Newly released footage shows then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Jan. 6, 2021 as rioters were breaking into the U.S. Capitol building. In the video, Pelosi discussed the 25th Amendment, called then-President Donald Trump a domestic enemy and said she takes responsibility for not having better prepared security.
The footage was originally recorded by Pelosi’s daughter Alexandra for an HBO documentary she made about her mother called “Pelosi in the House.” It was released in 2022.
HBO gave the House Committee on Administration the new video as part of its Republican-led investigation aimed at undermining the Jan. 6 Select Committee. Multiple news outlets, including CNN, CBS and NBC also obtained the video.
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In a clip released by NBC News, Pelosi can be seen meeting with her senior staff on Jan. 7 and discussing the 25th Amendment. That amendment allows the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to declare the president unable to discharge the duties of his office, making the vice president the acting president.
“I want a copy of the cabinet because I want to say when we talk about the 25th Amendment, we’re talking, we’re calling upon Secretary Pompeo, secretary whatever his name is, Mnuchin, the attorney general of the United States,” Pelosi told her staff. “Just right down the succession line.”
“In calling for this seditious act, the president has committed an unspeakable assault on our nation and our people,” Pelosi ultimately told reporters on Jan. 7. “I join the Senate Democratic leader in calling on the vice president to remove this president by immediately invoking the 25th Amendment. If the vice president and the cabinet do not act, the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment.”
Then-Vice President Mike Pence declined to invoke the 25th Amendment and the House impeached Trump for a second time.
In another clip released by CBS, Pelosi is seen being escorted out of the Capitol by her security detail and asking why they were not prepared for the worst. She asked why the National Guard were just being called then and said they should have been there from the beginning.
“Why weren’t the National Guard there to begin with?” Pelosi asked a staff member.
“They thought that they had sufficient resources,” the staffer responded.
“That is not a question.” Pelosi said. “They don’t know, they clearly didn’t know and I take more responsibility for not having them just prepared for more.”
Former Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said Trump told them they would need 10,000 national guardsmen for Jan. 6 but never elaborated on it. According to The Associated Press, there is no evidence Trump signed an order approving troops. Miller also told the Jan. 6 committee that local law enforcement thought they had sufficient personnel.
