Hear Nancy Pelosis message to Republicans following Trumps indictment
Hear Nancy Pelosis message to Republicans following Trumps indictment
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00:00 Nancy Pelosi was speaker of the house on that day and a target of the mob's rage as they
00:13 ransacked her office, some brazenly calling to kill her.
00:17 In a documentary from Pelosi's daughter, Alexandra, we saw how the then speaker, along with the
00:22 other congressional leaders, gathered in a secure location, urgently calling military
00:27 and law enforcement to try to end the violent siege.
00:31 We're being told it could take days to clear the Capitol.
00:39 And joining us now for her first interview since Donald Trump was indicted for the events
00:42 leading up to that day, Speaker Emerita, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of California.
00:49 It's good to see you.
00:50 First of all, how's Paul?
00:51 How's your husband?
00:54 Thank you for asking.
00:55 He's making progress.
00:56 I said to him yesterday, I think millions of people around the world are praying for
01:01 you to do your therapy so that you can get well soon.
01:04 But he's making great progress.
01:06 Thank you for asking.
01:07 That's good to hear.
01:08 That's good to hear.
01:09 So you have a singular experience of January 6th.
01:14 As you read the indictment, what was your reaction and what jumped out to you?
01:20 It's heartbreaking for our country to have a president of the United States with this
01:26 list of charges against him.
01:29 And I just want to commend the January 6th committee, the House committee, bipartisan
01:34 committee, Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney and all the members of the committee and the
01:40 staff for the work that they did.
01:43 They made a foundation of facts about facts and the law and made a criminal referral to
01:50 the Justice Department.
01:52 That was the end of December.
01:53 That was in December of the end of last year, 2022.
01:58 And we didn't know what we couldn't know.
02:00 It wasn't our role to know what the Justice Department would do, if anything.
02:07 So when it became clear that there would be criminal charges made, it's interesting to
02:13 see how similar they are to some of the charges recommended by the January 6th committee.
02:20 And I commend again the committee.
02:22 I'm so proud of them, their courage, their bravery and the courage really of all of those
02:27 who are making the case now.
02:29 Of course, the president, the former president is innocent until proven guilty.
02:35 No one is above the law.
02:37 And the assault that they are making on the rule of law in our country is really a sad
02:42 thing.
02:43 I'm sure it would bring tears to the eyes of our founders.
02:47 The current speaker of the House, your successor, Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy, he
02:50 responded to the latest indictment by posting on the social media site formerly known as
02:56 Twitter, quote, "House Republicans will continue to uncover the truth about Biden, Inc. and
03:02 the two-tiered system of justice," unquote.
03:06 He went on from there.
03:08 What's your response to Speaker McCarthy trying to refocus this to Hunter Biden and President
03:16 Biden?
03:19 What I would say is, and to remind the American people, that on the night when it was very
03:24 clear to the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives and in the United
03:28 States Senate that there was an incitement instigated by the president of the United
03:35 States on the Capitol, on the Congress, more importantly, on the Constitution of the United
03:41 States, they saw the danger, the danger that we were in.
03:44 They saw the lack of response from the president for not sending the National Guard, which
03:51 we pleaded for and pleaded for and pleaded for.
03:53 And Chuck Schumer and I kept pleading with him also to call off his troops, but to send
03:58 in the National Guard.
04:00 They saw that.
04:02 They saw the danger.
04:03 They made statements about it that recognized the involvement of President Trump.
04:09 And then they all, so many of them, the majority of them in the House, voted to reject the
04:18 peaceful transfer of government, accepting the numbers, the vote of the American people
04:25 as demonstrated by the Electoral College vote.
04:28 It was heartbreaking that of all the tragedy of that night and then to see them say, OK,
04:34 we're not supporting the peaceful transfer of power in our country.
04:38 That means more to me than any of this nonsense that he's engaged in now.
04:42 We've also seen a similar response from many of the Republican presidential hopefuls.
04:46 I want you to take a listen to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis talking to Fox.
04:51 One of the reasons I'm running for president, Harris, is to reconstitutionalize the federal
04:57 government and these agencies that have become weaponized, the FBI, the DOJ, against political
05:03 opponents.
05:04 A D.C. jury would indict a ham sandwich and convict a ham sandwich if it was a Republican
05:11 ham sandwich.
