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      Barack Obama reacts to attack on 'good friend' Paul Pelosi – video

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      At a rally in Georgia, Barack Obama commented on the violent attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband. The former US president said Paul Pelosi was a ‘good friend’ and condemned politicians who ‘stir up division to make folks as angry and as afraid of one another … for their own advantage’.
      Pelosi was attacked with a hammer after an intruder entered his home in San Francisco, demanding to see his wife, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who was in Washington. The attack has prompted fears of growing political violence in the US before the midterm elections on 8 November

      Paul Pelosi in hospital with skull fracture after attack

      Attack heightens fears of increasing US political violence More

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      Attack on Pelosi’s husband heightens fears of increasing US political violence

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      Attack on Pelosi’s husband heightens fears of increasing US political violenceHammer assault on Paul Pelosi is latest in series of violent and threatening acts as midterm elections loom The bloody hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has sparked increased fears over political violence in America just weeks before the country’s crucial midterm elections.Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, in hospital after being attacked at homeRead moreThe assault – by someone who reportedly entered the Democratic leader’s home specifically in search of her – comes amid an alarming rise in violent rhetoric and threats targeting US lawmakers.As Americans prepare to go to the polls on 8 November, many experts and observers have warned of the danger of acts of political violence. The election has played out in an atmosphere of conspiracy and intimidation amid widespread rightwing claims of voter fraud and persistent evidence-free accusations that the 2020 election was stolen.Paul Pelosi’s assailant reportedly posted on social media numerous far-right conspiracy theories around the election, as well as other issues such as big tech and the Covid-19 pandemic.According to police, a suspect identified as 42-year-old David DePape broke into Pelosi’s San Francisco home and beat her husband with a hammer until officers disarmed him. The suspect is now facing a number of charges, including attempted homicide and assault with a deadly weapon. Pelosi was taken to a nearby hospital, and the speaker’s office said he was expected to make a full recovery.CNN has reported that the assailant appeared to have targeted the speaker, who was not in San Francisco at the time of the attack. The suspect reportedly entered her home shouting, “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”The assault marked the latest in a string of incidents involving threats of violence against American lawmakers, judges and political candidates.In June, a man carrying a gun was arrested outside the home of the supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh after threatening to kill him. A month later, Seattle police responded to a call about a man standing outside the home of Pramila Jayapal and shouting death threats and racial slurs against the progressive congresswoman. Days after that, New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin was attacked at a campaign event, when a man with a sharp weapon charged at him.Jayapal weighed in on the assault against Pelosi’s husband, saying on Twitter, “My heart breaks for @SpeakerPelosi and Paul Pelosi, and for our entire country. This violence is horrific. Our prayers are with them both and their family.”My heart breaks for @SpeakerPelosi and Paul Pelosi, and for our entire country. This violence is horrific. Our prayers are with them both and their family. ❤️ https://t.co/og5ZUVSAhW— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) October 28, 2022
      The US Capitol police has reported an overall rise in the number of threats against members of Congress since the deadly January 6 insurrection last year.According to USCP data, officers tracked 9,625 threats and directions of interest (meaning concerning actions or statements) against members of Congress in 2021, compared with 3,939 such instances in 2017. The House sergeant at arms has responded to this worrisome trend by giving lawmakers up to $10,000 to upgrade security at their homes.Although both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have faced a number of threats in recent months, the increase is not evenly distributed along the political spectrum. According to a study conducted by the Anti-Defamation League, rightwing extremists have committed about 75% of the 450 political murders that occurred in the US over the past decade, compared with 4% attributed to leftwing extremists.The January 6 insurrection, which was carried out by a group of Donald Trump’s supporters attempting to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory, provided a vivid example of the danger of rightwing extremism. A bipartisan Senate report released in June concluded that seven people died in connection with the insurrection.The words of the man who assaulted Pelosi’s husband on Friday echoed those of the January 6 insurrectionists. One man who participated in the Capitol attack was recorded saying, “Where are you, Nancy? We’re looking for you.”The attack against Pelosi’s husband prompted calls for Republican lawmakers to condemn the use of threats and violence against political opponents. One of those calls came from Adam Kinzinger, a Republican member of the the House select committee investigating January 6 whose family has received death threats over his work with the panel.“This morning’s terrifying attack on Paul Pelosi by a man obsessed with election conspiracies is a dangerous reality encouraged by some members of my own party,” Kinzinger said on Twitter. “This must be condemned by every Member of Congress [and] candidate. Now.”TopicsUS politicsNancy PelosiDemocratsRepublicansnewsReuse this content More

