On Wednesday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi found herself in a heated exchange with a reporter who accused her of blocking the deployment of the National Guard during the infamous January 6 Capitol riot. The incident unfolded as the 85-year-old Democratic representative from California was filmed leaving the Capitol, hand-in-hand with an aide.
As Pelosi descended the Capitol steps, she was approached by Allison Steinberg, a reporter from LindellTV, who questioned her about her alleged refusal to call in the National Guard. The question seemed to strike a nerve, prompting Pelosi to stop in her tracks and confront Steinberg directly.
Pointing her finger for emphasis, Pelosi retorted, “Shut up! I did not refuse the National Guard. The president didn’t send it.” Her pointed response underscored her frustration with what she perceived as a misleading narrative.
Pelosi then challenged Steinberg’s journalistic integrity, questioning why she was echoing “Republican talking points” instead of pursuing serious journalism. This confrontation highlighted the ongoing political tensions surrounding the events of January 6.
The exchange comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the security lapses that occurred during the riot. Previously released footage had shown Pelosi acknowledging some degree of responsibility for the security oversights on that chaotic day. The incident remains a contentious topic, with questions about accountability and decision-making still lingering in the public discourse.
However, damning footage released last year showed Pelosi took some responsibility for the security failures on the day of the Capitol riot.
In the video shot by Pelosi’s daughter, Alexandria, while the pair were escaping from the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the former speaker fielded questions about the lack of a response from the National Guard.
‘They clearly didn’t know, and I take responsibility for not having them just prepared for more,’ Pelosi admitted to her chief of staff Terri McCullough in the footage.
Nancy Pelosi hit out at a reporter on Wednesday for accusing her of refusing to send in the National Guard during the January 6 Capitol riot
She accused LindellTV reporter Allison Steinberg of spreading Republican talking points
‘We have totally failed,’ she continued in the video, published by Republicans leading the Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight.
‘We have to take responsibility for not holding the security accountable for what could have happened.’
‘Oh my God, I cannot believe the stupidity of this,’ Pelosi added as she sat in the back seat of a car driving speedily through what appeared to be a Capitol complex parking garage. ‘And I take the full responsibility.’
She could also be seen in the video blasting one of her aides for questioning why the National Guard was not at the scene.
‘This is ridiculous,’ the exacerbated Democrat told her staffer in the video.
‘You’re going to ask me — in the middle of the thing when they’ve already breached the inaugural stuff — “should we call the Capitol Police?” I mean the National Guard.’
House Democrats leading their own investigation into the events of January 6 had sought to paint President Donald Trump as an insurrectionist for delaying or inhibiting a response from the National Guard.
But Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Republican from Georgia who is leading the new select subcommittee tasked with revisiting the events of the Capitol riot, said the footage of Pelosi escaping that day disproved that narrative.
‘Pelosi’s J6 Select Committee spent taxpayer’s money chasing false political narratives and using Hollywood producers for their ‘investigation,’” he wrote at the time.
‘Her admission of responsibility directly contradicts their own narrative.’
Damning footage released last year shows Pelosi took some responsibility for the security failures on the day of the Capitol riot
House Democrats leading their own investigation into the events of January 6 had sought to paint President Donald Trump as an insurrectionist for delaying or inhibiting a response from the National Guard
Col. Earl Matthews has since come forward as a whistleblower for the new Republican-led committee, claiming that Mark Milley – who served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs at the time – and then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy were plotting to disobey any orders handed down by Trump.
Matthews told the Daily Mail the two ‘unreasonably’ assumed he would break the law and use the National Guard to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.
When Pelosi then attempted to coordinate a military response to the riots with then-Vice President Mike Pence, she said the National Guard was already deployed to the Capitol but did not yet have permission to engage the protesters, according to a video reviewed by Politico.
She added that she was ‘disappointed that the [Secretary of Defense] took so long to approve the National Guard,’ and questioned why Capitol Police had not appropriately planned for the protest to turn violent.
Following Pelosi’s outburst on Wednesday, Rep. Barry Loudermilk vowed to continue the investigation
Following Pelosi’s outburst on Wednesday, Loudermilk vowed to the New York Post to continue the investigation.
‘While Dems seem keen on playing political games and doubling down on the predetermined political narrative of Pelosi’s former committee, Republicans will continue to pursue the facts in an objective manner, no matter where they lead,’ he said.
‘The American people deserve a complete and accurate account of the security failures that occurred on January 6 so this level of security failure never happens again.’
