In newly surfaced video from Jan. 6, 2021, and shortly after, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fumes that the U.S. Capitol was not prepared before a mob of Trump supporters stormed the building.

The footage also shows Pelosi quickly turning her attention to then-President Donald Trump, saying he’s “got to pay a price.”


What You Need To Know

  • In newly surfaced video from Jan. 6, 2021, and shortly after, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fumes that the U.S. Capitol was not prepared before a mob of Trump supporters stormed the building

  • The footage also shows Pelosi quickly turning her attention to then-President Donald Trump, saying he’s “got to pay a price.”

  • The video was recorded by Pelosi’s daughter, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, for a 2022 documentary about her mother

  • Nearly 50 minutes of unaired footage was turned over to Republican-led House Committee on Administration

The video was recorded by Pelosi’s daughter, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, for a 2022 documentary about her mother. Nearly 50 minutes of unaired footage was turned over to Republican-led House Committee on Administration, which is investigating the work of the Jan. 6 select committee that blamed Trump for inciting the riot.

Politico and CNN obtained the video and have aired and posted excerpts online.

In the video, as Pelosi, D-Calif., is being escorted out of the Capitol to go to Fort McNair, she questions why the necessary steps were not taken to protect the Capitol.

“How many times did the members ask, ‘Are we prepared? Are we prepared?’” she said. “We’re not prepared for the worst. We’re calling the National Guard. Now? They should have been here to start out.”

Pelosi said in the video she felt “responsible.”

“We have responsibility … ,” she said. “We did not have any accountability for what was going on there. And we should have. This is ridiculous.  Why weren't the National Guard there to begin with?

“There's not a question of [whether they had sufficient resources]. They don't know! They clearly didn't know. And I take responsibility for not having them just prepare for more. Because it's stupid that we should be in a situation like this. Because they thought they had, what? They thought these people would act civilized? They thought these people gave a damn?”

Trump has falsely accused Pelosi of rejecting his request to deploy up to 20,000 National Guard troops on Jan. 6. He and Republican lawmakers have pointed to the video — excerpts of which were released in June — as proof she was in charge of securing the Capitol.

While Trump was involved in discussions about National Guard involvement before Jan. 6, Christopher Miller, the acting defense secretary at the time, told House investigators in 2022 the president did not issue any order for troops. 

The House speaker shares control of the Capitol with the Senate Majority Leader — at the time Republican Mitch McConnell — but decisions about security are made by the Capitol Police Board.

Pelosi’s former deputy of chief of staff, Drew Hammill, has previously noted the speaker does not have the power to deny an order deploying National Guard troops.

“Numerous independent fact-checkers have confirmed again and again that Speaker Pelosi did not plan her own assassination on January 6th," Pelosi spokesman Ian Krager said in a statement Wednesday. "The Speaker of the House is not in charge of the security of the Capitol Complex — on January 6th or any other day of the week.” 

Pelosi made clear in the footage she planned to hold Trump accountable for the storming of the building, which occurred as Congress convened to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Trump had repeated false claims about election fraud at a nearby rally just before the attack, which left more than 100 police injured. Five people died at the Capitol that day.

“Insurrection — that’s a crime,” Pelosi said. “And he’s guilty of it.”

“We've taken oaths to protect our country from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” she said in another clip. “There is a domestic enemy in the White House. And let's not mince words about this.”

In a phone call from her car on Jan. 7, an adviser read prepared remarks that had Pelosi calling for the resignation of then-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund. Pelosi objected.

“I think our focus has to be on the president,” she said. “Let's not divert ourselves. We're going to have an after-action review.  I've never liked Sund. I think he should have been gone a long time ago.

“I don't want to have it on a par with the insurrection and the impeachment and the rest of that,” Pelosi continued. “If they ask, I will respond. But I'm not doing it on a par because it's a diversionary tactic.”

The Democratic-led House impeached Trump on Jan. 13, 2021, for incitement of insurrection. The Republican-majority Senate acquitted him.