WASHINGTON — Hours after a mob of Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and attacked dozens of police officers in an attempt to reach members of Congress, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., then the speaker of the House of Representatives, called the then-president “a domestic enemy.”
The comments came in videos shot by documentary filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, Pelosi’s daughter, that HBO recently turned over to Congress. NBC News on Tuesday reviewed more than 30 minutes of videos from the roughly 48 hours surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, including videos showing Pelosi being led from the building by her security team as she pressured her staffers to call in the National Guard.
The recently released comments go further than public remarks she made on January 7, when she said Trump had “incited an armed insurrection against America” and “incited” an attack that would “forever stain the history of our country.”
That same day, the HBO video shows, Pelosi spoke to her staff while sitting beneath an ornate mirror that was smashed when the pro-Trump mob ransacked her office.
“We take an oath to defend our country from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” she said. “There is a domestic enemy in the White House. And let’s not mince words about that.”
The previously unaired video also shows Pelosi taking responsibility for not questioning law enforcement more harshly about their preparations leading up to the attack.
“Why wasn’t the National Guard there in the first place?” Pelosi asked. “They clearly didn’t know, and I take responsibility for them not just being prepared for more,” she said as she was led away by security on Jan. 6. “It’s stupid that we’ve gotten into a situation like this.”
“Did they think these people would behave civilly? Did they think these people would care? What is missing here in terms of anticipation?” she added.
The comments also show that Pelosi was skeptical of the motives of the law enforcement community, which is generally conservative. (A senior FBI official, for example, was warned in the hours after the attack that many in the bureau were “sympathetic” to the Capitol rioters.)
“Shame on us,” Pelosi said as her security detail took her to nearby Fort McNair, where several congressional leaders ended up on the night of Jan. 6 when the facility was transformed into a command center for those in the order of presidential succession. “Shame on us. I distrust them and their motives, to be honest with you.”
The House committee on January 6 ultimately shied away from focusing on law enforcement failures leading up to the attack. Instead — as Pelosi did in the immediate aftermath of the Capitol riots — it focused on Trump’s role.
The new video also shows Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) making a comment about Trump pardoning rioters, a position that Trump, again the Republican presidential nominee, has now echoed, describing the Jan. 6 suspects as “hostages” and “incredible patriots.”
When Pelosi’s daughter asked her on January 7 how she felt about being “done” with Trump after Congress conceded his election loss, Pelosi said in the new video that there should be consequences for his actions.
“I’m just sickened by what he did to the Capitol and to the country today,” Pelosi said. “He’s got to pay a price for that.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
