Paul Pelosi hammer attack video released
Written by ABC AUDIO on January 27, 2023
(WASHINGTON) — Audio and video recordings from the night Paul Pelosi, the husband of Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, was violently assaulted were released on Friday.
The public release comes after multiple news organizations, including ABC News, filed a court motion arguing the footage should be made available to the public after it was presented as evidence in court.
A San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the outlets on Wednesday.
Nancy Pelosi told reporters Thursday she “respected the system” after the judge’s decision to grant access. She said she hadn’t watched it herself and that it would be “a very hard thing to see.”
“My concern is my husband’s well-being and we take that day to day,” she said.
Paul Pelosi was hospitalized for several days after the Oct. 28 attack, which authorities described as politically motivated.
The suspect, David DePape, faces federal charges of assault and attempted kidnapping. DePape also faces a slew of state charges, including attempted murder, residential burglary and assault with a deadly weapon.
DePape has pleaded not guilty.
Paul Pelosi underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands. He returned to the public eye in early December, joining his wife at the Kennedy Center Honors.
DePape is accused of using a hammer to break into the Pelosi residence just before 2 a.m. on Oct. 28.
Authorities have said the assailant then went upstairs to where the 82-year-old Paul Pelosi was sleeping and woke him up, demanding to know “Where’s Nancy?”
During a hearing in December, prosecutors presented new evidence — including body camera footage and the 911 call Paul Pelosi made when he was attacked — in their case against DePape.
“Are the Capitol police around? I got a problem. A gentleman just came into my house, waiting for my wife to come home,” Paul Pelosi said on the 911 call.
According to the federal complaint, Paul Pelosi was able to call 911 after telling DePape he needed to use the bathroom. When officers arrived, they found the two men struggling over a hammer.
DePape then allegedly gained control of the hammer and used it to strike Paul Pelosi in the head, the complaint stated.
Officials said they discovered zip ties on the scene along with rope, tape and other things in DePape’s backpack.
DePape told investigators he was “going to hold Nancy hostage and talk to her,” according to authorities. If she told the truth, he said he “would let her go, and if she ‘lied,’ he was going to break ‘her kneecaps,'” the complaint said.
Nancy Pelosi has spoken about the “survivor’s guilt” she felt after the attack and how it turned their San Fransisco home into a “crime scene.”
“He’s one good day after another, he’s improving,” Pelosi told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on This Week in November. “It will take a little while. But we’ve been so comforted by the outpouring of so many prayers and good wishes.”
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