星空传媒

Skip to main content

New Jan. 6 footage reveals Pelosi's focus on Trump in hours after insurrection

Rioters loyal to U.S. President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Rioters loyal to U.S. President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Share

The morning after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi was clear: She wanted attention to be on getting Donald Trump out of office.

While in the car on her way to the Capitol, Pelosi鈥檚 senior aide, Drew Hammill, was reading the speaker a draft of her opening remarks over the phone, including a call for the resignation of U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund. Pelosi stopped him.

鈥淚 think our focus has to be on the president. Let鈥檚 not divert ourselves,鈥 Pelosi said, according to documentary footage shot by her daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, which was turned over to Congress by HBO and obtained by CNN.

When Hammill told her the press was focused on the police chief, Pelosi responded: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to have it on par with the insurrection and impeachment and the rest of that.鈥

Alexandra Pelosi has for decades released documentaries on HBO, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery 鈥 the parent company of CNN. Pelosi鈥檚 documentary on her mother was released in 2022.

The newly revealed video offers an even more detailed look at the speaker鈥檚 movements and real-time reaction to the attack on the Capitol. The latest batch of footage turned over to Congress includes shots of Nancy Pelosi on Jan. 5, 6 and 7, including her exit from the Capitol and evacuation to Fort McNair.

The footage is the latest reminder that, nearly four years later, the history of Jan. 6 is still being fought over. Republicans on Capitol Hill have previously released footage shot by Alexandra Pelosi, as well as security video, as they鈥檝e tried to undercut the Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee, absolve Trump of blame and try to instead blame Pelosi for the security failures that led to the breach of the Capitol.

While Trump and his allies in Congress have repeatedly pointed the finger at Pelosi, the speaker of the House is not in charge of Capitol security. That鈥檚 the responsibility of the Capitol Police Board, which oversees the US Capitol Police and approves requests for U.S. National Guard assistance.

GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia is leading the GOP effort to investigate the 2021 Capitol attack, including looking into the Democratic-led select committee鈥檚 actions from the last Congress and the security failures from that day. Loudermilk鈥檚 panel has alleged that the former Jan. 6 committee withheld witness transcripts from the public that undercut some of their most explosive claims about the insurrection.

The fight over Jan. 6 is still playing out in the courts, too. On Tuesday, special counsel Jack Smith filed a revised indictment against the former president in an attempt to revive the Jan. 6 case that was stalled following the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling on presidential immunity.

Asked by CNN about the new footage turned over to Congress, Alexandra Pelosi said: 鈥淗ope you appreciate the cinematography: backwards and in heels! Now if you want context, go watch Pelosi in The House! Streaming now on HBO!鈥

Congressional leaders evacuate the Capitol

The clips, which total just under an hour, show the speaker and her staff discussing her press conference where she called for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, as well as Pelosi in her car leaving the Capitol in the early hours of Jan. 7 after Biden was finally certified after 3:30 a.m.

鈥淚 just feel sick what he did to the Capitol and to the country today,鈥 Pelosi says when asked how she felt to be done with Trump. 鈥淗e鈥檚 gotta pay a price for that.鈥

The footage also gives an extended look at Pelosi鈥檚 frantic evacuation from the US Capitol to Fort McNair with other Democratic leaders and builds on previous footage鈥痶hat shows how congressional leaders attempted鈥痶o quell the insurrection and finish certifying the 2020 election on Jan. 6.

When the speaker was informed she would have to evacuate the Capitol, Pelosi said, 鈥淚 do not appreciate this.鈥

As she made her way from the House floor to her SUV escorted by her security detail and senior staff, the speaker lamented that by delaying the official election certification proceedings, the rioters appeared to have succeeded in their mission.

鈥淚f they stop the proceedings, they will have succeeded in stopping the validation of the President of the United States,鈥 Pelosi said.

She then raised questions about why security officials did not anticipate the level of violence that unfolded on Jan. 6 and questioned why the National Guard had not been brought in earlier.

鈥淗ow many times did the members ask, 鈥楢re we prepared? Are we prepared?鈥 We鈥檙e not prepared for the worst,鈥 Pelosi said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e calling the National Guard, now? It should鈥檝e been here to start out. I just don鈥檛 understand it. Why do we empower people this way by not being ready?鈥

On top of repeatedly asking if the National Guard was coming, Pelosi turned to her chief of staff, Terri McCullough, and said, 鈥淚 feel responsible,鈥 adding: 鈥淲e have a responsibility, Terri. We did not have any accountability for what was going on there and we should have. This is ridiculous.鈥

Pelosi said the National Guard 鈥渃learly didn鈥檛 know鈥 what was going to transpire on Jan. 6 and continued, 鈥淚 take responsibility for not having them just prepare for more. Because it鈥檚 stupid.鈥

鈥淪hame on us,鈥 the speaker said as she headed to Fort McNair.

Pelosi in the day after the attack

The Jan. 7 footage shows Pelosi in an unfiltered state, criticizing the Capitol police chief to her staff. 鈥淚鈥檝e never liked Sund. I think he should have been gone a long time ago,鈥 she says, explaining at the same time why she didn鈥檛 want to include that in her prepared remarks about Trump.

When she arrives at the Capitol on the morning of Jan. 7, Pelosi told her staff to adjust her rhetoric about impeaching Trump.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 say we will impeach him. We can say, 鈥榃e鈥檒l call for.鈥 We don鈥檛 know because we don鈥檛 have all the blue dogs with us on this subject,鈥 Pelosi says.

Pelosi and U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer initially called for Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. After he did not do so, she moved forward with impeachment a week later.

Several clips show Pelosi huddling with her top aides ahead of a press conference that day. As they discuss how to handle the House sergeant at arms, Paul Irving, Pelosi asks a senior aide to call and inform him that she鈥檚 going to say at her upcoming press conference that he鈥檚 offered his resignation. Another clip shows the aide returning to confirm that Irving offered his resignation.

But Pelosi鈥檚 harshest criticisms are saved for Trump.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a domestic enemy in the White House,鈥 she tells her staff as they go over her remarks. 鈥淎nd let鈥檚 not mince words about this.鈥

CTVNews.ca 星空传媒

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn鈥檛 been seen since Wednesday morning.

B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.