Nancy Pelosi can be seen in real time fuming at Donald Trump as the Capitol was under siege and making introspective comments about the massive security failure on January 6, a new video reveals.
“There is an internal enemy in the White House, and let’s not beat around the bush about it,” he lectures his aides, waving his arm, as they meet to develop a response to the historic events.
The sound and images were captured by the former House speaker’s daughter, filmmaker Alexandria, in footage that was released to Congress by HBO and broadcast by the Republican-led House Administration Committee.
In one tense scene, Pelosi can be seen evacuating the Capitol, where she has served since 1987, and can be heard calling on then-President Trump to pay for what happened.
“I feel bad about what he did to the Capitol and the country today,” he says when his daughter asks how it feels to be done with Trump. “He has to pay a price for that,” he says. (The question was hardly prophetic: Trump is now in a contested race to reclaim the White House.)
In another, she is seen meeting with her top aides inside her Capitol Hill office in front of an ornate mirror that was smashed by rioters who broke into her workspace.
In it, she is seen meeting with her aides about the initial response to the events, while drafting a statement calling for the resignation of the Capitol Police chief.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi admits ‘responsibility’ for January 6 security failures and calls Donald Trump ‘enemy within’ in dramatic new video
“I think our focus needs to be on the president. Let’s not get sidetracked,” said Pelosi, who was hailed as the “mother of dragons” by host Mindy Kaling at the Democratic National Convention last week.
Senior adviser Drew Hammill can be seen leaving the room just after Pelosi called Trump an “enemy within.”
“What a disaster!” he exclaims at one point to his assistants.
“I don’t care what they say. They should have been a lot more cautious about the National Guard,” Pelosi said, in just one of her comments on security failures amid a years-long battle over blame.
Pelosi never hid her fury at Trump in her public remarks after Jan. 6. But the new release of the footage also reveals her admission of her own failure to anticipate that an angry mob would storm the building after Trump spoke near the White House as he continued to contest the results of the 2020 election.
“If they stop the process, we will have completely failed. And we have to take some responsibility for not holding the security services accountable for what could have happened.”
The House Administration Committee’s Oversight Subpanel, in its summary From the videos, cut out the first part of the quote, so it begins: “We have totally failed.”
Pelosi can be heard calling Donald Trump an “enemy within” and trying to focus attention and blame on him.
The former president continues to rant about security failures and the importance of suspending the procedures to certify the president on January 6.
“What a disaster!” he exclaims to his aides at one point, shortly after the Capitol has been stormed.
The subcommittee’s chairman, Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, is leading a Jan. 6 inquiry that looks into the select committee’s investigation and focuses on security lapses.
“My God, I can’t believe the stupidity of this. And I take full responsibility,” he said, in comments highlighted by the panel, which released the video a day after special counsel Jack Smith obtained a new grand jury indictment against Trump for his Jan. 6 case.
Footage shows Pelosi’s security team escorting her through the Capitol’s maze of tunnels to her SUV for safe relocation.
Pelosi indicated she was concerned about what would happen if the proceedings to certify Joe Biden as the winner of the election were halted.
“If they stop the process, they will have succeeded in stopping the validation of the president of the United States,” Pelosi said. Then-Vice President Mike Pence had similar concerns and remained in a Capitol garage as the joint session of Congress reconvened.
Pelosi was clearly dissatisfied with the level of planning. She was a member of the Capitol Police Board, which includes security officials from both chambers.
“How many times have members asked, ‘Are we prepared? Are we prepared?’ We are not prepared for the worst.”
“Now we’re going to call in the National Guard? They should have been here from the beginning. I don’t understand. Why are we empowering people like this without being prepared?”
He also confesses to his chief of staff, Terri McCullough: “I feel responsible.”
“We have a responsibility, Terri. We didn’t take any responsibility for what was going on there and we should have. This is ridiculous.”
In other comments, he vents about the situation as his security vehicle roars through Washington, DC.
“So what’s the outlook? Am I going to stay here all day, for the rest of our lives? For what? We’re here until what? Until the National Guard decides to come and get rid of these people? Oh my God, I can’t believe the stupidity of this. And I take full responsibility,” he says.
“Call the National Guard. I’ve asked them to do this before,” he says as he heads toward the depths of the Capitol, on the House of Representatives side.
“We did it,” McCullough interjects.
“This is what they brought,” former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland tells Pelosi as the two walk past in the basement, the former speaker raising her hands.
As he heads to a House office building upon exiting the Capitol complex, his security team tells him that protesters have already breached the Capitol.
“Over and over again, are we prepared for what could happen?” Pelosi says, speaking mostly to herself. “Think of the worst. We weren’t.”
As he walks through the subway, he complains about giving up his chair.
“If they stop the process, they will have succeeded in stopping the validation of the President of the United States,” he laments.
