Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview on Monday that the attack on her husband, Paul Pelosi, 82, will influence her retirement plans.
“I have to say my decision will be affected by what happened the last week or two,” Pelosi told CNN host Anderson Cooper. Asked if that included the attack, she answered, “Yes.”
Paul Pelosi was attacked with a hammer in the couple’s home less than two weeks ago after David Depape,42, broke in looking for the House Speaker.
Prosecutors say Depape’s plan was to hold Speaker Pelosi hostage and ask her about the “truth.” If she answered without lies he planned to release her, but if she “lied,” he would “break her kneecaps.” Speaker Pelosi was in DC at the time of the incident.
Officers arrived at the home to find Depape and Paul Pelosi struggling over a hammer. Depape later used the hammer to hit Pelosi over the head. He underwent surgery for a fractured skull and was released from the hospital nearly a week later.
Depape has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary, false imprisonment and threatening a public official in connection with the attack. He also faces two federal charges: attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assaulting an immediate family member of a United States official with the intent to retaliate against the official. He has pleaded not guilty.
In Monday’s interview, Pelosi revealed how she found out her husband was attacked.
“I was sleeping in Washington, D.C., I had just gotten in the night before from San Francisco, and I hear the doorbell ring and think, it’s five something, I look up I see it’s five, it must be the wrong apartment. No. It rings again and then bang, bang, bang, bang, bang on the door,” she said.
“So I run to the door and I was very scared, I see the Capitol Police, and they said we have to come in to talk to you,” she continued. “At that time we didn’t even know where he was or what his condition was, we just knew there was an assault on him in our home.”
Pelosi said in 2018 that she will step down at the end of this term. However, Democrats expect her to run for leadership again if they keep control of the House after the midterms.
