Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that it will “take a little while” for her husband Paul Pelosi to recover after he was attacked in October at their San Francisco home as several news outlets moved to access evidence about the incident.
Authorities say Paul Pelosi was attacked with a hammer at their home in the early morning hours of Oct. 28 by an assailant that officials allege was searching for the former House speaker. After the incident, he underwent surgery to repair a fractured skull and injuries to his arm and hands, said a spokesperson at the time.
While elaborating on his recovery, the California Democrat said Paul Pelosi had “had wounds and all the rest in that on his body,” adding that after he suffered a head injury, “you have to be very careful.”
“You have to be careful about movement. You have to careful about light. You have to be careful about sound. And it just takes a while,” she said. You get very tired, but, you know, without going so further into it, but it takes, it will take probably another three or four months, according to the doctors, for him to be really himself.”
The suspect, 42-year-old David DePape, pleaded not guilty to state charges in late December and waived his right to a speedy trial during a court appearance. He was charged with attempted assault, attempted murder, and other counts.
DePape told officers and emergency medical workers that he was sick of “lies” being emitted from Washington and said he “came here to have a little chat with his wife,” according to court papers. He’s also accused of saying that “I didn’t really want to hurt him, but you know this was a suicide mission.”
San Francisco Police Sgt. Carla Hurley, who interviewed the suspect, said in court papers that DePape also plotted to attack President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, Tom Hanks, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said that the attack was politically motivated—based on those statements he made to investigators.
“Mr. DePape will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and held accountable for his heinous crimes,” Jenkins said in a statement late last month after he entered his plea.
Family members of DePape, however, said that he shared their left-leaning views and questioned authorities’ allegations against him. Days after the attack, his former partner, Oxane “Gypsy” Taub, told local media that he suffered from mental illness.
News Outlets Seek Evidence
Pelosi’s remarks come just days after a group of news organizations filed a court motion in San Francisco seeking access to evidence against DePape, according to The Associated Press, which joined the coalition.During a Dec. 14 preliminary hearing, the San Francisco district attorney’s office introduced audio and video evidence against David DePape, the man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi. But it has refused to release the evidence to the news media.
The coalition includes The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Press Democrat, CNN, Fox News, CBS, ABC, NBC, and KQED, an NPR-member radio station in San Francisco.
Attorneys for the coalition said in the motion filed Jan. 11 that “the public and press have standing to assert their rights of access to court records and proceedings.” The district attorney’s office has not issued a public comment in response to the filing.
Evidence introduced in the preliminary hearing against DePape included audio from a 911 call made by Paul Pelosi, portions of body camera video taken by the two police officers who responded to the Pelosis’ house, portions of video of a police detective interviewing DePape, and footage captured by Capitol Police Department surveillance cameras.
DePape, who earlier pleaded not guilty to federal charges, is scheduled to appear in court next month.
