WASHINGTON (TNND) — Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) snappped at a reporter, telling her to “shut up” after being asked if she was concerned that the newly formed January 6 Committee may rule her responsible for the Capitol riot in 2021.
“Congresswoman Pelosi, are you at all concerned that the new January 6 committee will find you liable for that day?” Alison Steinberg, a reporter with LindellTV asked.
“Are you at all concerned about the new January 6 committee finding you liable for that day? Why did you refuse the National Guard on January 6?”
“Shut up,” Pelosi shouted pointing her finger at Steinberg.
“I did not refuse the National Guard. The President didn’t send it. Why are you coming here with Republican talking points? As if you’re a serious journalist.”
Last month, the GOP majority House voted to establish a new panel which will investigate the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. The panel will be chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), who plans to reignite a review of security failures which ultimately led to the riots.
Republicans and Democrats have played the blame game over who is responsible for the security breach, with Republicans saying its then-Speaker Pelosi’s fault for not calling the National Guard. Meanwhile, Pelosi and other Democrats said Trump is responsible for the events that unfolded on January 6 and that it took his administration more than three hours to deploy the National Guard once the riots ensued.
“Donald Trump delayed deploying the National Guard on January 6th when our Capitol was under violent attack and lives were at stake,” Pelosi posted to X in August, responding to Trump’s federalization of Washington D.C.
However, former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund pushed back on Pelosi’s characterization of that day, reminding her that she ignored his requests to deploy the National Guard days ahead of Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally.
“Ma’am, it is long past time to be honest with the American people,” he wrote in a lengthy post on X. “On January 3, I requested National Guard assistance, but your Sergeant at Arms denied it. Under federal law (2 U.S.C. 1970), I was prohibited from calling them in without specific approval. That same day, Carol Corbin at the Pentagon offered National Guard support, but I was forced to decline because I lacked the legal authority.”
He said that on the day of the riots that Pelosi continued to delay his requests to deploy the National Guard.
“On January 6, while the Capitol was under attack and despite my repeated calls, your Sergeant at Arms again denied my urgent requests for over 70 agonizing minutes, ‘running it up the chain’ for your approval,” Sund said.
“When I needed assistance, it was denied. Yet when it suited you, you ordered fencing topped with concertina wire and surrounded.”
Last year, the revelation of Pelosi admitting fault in her Jan. 6 riots came to light amid footage released by HBO taken as Pelosi was exiting the Capitol.
“We’re calling the National Guard now? They should have been here to start out,” Pelosi said in the footage. “How many times did members ask, are we prepared? Are we prepared? We’re not prepared for the worst … We will have totally failed. And we’ve got to take some responsibility.”
