Newly released redacted HBO footage from the House Committee on Administration reveals that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tried to immediately blame former President Donald Trump for the January 6th incident rather than taking responsibility herself. The footage supports claims by Trump that Pelosi failed to adequately prepare security measures in advance of the protest.
In the days leading up to January 6th, Trump had offered the National Guard, but this offer was declined. “Trump was later faulted by critics for not intervening quickly to send the Guard during the riot,” reported Joel Pollak in June.
In the footage, Pelosi is seen expressing frustration over the lack of preparedness, saying, “How many times did the members ask, ‘Are we prepared? Are we prepared?’ We’re not prepared for the worst. We’re calling the National Guard now? It should’ve been here to start out. I just don’t understand it. Why do we empower people this way by not being ready?”
These comments build on earlier HBO footage released in June, where Pelosi acknowledged her responsibility for not having the National Guard stationed to protect the Capitol.
On January 7th, rather than calling for the resignation of Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, Pelosi began planning to place the blame for the incident squarely on Trump. “I think our focus has to be on the president. Let’s not divert ourselves,” Pelosi stated. “I don’t want to have it on a par with the insurrection and impeachment and all of that,” Politico reported.
According to Politico, Pelosi strategized to deflect any responsibility from herself. She mentioned that she had spoken to Sund on January 6th and felt “he was throwing his own people under the bus.” While discussing how to criticize Sund for the Capitol Police’s failures, Pelosi advised her aides to “soften” their language, referring to it as a “broad failure of leadership at the top of the Capitol Police.”
The discussion then shifted to the role of Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving, the House’s top security official, and whether he should remain in his position to manage security for the upcoming inauguration.
Pelosi concluded the conversation by requesting a list of Trump’s Cabinet members so she could call them out by name when urging them to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office. She also planned to describe Trump as “a domestic enemy in the White House.