Nancy Pelosi called Trump "domestic enemy" in new footage from Jan. 6 aftermath
Nancy Pelosi referred to former President Donald Trump as a "domestic enemy" in a newly released video of the former speaker of the House the day after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The footage was turned over to Congress by HBO and obtained by CBS News.
The footage shows the former House leader preparing for a press conference with her staffers on Jan. 7. In the footage, Pelosi plans to publicly call for the resignation of U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund in the aftermath of the attack, but also addressed Trump's role in the attack.
"There is a domestic enemy in the White House," Pelosi says. "Let's not mince words about this." She did not use that line when addressing the press later that day.
In the early morning hours of Jan. 7, after Congress certified Joe Biden as winner of the 2020 presidential election, Pelosi is asked how she feels about "being done with Donald Trump."
"I just feel sick for what he did to the Capitol and to the country today," Pelosi responded. "He's gotta pay a price for that."
Trump has been widely criticized for his role on Jan. 6, when he delivered an address to his supporters near the White House in the hours before the attack and posted a video calling for peace hours after the attack began. Trump has been accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election results, and special counsel Jack Smith reindicted the former president on Tuesday on charges of resisting the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6.
The video also shows Pelosi requesting a list of members of Trump's Cabinet, in her effort to publicly call on them to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office and she says in another clip that "members want impeachment." Trump was later impeached by the House but acquitted in a Senate trial weeks later.
Additional video footage shows Pelosi and her staff leaving the Capitol for Fort McNair, where congressional leaders regrouped as the attack unfolded. She expressed frustration that rioters were able to stop the certification of the vote.
"I don't agree with taking me out of the chair," Pelosi said, referring to her role as speaker. "But if they stop the proceedings, they will have succeeded in stopping the validation of the presidency of the United States."
As she rides away from the Capitol, Pelosi questions the security planning for Jan. 6, including asking why the National Guard had not been called to respond to the attack earlier. The House Jan. 6 committee in 2022 revealed Trump waited three hours before urging rioters to leave or be peaceful, and his administration delayed deploying the National Guard. But some Republicans have tried to put the blame on Pelosi herself for security shortcomings, and a GOP-led subcommittee has been releasing other tranches of video from that day.
"We have responsibility," said Pelosi. "We did not have any accountability for what was going on there and we should have. This is ridiculous."
House Republicans investigating Jan. 6 and the Democrat-led subcommittee that ended in 2022, highlighted the video footage Wednesday, pointing to the acknowledgements of responsibility made by Pelosi.
"For over three years, Nancy Pelosi has refused to take responsibility for her failure to secure the Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021," Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Georgia Republican who is leading the GOP's probe of Jan. 6, said in a statement, pointing to Pelosi's role as speaker. "Instead, she has pushed the focus of the failure on President Trump."
While riding in the car, Pelosi says that although she has "never been a fan of Sund," "I think our focus has to be on the President." Pelosi called for Sund's resignation later that day.
Pelosi said she takes "responsibility" for not having security "just prepared for more." "Shame on us," she added.