On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” D.C. City Councilwoman Brooke Pinto (D) stated that she agrees with U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro “that there were a lot of gaps in our system,” and “some” of those gaps have been filled and “some more” were filled by subsequent legislation.

Host Jake Tapper said, “So, Jeanine Pirro, who is now the U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., she argues that D.C.’s laws are weak and allow even those who have been convicted of serious crimes to avoid major repercussions. Take a listen.”

He then played video of Pirro saying, “The D.C. Council has given the judges the ability to give probation on shootings. And so, then, it’s up to them. All of these things, the youth rehabilitation, Incarceration Reduction Act, and now they want to seal records. So, if we work hard and we get a conviction, they want to wipe it out.”

Tapper then asked, “She also complained about if a crime is committed by somebody who is 14, 15, 16, or 17 with a gun, you can’t try them as the way she would like to, presumably, as an adult. What do you think of the specific criticisms of some of the D.C. laws?”

Pinto answered, “So, I am in agreement that there were a lot of gaps in our system, and that’s what my bill, Secure D.C., was really about, was filling some of those gaps. So we gave more discretion to judges to hold violent offenders pre-trial. We increased penalties for carjacking and for gun-related offenses. We changed the composition of the Sentencing Commission to make sure that it was more balanced. The Council just passed my latest bill, Peace D.C., in June, to build on that success and fill some more of those gaps. So, as a lawmaker, I am always open-minded to looking at our legal landscape and filling those holes and making sure that we have laws that provide for the safety and well-being of district residents.”

Tapper followed up, “Well, address, if you would, what she specifically called out in terms of not being able to try — if a 16-year-old commits a crime with a gun, that young man still gets tried as a juvenile. She wants to change that, presumably, do you disagree?”

Pinto responded, “Well, I believe that whatever age you are that you commit a crime, whether you’re a juvenile or an adult, there should be accountability. We have a different system for juvenile prosecutions in D.C. that’s handled through our D.C. elected attorney general, and then our adult prosecutions are handled through the U.S. Attorney’s office. So, both of those prosecutorial routes should lead to accountability. Now, the U.S. Attorney does have the discretion to bring some cases against juveniles as adults, and that is exercised with somewhat regularity. So, these claims that this can never happen [are] not true.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett