While Americans were horrified by this past October’s brutal attack on the husband of then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, they have since been provided with little in the way of details regarding what happened.
That’s about to change, however, as a judge has just ordered police bodycam footage from the night in question to be made public.
News outlets also want security footage and 911 call
The New York Post reported on Wednesday that the decision came from Judge Stephen Murphy, who is presiding over a lawsuit filed by the Associated Press and other news agencies.
NEW: San Francisco Judge GRANTS motion to release SFPD body cam footage of Paul Pelosi attack, other evidence sought by press coalition
— Jeremy B. White (@JeremyBWhite) January 25, 2023
The plaintiffs are also seeking access to a recording of the 911 call made by victim Paul Pelosi along with surveillance footage taken by cameras belonging to the US Capitol Police.
Suspect’s attorney opposes release of information
Also of interest is a recording of the interview conducted by a San Francisco Police Department investigator of attack suspect David DePape.
For his part, DePape’s lawyer has opposed the release of any new material connected with the case, arguing that it could threaten his client’s right to a fair trial.
Charging documents cited by the Post late last year state that upon arriving at Pelosi’s home, officers discovered that “Pelosi and DePape were both holding a hammer with one hand and DePape had his other hand holding onto Pelosi’s forearm.”
The documents go one to state that after the officers order both men to drop the hammer, DePape is said to have taken it “from Pelosi’s hand and swung it, striking Pelosi in the head.”
Critics worry that more information could fuel conspiracy theories
While the Associate Press and other news outlets are continuing with their lawsuit, some members of the mainstream media have expressed reservations about making too many details available for public consumption.
As conservative blogger Stacey Matthews noted in an article she wrote for the website Legal Insurrection, Washington Post columnist Philip Bump put out a series of tweets in November which suggested that more revelations could feed conspiracy theories.
“There is no obvious mystery about the attack on Paul Pelosi. With insistences that surveillance video needs to be released, though, the conspiracy theories continue to chug along,” Bump declared.
“Conspiracy theories feed both by linking together unrelated things and implying that something more is being hidden,” he continued.
“Demanding the video is often just a way of doing the latter. And if released, it would likely add to the former,” the columnist concluded.