05:13 This is largely the response from Republicans in the House and Republican presidential candidates,
05:19 with the exception of Chris Christie, Aza Hutchinson and Will Hurd, attacking the Justice
05:24 Department instead of talking about the allegations made in the indictment.
05:29 What's your response?
05:33 It's not my response.
05:35 I'm not responding to them.
05:37 I'm speaking, as I always have, with or without them.
05:41 The rule of law is central to a democracy.
05:44 The fact that the former president was always attacking the rule of law in our country and
05:50 now these guys are parroting that, shame on them.
05:58 Shame on them.
05:59 But, again, let's not talk about them.
06:01 Let's just talk about our Constitution, our country, our respect for the rule of law.
06:07 And by the way, while he was undermining the rule of law, he was also undermining a pillar
06:12 of our democracy.
06:14 Part of the First Amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press.
06:19 So if he can diminish the role of the press in the mind of the people to know what the
06:25 facts are, and he can diminish the role of rule of law in our country, we're on a path
06:33 that is not a good one for our democracy.
06:36 So let's not spend too much time on them.
06:39 Let's spend time on where we need to be as a country.
06:43 Let's spend time on the greatness of Joe Biden's administration and what he's done for the
06:48 country, creation of jobs, cutting unemployment in half and the rest.
06:52 And you bring up a political question by talking about their political candidates for president.
07:01 If you want to talk about that, let's talk about good things.
07:05 Let's give people hope.
07:07 But there is a moment of tragedy in our country in these days, and actually days leading up
07:13 to now because there have been other indictments.
07:16 The former person who held the office of President of the United States had no respect for the
07:23 office he held, no respect for the rule of law, no respect for free press in our country
07:30 to tell the story, one side or another.
07:33 I don't always like the way the press talks about me, but that doesn't mean that that
07:37 should diminish the freedom of the press to speak.
07:41 So we're at a place, we have an opportunity, a real opportunity to save our country and
07:47 to do it in a unifying way, to be respectful of people who may have voted for him.
07:52 They have been, for whatever reason that they did.
07:56 And that's their vote and that's their right.
07:59 But they should not be dragged into the gutter with him in terms of his undermining the United
08:05 States of America, our democracy, our rule of law, our, again, our Constitution.
08:12 Given all your concerns about what Donald Trump has done and all of his behavior and
08:18 transgressions, etc., but also given the note you just made, the comments you just made
08:25 about unity, about trying to move forward, about trying to unite the country, I wonder
08:30 what concerns you may have, if any, about the fact that a former president of the United
08:39 States is going to be put on trial in at least three, if not four, different venues and what
08:46 that will do to the country.
08:49 He is supported by a majority of Republican voters.
08:54 And I just, I'm sure that as a patriot, you are concerned about what these trials might
09:00 do, even if you support the accountability and the principle of equal justice under the
09:06 law.
09:09 I know how thoughtful you are about this subject and I appreciate your question.
09:14 But just because somebody has been president of the United States doesn't give him a license
09:20 to break the law.
09:22 When he became president, we said, he's the president, we want him to succeed, let's see
09:26 how we can work together.
09:28 It became clear that many of us had more respect for the office that he held than he ever did.
09:35 And so because he disrespected his office, disrespected the rule of law and the rest,
09:41 doesn't mean that he should not be, anybody, I'm not even talking about him, I mean anybody,
09:47 should not be having to answer for their actions.
09:54 So let's not say, well, you know, no.
09:58 Yes, we know.
10:00 We know that there is a body of knowledge, of facts in violation of the law that have
10:09 the test of the court system, innocent until proven guilty.
10:14 But if we become a country that says, well, it might offend the people who voted for him
10:22 and it might be disunifying.
10:24 Now let's unify around the truth.
10:27 Let's unify about what our country stands for and the rest.
10:31 Let's unify about those people who are willing to take risks in the political arena that
10:36 may not be popular but are right for our country, rather than saying, well, let's give him a
10:42 pass because he's, you know, for whatever reason has convinced, whether people don't
10:48 want to pay more taxes or whether they don't like LGBTQ people or women or people of color
10:53 or newcomers to our country, whatever their, or they just may have a philosophical view
10:59 of a lesser role of government, which is to be respected.
11:02 But it does not a license to commit crimes and go uncharged.