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      What we know so far about the man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband

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      What we know so far about the man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husbandDavid DePape, 42, was a hemp jewellery maker who posted conspiracy theories on Facebook The man accused of breaking into US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home in San Francisco and beating her husband with a hammer grew up in Canada, became a nudist activist in the Bay Area, and spread far-right conspiracy theories before being linked to the attack Friday, according to relatives and various media reports.David DePape, the 42-year-old suspect booked with attempting to murder Paul Pelosi, grew up in Powell River, British Colombia, but left about two decades ago to maintain a romantic relationship that led him to California, his stepfather Gene DePape told CNN.Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, in hospital with skull fracture after attackRead moreHe had since become estranged from his family, Gene DePape and an uncle named Mark DePape said to CNN. But David DePape’s name and photo surfaced in San Francisco Chronicle news coverage for his living in a three-bedroom Victorian flat in Berkeley with a known nudist activist named Oxane “Gypsy” Taub, her three children and her fiance, Jaymz Smith.Smith and Taub had asked DePape, described as a hemp jewellery maker, to be the best man at a wedding they planned to hold on the steps of San Francisco’s city hall.Taub was convicted last year of various criminal charges, including stalking and attempted child abduction.Listed years ago in voting records as a Green Party supporter, DePape said he also took to the streets with activists who opposed a successful push to ban public nudity in San Francisco, the Chronicle also reported.More recently, Gene DePape and Mark DePape said, David maintained a Facebook account containing multiple conspiracy-laden posts.The account, which was taken down by Facebook’s owner Meta on Friday, included links to videos produced by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell which falsely claimed that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Republican incumbent Donald Trump in favor of his Democratic rival Joe Biden.Other posts mentioned videos falsely proclaiming that the congressional committee investigating the US Capitol attack staged by Trump supporters on January 6 had collapsed, and another was titled: “Global Elites Plan To Take Control Of YOUR Money! (Revealed)”.Additionally, he purportedly managed a blog under the domain godisloving.wordpress.com – also deactivated Friday – on which he regularly posted rants concerning the “ruling class”.The blog also had a banner reading “Weclome (sic) to Big Brothers Censorship Hell” above numerous posts rambling about government, media, tech and alien conspiracies, among other topics.Speaking to CNN, a DePape acquaintance named Linda Schneider said that she met him about eight years ago. He was living in a storage unit in Berkeley and described him as struggling with hard drugs at the time.Schneider said she later began receiving “really disturbing” emails from him, adding that he was “using biblical justification to do harm”.Another acquaintance, Laura Hayes, told CNN that she worked with DePape about 10 years ago and helped him make the hemp bracelets that he sold as part of a business he ran.“He was very odd – he didn’t make eye contact very well,” Hayes said, adding that he told her that “he talks to angels and there will be a hard time coming”.On Friday, San Francisco police alleged that DePape broke into the home of the 82-year-old Pelosis in a targeted act. Wielding a hammer, he allegedly attacked Paul Pelosi and asked, “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”The speaker was not at home at the time – she was in Washington DC with a security detail which accompanies her at all times, as standard.Pelosi dialed 911 himself and got police to check on him after telling the burglar that he had to use the bathroom and then calling on his phone, which had been charging there, Politico reported.Police then went to the Pelosis’ place at about 2.30am on Friday, and they found both Paul Pelosi and DePape both grasping at the hammer. Officers immediately arrested DePape, who had apparently planned to tie up Paul Pelosi until the speaker of the House returned home.First responders took Paul Pelosi to a hospital to be treated for blunt force trauma to his head and body. A spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi said her businessman husband had undergone “successful surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands” and was expected to make a full physical recovery.Authorities on Friday were expecting to charge DePape with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and other felonies.TopicsNancy PelosiUS politicsSan FrancisconewsReuse this content More

