New footage from January 6 shows how Pelosi's focus on Trump in the hours after the insurrection

CNN
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The morning after the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was clear: she wanted attention to be focused on ousting Donald Trump from office.

As she sat in her car on the way to the Capitol, Pelosi's senior adviser Drew Hammill read the speaker a draft of her opening statement over the phone, which included calling for the resignation of Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund. Pelosi interrupted.

“I think we need to focus on the president. Let's not get distracted,” Pelosi said, according to a documentary filmed by her daughter Alexandra Pelosi, which HBO gave to Congress and was made available to CNN.

When Hammill told her that the press was focusing on the police chief, Pelosi replied, “I don't want this to be put on the same level as the insurrection, the impeachment and all the rest.”

Alexandra Pelosi has been releasing documentaries for decades on HBO, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery — the parent company of CNN. Pelosi's documentary about her mother was released in 2022.

The newly released video provides an even more detailed look at the speaker's movements and her real-time response to the attack on the Capitol. The latest footage released to Congress includes footage of Nancy Pelosi on January 5, 6 and 7, including her leaving the Capitol and being evacuated to Fort McNair.

The footage is the latest reminder that the story of Jan. 6 remains contested nearly four years later. Republicans on Capitol Hill have previously released footage shot by Alexandra Pelosi, as well as security videos, in an effort to undermine the Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee, absolve Trump of blame, and instead blame Pelosi for the security lapses that led to the Capitol breach.

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

Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia is leading the Republican effort to investigate the 2021 Capitol attack, including the actions of the Democratic-led select committee during the last Congress and the security failures from that day. Loudermilk's committee alleges the former Jan. 6 committee withheld testimony from the public that undermines some of their most explosive claims about the insurrection.

The dispute over January 6 is also still being played out in court. On Tuesday, special counsel Jack Smith filed a revised indictment against the former president to revive the January 6 case, which had stalled following the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity.

When asked by CNN about the new footage given to Congress, Alexandra Pelosi said, “I hope you appreciate the camera work: backwards and in high heels! If you want context, watch Pelosi in The House! Now streaming on HBO!”

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

“I'm just sickened by what he did to the Capitol and to the country today,” Pelosi said when asked how she felt after being done with Trump. “He has to pay a price for that.”

The footage also provides a more detailed look at Pelosi's panicked evacuation from the U.S. Capitol to Fort McNair along with other Democratic leaders, and builds on previous footage showing congressional leaders attempting to quell the insurrection and complete the certification of the 2020 election on Jan. 6.

When the speaker was informed that she would have to evacuate the Capitol, Pelosi said, “I do not welcome that.”

Walking from the House chamber to her SUV, escorted by her security personnel and senior staff, the speaker lamented that the rioters appeared to have succeeded in delaying the official election certification process.

“If they stop the process, they will succeed in preventing the impeachment of the President of the United States,” Pelosi said.

She then questioned why security officials did not foresee the level of violence that occurred on January 6 and why the National Guard did not intervene sooner.

“How many times have members asked, 'Are we prepared? Are we prepared?' We are not prepared for the worst,” Pelosi said. “We're calling in the National Guard now? They should have been here from the beginning. I just don't understand it. Why are we giving people power like this by not being prepared?”

In addition to repeatedly asking if the National Guard would come, Pelosi turned to her chief of staff, Terri McCullough, and said, “I feel responsible,” adding, “We have a responsibility, Terri. We have no responsibility for what went on there, and we should have done that. That's ridiculous.”

Pelosi said the National Guard “obviously didn't know” what was going to happen on Jan. 6, and continued, “I take responsibility for not just preparing for more. Because that's stupid.”

“Shame on us,” the spokeswoman said as she made her way to Fort McNair.

The Jan. 7 footage shows Pelosi, unfiltered, criticizing the Capitol Police chief in front of her staff. “I never liked Sund. I think he should have been gone a long time ago,” she says, while explaining why she didn't want to include that in her prepared remarks about Trump.

When she arrived at the Capitol on the morning of January 7, Pelosi urged her staff to adjust their rhetoric regarding Trump's impeachment.

“We can't say we're going to remove him from office. We can say, 'We're going to impeach him.' We don't know because we don't have all conservative politicians on our side on this issue,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer initially asked Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. When he failed to do so, she initiated impeachment proceedings a week later.

Several clips show Pelosi consulting with her top aides before a press conference that day. As they discuss how to handle House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving, Pelosi asks a senior aide to call him and tell him that she will say at her upcoming press conference that he has offered his resignation. Another clip shows the aide returning to confirm that Irving has offered his resignation.

But Pelosi’s harshest criticism is directed at Trump.

“There is an enemy within the White House,” she tells her staff as they review her remarks. “And we should not mince words about that.”