House Committee Releases Pelosi Conversation on Jan. 6

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Jun 11, 2024

Image copyright: Chip Somodevilla/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Imagesstory last updated Jun 12

The Facts

US House Republicans have released never-before-seen footage of high-ranking congressional leaders during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. The footage, provided by HBO, was taken by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calf.) daughter, documentarian Alexandra Pelosi.
One clip appears to show Pelosi talking to her chief of staff while evacuating the Capitol. She can be heard saying she "did not have any accountability for what was going on" but "should have." She further questioned why the "National Guard" wasn't "there to begin with."

The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

Pelosi's apparent regret seems disingenuous given that the then-head of the Capitol police confirmed she had rejected his request for troops days before. Further evidence continues to support Trump's claim that he requested 10K troops ahead of the election certification—but he, too, was denied by House leadership. After years of establishment Democrats and Republicans blaming Trump, it seems they were the ones failing to protect the Capitol.

Federalist

Anti-Trump narrative

Donald Trump's claim about requesting 10K troops has long been debunked. Not only did he not issue an official order, but by the time he did deploy troops to combat his violent supporters, they had been ransacking the Capitol for five hours. Pelosi and Schumer were understandably confused because they were not in charge of the Army; the president was. Donald Trump summoned the mob and then took his sweet time to force them out of the Capitol.