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      Democrats and Republicans condemn attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband

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      Democrats and Republicans condemn attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husbandReactions pour in after Paul Pelosi was violently attacked by a hammer-wielding intruder Politicians from across the political aisle are reacting to the news that US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was injured during a break-in and attack at their California home.The White House released a statement on behalf of Joe Biden, confirming that the president had spoken to Pelosi, his fellow Democrat, and expressed his support for Paul Pelosi’s recovery.Biden also denounced the violence and called for the couple’s privacy to be respected.“The President continues to condemn all violence, and asks that the family’s desire for privacy be respected”, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said in part.Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, in hospital after being attacked at homeRead moreThe US Senate’s Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, similarly decried Friday’s violence, calling the attack against Pelosi and her husband a “a dastardly act”.“I spoke with speaker Pelosi earlier this morning and conveyed my deepest concern and heartfelt wishes to her husband and their family, and I wish him a speedy recovery,” Schumer said on Twitter.Amid Republicans, many wished Paul a steady recovery and denounced the violence.The Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell wished Pelosi a full recovery and shared his shock at the attack on Twitter: “Horrified and disgusted by the reports that Paul Pelosi was assaulted in his and speaker Pelosi’s home last night. Grateful to hear that Paul is on track to make a full recovery and that law enforcement including our stellar Capitol police are on the case.”The House Republican whip Steve Scalise condemned the attack on Twitter and shared gratitude for investigators’ involvement.Scalise, who was shot in an attempted assassination in 2017, added, “Let’s be clear: Violence has no place in this country. I’m praying for Paul Pelosi’s full recovery.”Meanwhile, Kentucky senator Rand Paul shared a message of recovery for Pelosi’s husband. But he also expressed bitterness at a 2020 tweet from Pelosi’s daughter about an attack Rand Paul suffered from a neighbor in 2017.“No one deserves to be assaulted. Unlike Nancy Pelosi’s daughter who celebrated my assault, I condemn this attack and wish Mr Pelosi a speedy recovery,” Paul tweeted on Friday.Paul Pelosi was attacked on Friday at the Pelosi’s San Fransisco residence while the California representative was in Washington DC.The hammer-wielding intruder broke into the Pelosi home, allegedly shouting, “Where is Nancy?” in search of the top House Democrat.The attack was not random, the Associated Press reported, and the attacker, who is in custody, allegedly targeted the Pelosi family residence.Pelosi is currently in an area hospital after the violent attack and is expected to make a full physical recovery.TopicsNancy PelosiUS politicsSan FrancisconewsReuse this content More

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      Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, in hospital after being attacked at home

