U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, wears a protective mask while walking though the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 6.
Photo: Ting Shen/Bloomberg/Getty Images
On Tuesday, a Republican-led House committee released new documentary footage taken on January 6, 2021, giving a closer look at then–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s real-time reaction to the evacuation of the U.S. Capitol as a riot raged outside.
The series of videos were published by the House Committee on Administration on its website. One ten-minute-long clip shows the hectic moments after Pelosi was asked to leave the building. The House leader is seen rushing through hallways and down staircases with her aides and security at her side; a member of the security team can be heard telling Pelosi that the crowd of Trump supporters had breached the Capitol.
“I do not appreciate this. I do not support this — my leaving the Capitol like this. We cannot let them disrupt what we’re doing,” Pelosi says.
Pelosi criticizes the inadequate and sluggish security response to the riot. “How many times did the members ask, ‘Are we prepared? Are we prepared?’” she says. “We’re not prepared for the worst. We’re calling the National Guard now. It should’ve been here to start. I just don’t understand it.”
There are also clips of Pelosi talking with her staff on January 7, discussing her upcoming remarks on the riots. In one clip, an aide reads out Pelosi’s prepared statement as Pelosi is in an SUV en route to the Capitol. The first draft included a call for the resignation of then–Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, but Pelosi pushes back on the language. “I think our focus has to be on the president. Let’s not divert ourselves,” Pelosi said. “I never liked Sund. I think he should’ve been gone a long time ago.” (Republicans have sought to direct blame for Capitol security failures toward Pelosi herself.)
In another video taken during a meeting with her staff, Pelosi has strong words for Donald Trump, giving an early indication that she would seek to impeach him for his actions surrounding January 6. “We’ve taken an oath to protect our country from all enemies foreign and domestic. There’s a domestic enemy in the White House,” she says. “And let’s not mince words about this.”
The footage was filmed by Alexandra Pelosi, the former Speaker’s daughter, who works as a documentary filmmaker. She was accompanying her mother that day filming a project for HBO. The network later turned the footage over to Congress.
