CNN
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San Francisco Superior Court on Friday released video and audio recorded during last year’s attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, including police body camera footage depicting the moment of the attack and when the alleged assailant was questioned by police Admitted he wanted to hold the then Speaker of the House hostage.
The video and audio files were released after a California court ruled that the district attorney’s office must release the material.
One of the videos shows body camera footage of officers who arrived at Pelosi’s home on October 28, 2022, when Pelosi was attacked. The footage shows the chaos as alleged assailant David Depape launched the attack.
In the video, which contains gore and violence, both Paul Pelosi and De Papp appear to have their hands on the hammer, with De Papp holding Pelosi’s arm when police opened the door.
“Put down the hammer,” said the officer.
“Uh, no,” DePape responded.
DePape then snatched the hammer from Pelosi and slammed it into his head. Police stormed the home, overpowered DePape and handcuffed him.
In addition to body camera footage, the documents include audio of police interviews with DePape, 911 calls made by Paul Pelosi while DePape was at home and surveillance video showing DePape breaking into the home.
The documents were exhibited at the preliminary court hearing. The court’s decision to compel the release of the materials follows a motion from a coalition of news organizations, including CNN, which argued that transparency was needed about the situation involving the residence of the then-House speaker.
DePape’s attorneys objected to the public release of the audio and video, arguing that it would “irreparably impair” his right to a fair trial. DePape pleaded not guilty to a string of state and federal offenses related to the assault, including battery and attempted murder.
Nancy Pelosi briefly told reporters Friday afternoon that she “absolutely does not want to see a fatal attack on my husband’s life.” She said Paul Pelosi was “making progress, but more is needed.” more time,” she would not make any further public comment on the case.
In a taped interview with De Papp by a San Francisco police officer after De Papp was arrested in October, De Papp admitted to assaulting Paul Pelosi and described how he killed Nancy Pelosi when he broke into the couple’s San Francisco home. Losey’s plan to be held hostage.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not trying to run away from this, so, you know, I know exactly what I did,” DePape said at the start of the 17-minute audio clip.
“Well, I’m basically going to take her hostage, and I’m going to talk to her,” DePap said of Nancy Pelosi. “If she’s telling the truth, I’ll let her get away with it. If she’s fucking lying, I’ll break her kneecap.”
In the interview, DePap took on conspiracy theories about the Democrats and Pelosi, complained about the Democrats’ “crime spree” and made baseless claims that Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats spied on former President Donald Trump. political campaign.
“They’re criminals,” DePape said.
The officer walked DePape through his break-in at Pelosi’s home and his encounter with Paul Pelosi. When asked why he didn’t leave after Paul Pelosi called the police, De Pape likened himself to the founding fathers fighting the British.
“When I left home, I left to fight tyranny. I didn’t leave to surrender,” he said.
DePape explained why he attacked Paul Pelosi after police arrived, both of whom were armed with a hammer. “He thought I was going to surrender, like, I’m not here to surrender,” DePape said. “I told him I was going to pass him. So I basically pulled it off him and hit him.”
In the audio of the 911 call, Pelosi appeared to be subtly trying to tell the dispatcher that he was in danger and that DePapp was listening. CNN previously reported that Pelosi made the call as he entered the bathroom while his phone was charging.
“There’s a gentleman here who’s waiting for my wife to come back, Nancy Pelosi. He’s just waiting for her to come back, but she’s not coming for a few days, so I think we’ll have to wait,” Pelosi told the dispatcher. Say.
“He thinks everything is fine. I have a question, but he thinks everything is fine,” Pelosi said at another point in the 2:56 recording.
The dispatcher asked Pelosi if she knew who this person was, and Pelosi said no. “He told me to put down the phone and do what he said,” Pelosi said.
“Who’s David?” the dispatcher asked.
“I don’t know,” Pelosi said.
DePape then spoke on the phone. “I’m their friend,” he said.
“He said he was a friend. But as I said…” Pelosi said.
“But you don’t know who he is?” the dispatcher responded.
“No, ma’am,” Pelosi said.
In the surveillance video, DePape can be seen breaking into Pelosi’s home. The scene was captured on Capitol Police security cameras installed at Pelosi’s San Francisco residence.
The attack on Paul Pelosi was a factor in Nancy Pelosi’s decision to step down from the House Democratic leadership, she has previously said.
DePape allegedly woke Paul Pelosi shortly after 2 a.m., armed with a sledgehammer and some white ties, and demanded, “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?” according to court documents. , he then threatened to tie up Paul Pelosi and prevent him from escaping in an elevator. DePape allegedly later told him, “I can take you out.”
Nancy Pelosi’s spokesman said in a statement that after the attack, Paul Pelosi underwent surgery “to repair a fractured skull and severe injuries to her right arm and hand.” On Thursday, Nancy Pelosi said her husband’s recovery was “one day at a time.” She said she didn’t know if she would see the video when it was released.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
