Paul Pelosi attack: Federal judge sets sentencing date for David DePape
A federal judge Wednesday set May 17 as the date for the sentencing of David DePape, who was convicted on two charges related to his 2022 hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi's husband, in their San Francisco home.
DePape's early morning break-in at the Pelosi home resulted in federal as well as state charges.
In the federal proceedings, DePape was charged with attempted kidnapping of a federal official as well as assault on a member of her family. In state court he was charged with attempted murder as well as a raft of other felonies, including residential burglary, elder abuse, and assault with a deadly weapon.
The federal charges went to trial first and resulted in DePape's conviction on both counts on Nov. 16, 2023.
In seeking a delay of DePape's sentencing on the federal charges, lawyers for DePape told U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley that trial on the state court charges is scheduled to begin May 7 and is expected to run through the end of June. They asked the court to delay sentencing in the federal case until after the state trial is concluded.
They argued that they needed to prepare DePape for sentencing and they could not do that effectively while he was working with his state court defense attorneys. (DePape has different lawyers in the state case.)
They argued it would not be fair to "rip him out" of the state court case for federal sentencing. They also argued that sentencing in the middle of the state trial would generate adverse publicity that could potentially prejudice DePape with the jurors in the state trial.
Prosecutors responded that May 17 was a so-called "dark day" in the state trial, meaning that the state court judge had already scheduled it as a day in which there would be no court proceedings. They said that there were also a number of other dark days before that date that would give the defense lawyers an opportunity to meet with DePape to prepare for the federal sentencing.
The prosecutors added that the state jurors would be instructed at the start of the state court trial not to read anything about the DePape matter, so sentencing in the middle of the trial—even if publicized—wouldn't affect the jurors.
Corley rejected the defense arguments and set May 17 as the date for sentencing. However, she said she would revisit the date if the defense attorneys could show her that they had not been able to get access to DePape for preparation.
DePape appeared in court in an orange prison jumpsuit and quietly observed as Corley handed him his second legal setback of the month.
On April 1, Corley denied his motion for a new trial on account of what his lawyers contended was a faulty jury instruction.
His lawyers argued that in order to be convicted, prosecutors had to show—beyond a reasonable doubt—that DePape targeted Nancy Pelosi "on account of the performance of her official duties."
DePape's lawyers said the jury must be instructed that "on account of" meant that DePape's motivation for targeting Pelosi had to be "solely" because of her work as a federal officer. They contended that that DePape targeted her at least in substantial part for non-official functions—fundraising, activities within the Democratic party, media appearances, and the like.
Corley rejected DePape's argument and said that "on account of" did not mean "solely on account of." In her view, it was sufficient that the jury was told—as it was—that Pelosi had to targeted "because of" her official functions.
Trial testimony showed that DePape arrived at the Pelosi home shortly after 2 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2022, broke in via a glass door, woke up Paul Pelosi, and told him he was "looking for Nancy."
Paul Pelosi told DePape that she was in Washington but DePape refused to leave. Then followed a cat and mouse game in which Pelosi sought to reach police without provoking an attack.
He was able to contact San Francisco police at 2:23 a.m. and when officers arrived at 2:31 a.m., they found Pelosi and DePape struggling over a hammer.
DePape gained control of the hammer and before police could act, struck Pelosi in the head, knocking him unconscious, after which officers tackled him and put him under arrest.
During an interview with San Francisco police approximately five hours after the alleged attack, DePape explained why he broke into the Pelosi residence.
"It originates with Hillary and the DNC," referring to former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee, but it was Nancy Pelosi who was "on TV day in and out," DePape said.
He said that Democrats "are the criminals" and are on an "endless crime streak."
Prosecutors presented evidence that DePape intended to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage until "she told the truth" and that he would "break her kneecaps."
He said that he had other targets, including Tom Hanks, Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden.