Court releases video of attack on Paul Pelosi
(CNN) -- San Francisco Superior Court on Friday released video and audio recorded during last year's attack on Paul Pelosi after a California court ruled the district attorney's office must make the materials public.
One of the videos shows body-cam footage from officers who arrived at Pelosi's home on October 28, 2022, when he was attacked. The footage shows the chaos of the moment in which alleged assailant David DePape attacked the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In the video, Paul Pelosi and DePape both appear to have a hand on the hammer and DePape is holding Pelosi's arm when the officers opened the door.
"Drop the hammer," the officer says.
"Uh, nope," DePape responds.
DePape then grabbed the hammer out of Pelosi's hand and lunged toward him. The officers rushed into the home, subduing DePape and handcuffing him.
CNN has obtained the CD containing the files released by the court. In addition to the body-cam footage, the files include audio from police interviews with DePape, the 911 call Paul Pelosi made while DePape was in the home and home surveillance video, the court previously said.
In the 911 call audio, Pelosi seemed to be subtly attempting to tell the dispatcher he was in danger while DePape was listening in. CNN has previously reported Pelosi made the call when he went into his bathroom, where his cell phone was charging.
"There's a gentleman here just waiting for my wife to come back, Nancy Pelosi. He's just waiting for her to come back, but she's not going to be here for days, so I guess we'll have to wait," Pelosi said to the dispatcher.
"He thinks everything's good. I've got a problem, but he thinks everything's good," Pelosi said at another point in the 2-minute, 56-second recording.
The dispatcher asked Pelosi if he knew who the man was, and Pelosi said he did not. "He's telling me to put the phone down and just do what he says," Pelosi said.
"Who is David?" the dispatcher asked.
"I don't know," Pelosi said.
DePape then spoke up on the call. "I'm a friend of theirs," he said.
"He says he's a friend. But as I said ..." Pelosi said.
"But you don't know who he is?" the dispatcher responded.
"No ma'am," Pelosi said.
In the surveillance footage, DePape is seen breaking into the Pelosi home. The scene was captured by a US Capitol Police security camera installed at Pelosi's San Francisco residence.
DePape's lawyers opposed video's release
The videos were exhibits in a preliminary court hearing. The court's decision mandating the public release of the materials came following a motion by a coalition of news organizations, including CNN, arguing that the circumstances involving the residence of the then-speaker of the House demanded transparency.
Lawyers for DePape argued against the public release of the audio and footage, writing it would "irreparably damage" his right to a fair trial. DePape has pleaded not guilty to a litany of state and federal crimes related to the attack, including assault and attempted murder.
Pelosi was violently attacked with a hammer at the couple's home by a male assailant who was searching for the then-House speaker, according to court documents -- a development that ultimately drove Nancy Pelosi's decision to step back from House Democratic leadership.
Court documents revealed DePape allegedly woke Paul Pelosi shortly after 2 a.m., carrying a large hammer and several white zip ties, and demanded: "Where's Nancy? Where's Nancy?" He then threatened to tie up Paul Pelosi and prevented him from escaping via elevator, according to the documents. DePape later allegedly told him, "I can take you out."
Following the attack, Paul Pelosi underwent surgery "to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands," a spokesman for Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. On Thursday, Nancy Pelosi said her husband's recovery was "one day at a time." She said she didn't know if she would see the video when it was released.
Following the video's release on Friday, Nancy Pelosi declined to comment.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
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