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      Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, in hospital after being attacked at homeDemocratic House speaker’s office says husband ‘violently assaulted’ early on Friday by suspect who is now in police custody Paul Pelosi, husband of the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, was taken to hospital early on Friday after he was attacked at the couple’s home in California with a hammer by an assailant who was reported to have shouted “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”San Francisco police said that they were called to the Pelosi house in the city on a “wellbeing check” at about 2.27am local time on Friday morning. They found an adult male confronting Paul Pelosi, and a hammer was being grasped by both men.“The suspect pulled the hammer away from Mr Pelosi and violently assaulted him with it. Our officers immediately tackled the suspect, disarmed him, took him into custody,” said Bill Scott, chief of the San Francisco police department.Scott named the suspect as David DePape, 42, adding that any motive was still being determined. Charges are to be brought at the San Francisco county jail, including attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and other felonies.It was reported by CNN that the suspect intended to tie the victim up “until Nancy got home” and that he had posted rightwing and conspiracy theories online, including content promoting the lie that Donald Trump was deprived of victory in the 2020 election because of voter fraud.In a statement to CNN, an acquaintance of DePape’s said he appeared to be “out of touch with reality”. Two of the suspect’s relatives also told the network that DePape, who grew up in British Columbia, Canada, was estranged from his family.In addition to multiple conspiracy posts on his Facebook account, which was reviewed by CNN and later taken down by Meta on Friday, DePape is also believed to have managed a blog to which he regularly posted screeds concerning the “ruling class”. The blog, which the San Francisco Chronicle reviewed and was later taken down, had a banner that said “Welcome to Big Brothers Censorship Hell”, along with numerous conspiracy posts about the government, media outlets and tech companies.According to the Associated Press, the attacker had specifically targeted the Pelosi family home. Video footage of the house showed glass shattered in a side entrance, indicating where the break-in may have occurred. A person briefed on the situation told AP that the intruder had confronted Paul Pelosi while demanding to know where his wife was. A similar chant of “Where’s Nancy?” was made by insurrectionists during the assault on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.The speaker was not at home at the time of the attack, but was in Washington DC with security protection that accompanies her at all times as standard.Her husband suffered blunt force trauma to the head and body in the attack. He was being treated in hospital for bruising, severe swelling and other injuries.In a statement, Pelosi’s spokesperson Drew Hammill said the speaker’s husband, 82, was “receiving excellent medical care and is expected to make a full recovery”. “The speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time,” Hammill said.MSNBC on Friday afternoon reported that Pelosi was traveling to San Francisco to be with her husband, who was still undergoing surgery at the time. A Pelosi spokesperson wouldn’t comment on that report.While the exact motivation for the attack was unclear on Friday morning, it raised fears about the safety of members of Congress and their families.Concerns have been rising, particularly since the insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, by extremist supporters of Donald Trump intent on overturning his supposed loss to Joe Biden in the presidential election, about a new era of violent threats against US lawmakers and their families and staff, and their security.In July, members of Congress were given $10,000 each to upgrade security at their homes in the face of rising threats. Some have pushed for even more protection, pointing to people turning up at their homes and an increasing amount of threatening communications.Joe Biden called Nancy Pelosi about the incident on Friday morning.“The president is praying for Paul Pelosi and for Speaker Pelosi’s whole family. This morning he called Speaker Pelosi to express his support after this horrible attack. He is also very glad that a full recovery is expected,” the White House said in a statement.US faces new era of political violence as threats against lawmakers riseRead moreChuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader in the US Senate, called Friday’s attack “a dastardly act”. He said he had conveyed his “deepest concern and heartfelt wishes” to Nancy Pelosi.Top Republicans also expressed their horror at the attack. Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader in the House who is poised to take over as speaker should the Democrats lose control of the chamber in next month’s midterm elections, reached out to “check in on Paul” according to a spokesperson.The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, said he was “horrified and disgusted” by the assault.Paul Pelosi is a businessman who runs his own real estate and venture capital investment firm, Financial Leasing Services, based in San Francisco. He met Nancy D’Alesandro when they were both students in Washington DC, and they married in 1963. They have five children and many grandchildren.Nancy Pelosi has had two stints as speaker of the US House, between 2007 to 2011 and since January 2019. She represents California’s 12th congressional district.The investigation into Friday’s attack is being handled jointly by the FBI, the US Capitol police (USCP) and local San Francisco officers.The statement said that special agents with the USCP’s California field office “quickly arrived on scene”. A team of threat assessment investigators from the east coast was also sent to assist the FBI and the San Francisco police department with a joint investigation.Nancy Pelosi had just returned to Washington this week from a security conference in Europe and is due to make a keynote speech at an advocacy event on Saturday evening with vice-president, Kamala Harris.In addition to the rising threats on members of Congress, state and local politicians have also been confronted by increased threat levels. This week the campaign office of Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s secretary of state who is running for governor of the state in next month’s midterm elections, was broken into.A suspect, Daniel Mota Dos Reis, has been charged with third-degree burglary.Often at Pelosi’s side during formal events in Washington, Paul Pelosi largely remains on the west coast.Guardian reporter Maya Yang and the Associated Press and contributed reportingTopicsNancy PelosiDemocratsUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Pelosi says Trump not ‘man enough to show up’ to testify on January 6

