Attorney For Paul Pelosi’s Attacker Admits To Assault But Claims He Wasn’t Motivated By Politics

On Thursday, an attorney for David DePape, the man accused of breaking into Nancy Pelosi’s house and striking her husband Paul Pelosi in the head with a hammer, argued that her client’s motivation for the assault did not match the charges against him.

In an opening statement, DePape’s attorney, Jodi Linker, acknowledged that her client had, indeed, committed a criminal assault, but she rejected any connection between the incident and the former speaker of the House’s occupation.

She rather insisted that DePape planned to execute a “bizarre, misguided plan, ”motivated by his belief that Nancy Pelosi was part of a larger plot to “manipulate the country, to spread lies, and to steal votes from Donald Trump.” 

DePape has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which include assault on the immediate family member of a federal official and the attempted kidnapping of a federal official.

If found guilty of the charges, he faces a maximum of 50 years in prison.

Prosecutors played video recordings that showed the violent incident unfold, as well as audio of a police interview with DePape.

In the recording, DePape said he considered Nancy Pelosi to be “the leader of the pack” in a conspiracy he likened to Watergate, the scandal where the Nixon administration attempted to cover up its involvement in the 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Paul and his neurosurgeon are expected to testify in the trial, but court documents show the former speaker is not.

Court filings allege that DePape woke Paul up a little after 2:00 in the morning. With a large hammer and several zip ties in hand, he demanded, “Where’s Nancy? Where’s Nancy?” He then threatened to tie Paul up and prevented him from any escape. Paul was able to call 911 when he went to his bathroom, where his phone was charged. 

Body-cam footage from the officers who responded to the call at Pelosi’s home shows Paul and DePape each with a hand on the hammer, as DePape restrains Paul’s arm. When officers ordered DePape to drop the weapon, he declined and struck Paul in the head.

After the attack, a spokesperson for Pelosi said Paul underwent surgery “to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands.”

In August, Pelosi said that her husband was “making great progress.”

Last week, Nancy Pelosi was served a subpoena in the trial on the House floor.