Report: Fox Host Jeanine Pirro Has Long Sought Trump Administration Job

Jeanine Pirro, arrives at the Trump Tower for meetings with US President-elect Donald Trump, in New York on November 17, 2016. / AFP / Eduardo Munoz Alvarez (Photo credit should read EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ/AFP/Getty Images)
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Fox News host Jeanine Pirro has “repeatedly” told Trump aides that she wants to be attorney general, Politico reported Thursday, citing four unnamed people familiar with the conversations.

But it’s not clear Pirro has any serious shot at the job: Two unnamed White House aides said they thought Trump wasn’t seriously considering replacing current Attorney General Jeff Sessions with Pirro, and an unnamed former administration official told Politico Trump was “more likely engaging in flattery,” in the publication’s words, when he “dangled” a federal judgeship before her in November.

When it initially became clear that Sessions would be nominated to lead the Justice Department, two unnamed administration sources told Politico, Pirro lobbied to become deputy attorney general. Trump also reportedly considered naming her U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. So far, the former Westchester County district attorney has nothing to show for it.

Pirro’s role as a sounding board for Trump has been well-documented.

The New York Times reported in December, for example, on a meeting Pirro’d had with the President, chief of staff John Kelly and White House Counsel Don McGahn in November about the Uranium One deal. The group met for over an hour, the Times reported, “as Ms. Pirro whipped up the president against Mr. Mueller and accused James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, of employing tactics typically reserved for Mafia cases, according to a person briefed on the meeting.”

Eventually, the Times reported, Trump “tired of Ms. Pirro’s screed and walked out of the room, according to the person.”

Responding to the Politico post Thursday, the Times’ Maggie Haberman offered a piece of her own reporting, though she didn’t cite a source:

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