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      Pelosi says Trump not ‘man enough to show up’ to testify on January 6Trump previously indicated he would agree to testify under live proceedings, but Pelosi says his lawyers will be unlikely to let him speak As jury selection begins in a criminal trial of the Trump Organization for tax fraud, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has taunted Donald Trump with being too cowardly to testify in another legal challenge bearing down on him.The House speaker goaded the former president in an MSNBC interview over the subpoena that was served on Friday, ordering him to testify under oath before the committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack. “I don’t think he’s man enough to show up,” Pelosi said.Donald Trump formally subpoenaed by January 6 committeeRead moreTrump has been given until 4 November to produce numerous documents demanded by the House committee relating to his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, which culminated in the Capitol insurrection. He is then expected to be called before the panel on or about 14 November.“I don’t think his lawyers will want him to show up because he has to testify under oath. We’ll see if he’s man enough to show up,” Pelosi said.Pelosi’s acerbic comments were made as Trump’s legal problems appeared to be closing in on him. On Monday, jury selection began in a criminal trial brought by the district attorney of Manhattan.It accuses the Trump Organization – the former president’s business conglomerate – of a range of crimes including tax fraud and handing out undeclared perks to senior executives. Trump is not charged personally in the case, which is expected to last a month, but could be affected by reputational damage to his company.Republicans always choose radicalization to energize their electoral base | Thomas ZimmerRead moreThe case has been brought by the Manhattan DA, Alvin Bragg. The star witness is likely to be Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization.Weisselberg pleaded guilty in August to accepting off-the-books untaxed perks, including rent, car payments and school tuition. He secured a plea deal in which a possible maximum 15-year prison sentence has been reduced to five months in exchange for his cooperation with prosecutors.Lawyers for the Trump Organization are expected to argue in court that Weisselberg arranged the perks on his own behalf without any complicity from the company.Among the documents that Trump has been ordered to turn over to the January 6 committee are all records of phone calls and texts sent or received by the former president on the day of the US Capitol attack. The committee has also specifically requested any communications between Trump and the far-right extremist groups the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.Capitol attack: Proud Boys leader pleads guilty to seditious conspiracyRead moreIt remains to be seen whether Pelosi’s prediction that Trump will duck an appearance before the committee proves to be accurate. He has indicated he would willingly testify but with the proviso that he does so in live proceedings.Over the weekend Liz Cheney, the Republican vice-chairperson of the committee, rebuffed the idea of a live Trump spectacle. She told NBC News the committee would treat the event “with great seriousness”.“Trump’s not going to turn this into a circus,” Cheney said.The trial of the Trump Organization emerged out of a criminal investigation launched by the Manhattan DA into whether Trump fraudulently distorted his company’s assets and earnings to reduce his tax burden and secure preferable deals with banks and other lenders. Bragg pulled back in January from charging Trump personally, leading to the resignation of two top prosecutors in protest.Two Trump Organization entities – the Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp – are implicated in the trial. They face possible fines of up to $1.7m (£1.5m), which is a relatively tiny amount for the conglomerate, but a conviction could have knock-on effects for future business.Trump still faces a civil lawsuit over the fraud allegations that were brought by the attorney general of New York state, Letitia James, last month. The suit accuses Trump of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars and seeks to bar the former president and his three eldest children from serving as business executives in New York. TopicsDonald TrumpJanuary 6 hearingsNancy PelosiUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Unchecked review: how Trump dodged two impeachments … and the January 6 committee?

