nominees and three bills on opioid tracking, background checks and missing persons.
Republicans voted together to advance the nomination of Jeanine Pirro, a former federal prosecutor and Fox News host, as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia on a 12-10 vote.
They advanced the U.S. attorney picks and bipartisan bills amid procedural skirmishes over disclosure of files related to investigations into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. That issue has broadly roiled Capitol Hill in recent weeks.
Democrats criticized Pirro for refusing to answer written questions about her nomination, for her advocacy of investigations of prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases, and her involvement in spreading false information about the results of the 2020 election, which led to Fox News paying a $787 million settlement in a defamation case.
Sen. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., pointed out that Fox removed Pirro’s show from the air over her statements and said her record would undermine the public’s confidence in the nonpartisan nature of federal prosecutors.
“Are we going to put someone that even Fox — and I’m not a particular fan of Fox — but even Fox thought was crazy, nuts, couldn’t be trusted on live television, are we going to trust her with the lives and liberty of people in the District of Columbia?” Schiff said.
Multiple protesters interrupted the debate during the markup, chanting “D.C residents reject Jeanine Pirro,” before being removed by Capitol Police.
Pirro is serving as the interim U.S. attorney after the end of the tenure of former interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin. Martin’s nomination to serve in the post permanently was withdrawn amid Republican opposition.
Epstein amendment
Later in the hearing, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., offered and eventually withdrew an amendment to a bill on opioid overdose tracking that would only allow the law to go into effect when the Justice Department had disclosed files related to its investigations into Epstein.
Disputes over disclosing the files have rocked Capitol Hill of late. Senators made dueling unanimous consent requests, which were rejected, related to Epstein on Thursday. The House Rules Committee adjourned earlier this week without reporting a rule for floor debate for several bills due to a dispute related to Epstein. The House left town while a bipartisan discharge petition to force a floor vote on the issue waits in the wings.
In addition, House Oversight and Government Reform Chair James R. Comer issued a subpoena for Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell on Wednesday. And an Oversight subcommittee Wednesday voted to subpoena Epstein-related files from the Department of Justice.
At Thursday’s hearing, Booker cited statements from officials who earlier in the Trump administration said that large troves of evidence existed of potential crimes by clients of Epstein. The senator contrasted that with a Justice Department statement that there were no additional files to disclose.
“What’s the lie?” Booker said.
In response, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex., offered his own amendment to strip the disclosure provision and add additional federal criminal penalties for undocumented immigrants and others who commit murder.
“I find it astonishing that my colleagues are more interested in the crimes of a dead man than they are in addressing the real problems that affect the public safety of American citizens on a daily basis,” Cornyn said.
Booker eventually withdrew his amendment after Chair Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said they would help with issues surrounding DOJ grants in New Jersey. When Booker agreed to pull his amendment, Cornyn did as well.
After both amendments were withdrawn, the panel advanced the opioid overdose tracking bill as well as two others — one expanding background checks for organizations that work with children and one expanding missing persons tracking requirements — on voice votes.
The public disagreements over the bill also echoed discord on the panel at a markup last week.
There, Democrats walked out in protest over the handling of the nomination of Emil Bove to a post on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, resulting in the panel voting on several U.S. attorney nominees a second time this week.
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