Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had two clear priorities during and after the January 6 Capitol riot: ensuring the certification of President-elect Joe Biden and holding Donald Trump accountable for his role in the chaos.
“I just feel sick about what he did to the Capitol and the country today. He’s got a price to pay for that,” Pelosi said on January 7, 2021, from the backseat of her SUV. This moment, captured in 50 minutes of footage filmed by her daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, has been analyzed by Politico. The video is now in the possession of the Republican-led House Committee on Administration, which is critical of the January 6 committee’s selective focus.
The footage shows Pelosi being evacuated from the Capitol by police amid the chaos of the riot. During her evacuation, she inquired about then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s actions regarding the National Guard, learning that he had approved the request for their deployment.
Pelosi expressed her frustration about being evacuated, stating, “I did not appreciate this.” She was adamant that the proceedings continue to avoid validating the rioters’ attempts to halt the certification of the election. “If they stop the proceedings, they will have succeeded in stopping the validation of the presidency of the United States,” she said, while also criticizing the Capitol Police for being unprepared.
“I just don’t understand it. Why do we empower people this way by not being ready?” she asked, focusing on Trump’s influence over the situation as she entered the security zone at Fort McNair with other lawmakers.
During the chaos, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) raised concerns about whether Trump could potentially pardon those involved. While Pelosi, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, and other leaders like Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and James Clyburn (D-SC) remained silent on the matter, Trump ultimately did not pardon any of the rioters. However, he has suggested he might consider it if reelected.
Schumer criticized Trump’s response, saying, “We shouldn’t let him off the hook, Nancy. We issued a statement saying he’s got to make a statement. He comes up with this BS.” Hoyer added, “Typical Trump,” to which Pelosi responded, “Insurrection. That’s a crime, and he’s guilty of it.”
By the next day, Pelosi had made Trump the focal point of her press conference, declaring him a “dangerous man” responsible for “an armed insurrection against America.” When her communications director, Henry Connelly, suggested she call for the resignation of Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, Pelosi shifted the focus back to Trump, stating, “I think our focus has to be on the president. Let’s not divert ourselves,” though she acknowledged her longstanding disapproval of Sund’s leadership.
Pelosi was uncertain whether she had enough support within her party to promise impeachment proceedings against Trump at that moment.
The House Administration Oversight Subcommittee, which is conducting its own investigation into January 6, criticized Pelosi for focusing on President Trump rather than taking responsibility for the lack of security at the Capitol, according to Politico.
Later, in her office, Pelosi continued discussing the failures that led to the riot, attributing them to “a failure of leadership at the top of the Capitol Police” and declaring that House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving should be removed to prevent another such incident.
Pelosi then turned her attention to invoking the 25th Amendment to declare Trump unfit for office. She requested a list of Trump’s cabinet members to pressure them to remove him, calling Trump “a domestic enemy in the White House.”
“Let’s not mince words about this,” she said while reading a statement from former Bush administration Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who urged Trump to resign or be removed. “Good for him,” she added.
Recently, some January 6 participants have been released from prison. One notable case is John Strand, who was jailed for 32 months but had his sentence overturned following a Supreme Court ruling that dismissed the obstruction charge for those involved in the Capitol breach.