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      Unchecked review: how Trump dodged two impeachments … and the January 6 committee? Rachael Bade and Karoun Demirjian’s account of how the Democrats failed to oust Trump is timely – and worryingOn Thursday, the House January 6 committee voted unanimously to issue a subpoena to Donald Trump. He has indicated he is considering testifying but surely the likelihood of him doing so under oath is nil. He lacks all incentive to appear. The committee’s long-term existence is doubtful.Trump a narcissist and a ‘dick’, ex-ambassador Sondland says in new bookRead moreIn their joint account of Trump’s two impeachments, Rachael Bade of Politico and Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post suggest the US is exhausted by the pandemic and perpetual investigation. The quest for “Capitol riot accountability became an afterthought to … other crises”, they write.Trump lost to Joe Biden by more than 7m votes nationally but only by the thinnest of margins in the battleground states. Trump is on the ballot this November, even if his name does not appear. The Republicans are primed to take the House and possibly the Senate.In other words, Trump’s future rests with the courts and the electorate, not Congress. For all the committee’s efforts, Trump remains either hero or villain depending on demographics, habits and preferences. Political identification is an extension of self.Against this dystopian backdrop, Bade and Demirjian deliver a granular examination of both Trump impeachments and the work of the January 6 committee. Their joint effort is a stinging indictment of what they see as Republican cravenness and Democratic ineptitude.The former allowed Trump to evade consequences, the latter failed to master the levers of power. The authors are alarmed but their words are measured. They worry about what might be next.“Even if they did not intend to, the Democrats’ efforts to oust Trump created a paradigm for hostile presidents to ignore subpoenas and buck [Capitol] Hill oversight,” Bade and Demirjian write.They also posit that “a party with congressional supermajorities may one day oust a president with no evidence at all”. Said differently, the impeachment process will become wholly debased, a cudgel to be deployed as the US careens through its cold civil war. House Republicans have raised the possibility of a Biden impeachment already.As is to be expected, Unchecked is well-sourced and noted. The book records the give-and-take between congressional leaders and members, at the same time helping the reader understand how the US reached this point.During the first impeachment, the authors capture Mitch McConnell as he rallies his Republican Senate troops. His pitch centers on power. He depicts impeachment over Ukraine as a smokescreen for the Democrats’ ambition to take the chamber.“This is not about this president,” McConnell said. “It’s not about anything he’s been accused of doing,” Rather, “it has always been about 3 November 2020. It’s about flipping the Senate.”McConnell loathed Trump but understood their fates could not be separated. If McConnell were pitted against Trump in a Republican popularity contest, the Kentuckian would be squashed. He lacked Trump’s appeal and was overtly linked to the donor base. Banker’s shirts do not signal “man of the people”. For McConnell, populism was an acquired taste, if that. He could fake it, to a point. But in the Senate, he held sway.At the same time, there was the reality of Trump’s approaches to Ukraine. As much as Trump lawyers argued there was no quid pro quo, in private, Senate Republicans weren’t buying it.Before the first impeachment trial, Ted Cruz of Texas met Trump’s team. He argued it was irrelevant whether their client engaged in a quid pro quo. Rather, the issue was one of intent. If uprooting foreign corruption motivated the contemplated transaction, that would be legally permissible. Cruz failed to persuade the White House counsel, Pat Cipollone. As the action shifted to the Senate, Trump’s lawyers angered Republican jurors. Alan Dershowitz equated presidential power to that of a king unchecked by parliament. “If the president does something which he believes will help get him elected, in the public interest”, that would be fine.Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of Republican leadership, was not amused. He demanded that Dershowitz be fired. The next day, the Harvard professor was gone.As for the Democrats, they failed to internalize that their audience was the Republican Senate. With Trump in the White House, Adam Schiff enjoyed a meteoric rise among Democratic House colleagues. But he left Senate Republicans unmoved. In the end, they were yawning.Fast forward to the second impeachment. Here, Bade and Demirjian depict Kevin McCarthy in all his oleaginous glory. The House minority leader devolves from someone who confronted Trump to an out-and-out sycophant.On January 6, McCarthy lambasted Trump over the riot. Within weeks, the man who would replace Nancy Pelosi as speaker traveled to Mar-a-Lago with hat in hand. He too realized that it was Trump’s party now.At its core, removing a president is about politics. For impeachment to succeed, it must transcend raw partisanship, a reality Pelosi expressed early on. Richard Nixon resigned because congressional allies would no longer protect him. The Watergate tapes were the smoking gun.Confidence Man: The Making of Trump and the Breaking of America review – the vain sadist and his ‘shrink’Read moreNow, with or without a criminal referral by the January 6 committee, justice department investigations of Trump are in full swing. On Friday, the Washington Post reported that a federal judge ordered Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury, and that earlier in the week the US Court of Appeals refused to block Marc Short, Pence’s chief of staff, from doing the same.But that is not the end of the story. Inflation continues, interest rates on home mortgages have shot above 7%, and Biden’s relationship to basic facts appears situational at best.With cost-of-living outstripping take-home pay, the saliency of abortion and the supreme court Dobbs decision diminishes. The Democrats also appear out of step on crime. In the midterms, shouting that democracy and the constitution hang in the balance will not be enough. Culture will always matter. Whether the Democrats can figure this out remains to be seen.
      Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress’s Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump is published in the US by HarperCollins
      TopicsBooksDonald TrumpTrump administrationTrump impeachment (2019)Trump impeachment (2021)US politicsUS Capitol attackreviewsReuse this content More

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      ‘Do you believe this?’: New video shows how Nancy Pelosi took charge in Capitol riot

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      ‘Do you believe this?’: New video shows how Nancy Pelosi took charge in Capitol riotHouse speaker continued to try to find a way for House and Senate to reconvene despite turmoilNew footage of the January 6 riots at the US Capitol shows House speaker Nancy Pelosi calmly trying to take charge of the situation as she sheltered at Fort McNair, two miles south of the Capitol. “There has to be some way,” she told colleagues, “we can maintain the sense that people have that there is some security or some confidence that government can function and that you can elect the president of the United States.” Then an unidentified voice interjected with alarming news: lawmakers on the House floor had begun putting on teargas masks in preparation for a breach. Pelosi asked the woman to repeat what she said.Capitol attack panel votes to subpoena Trump – ‘the central cause of January 6’Read more“Do you believe this?” Pelosi said to another Democratic leader, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. The footage was from about 2.45pm, when rioters had already disrupted the planned certification of the 2020 presidential election results. It would be hours before the building was secure. Never-before-seen video footage played Thursday by the House of Representatives select committee investigating last year’s riot shows how Pelosi and other leaders, including Republican allies of Donald Trump, responded to the insurrection. The recordings offer a rare glimpse into the real-time reactions of the most powerful members of Congress as they scrambled to drum up support from all parts of the government, including from agencies seemingly ill prepared for the chaos, and vented anger over a president whose conduct they felt had endangered their lives. In the videos, Pelosi and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer negotiate with governors and defence officials to try to get the national guard to the Capitol as police were being brutally beaten outside the building. The deployment of the guard was delayed for hours as Trump stood by and did little to stop the violence of his supporters. The footage, recorded by Pelosi’s daughter, Alexandra, a documentary film-maker, was shown during the committee’s 10th hearing as an illustration of the president’s inaction in the face of the grave danger posed by the rioters. “As the president watched the bloody attack unfold on Fox News from his dining room, members of Congress and other government officials stepped into the gigantic leadership void created by the president’s chilling and steady passivity that day,” said Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin, a committee member. The concerns were not theoretical. At roughly 3pm, as a Trump loyalist outside Pelosi’s office pointed her finger and shouted, “Bring her out now!” and, “We’re coming in if you don’t bring her out!” the speaker was in a room with Schumer, who said: “I’m gonna call up the effin’ secretary of DoD.”As the violence persisted at the Capitol – “Officer down, get him up,” a voice could be heard bellowing in one clip shown by the committee – the leaders kept making calls from Fort McNair. One went to Virginia governor Ralph Northam about the possibility of help from the Virginia national guard, with Pelosi narrating the events based on what she saw from television news footage. An angrier call followed with Jeffrey Rosen, the then acting attorney general. Days earlier, and unbeknownst at the time to Congress or to the public, Rosen and colleagues had fended off a slapdash attempt by Trump to replace him with a subordinate eager to challenge the election results. On that day, though, Schumer and Pelosi sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the couch and laid bare their frustrations with the country’s top law enforcement official.Throughout the footage, Pelosi maintains her composure, barely raising her voice as she urges Rosen, and later vice-president Mike Pence and others, to send help and tries to work out a way for the House and Senate to reconvene. “They’re breaking the law in many different ways,” Pelosi said to Rosen. “And quite frankly, much of it at the instigation of the president of the United States.” Schumer weighed in too: “Yeah, why don’t you get the president to tell them to leave the Capitol, Mr attorney-general, in your law enforcement responsibility? A public statement they should all leave.” It wasn’t until the evening that the Capitol would be cleared and work would resume. The news that Congress would be able to reconvene to finish its work in certifying the election results was delivered to the congressional leaders not by Trump but by Pence. The House January 6 committee voted unanimously Thursday to subpoena Trump, demanding his personal testimony as it unveiled startling new video of close aides describing his multi-part plan to overturn his 2020 election loss that led to his supporters assault on the Capitol.TopicsJanuary 6 hearingsUS Capitol attackDonald TrumpChuck SchumerUS politicsNancy PelosinewsReuse this content More