OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
California Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi arranged for priests to come to the San Francisco home after her husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked and severely injured last fall to perform what their daughter described as an “exorcism.”
A profile by Maureen Dowd published Saturday by The New York Times noted that Alexandra Pelosi said her mother, then Speaker of the House, called priests in following the home invasion and attack. “Over Thanksgiving, she had priests coming, trying to have an exorcism of the house and having prayer services,” Alexandra Pelosi told the Times columnist.
“I think that weighed really heavy on her soul,” she added in regard to the attack, for which David DePape, an illegal immigrant from Canada, is facing several charges, including attempted murder. “I think she felt really guilty. I think that really broke her.”
The overwhelmingly positive piece by Dowd also said that the former Speaker said the attack was very tough on the family.
“The fact that they were after me, and then they hit him,” Nancy Pelosi told Dowd. “He’s a strong person, athletic. This has been tough. It’s going to be about three or four more months before he’s really back to normal.”
Nancy Pelosi, who is a vocal supporter of abortion, claims to be a “devout” Catholic, according to reports, despite the Church’s ardent opposition to the procedure.
DePape, 42, of the San Francisco suburb of Richmond, was indicted by a federal grand jury after being arrested for the alleged attack on Oct. 28, Axios reported. He stands accused of breaking into the home and attacking Pelosi with a hammer. Pelosi later underwent surgery for a fractured skull. He was also treated for serious injuries to his right arm and hand.
“DePape is charged with one count of assault on an immediate family member of a U.S. official with the intent to retaliate against the official on account of their performance of official duties,” Axios reported. “He’s also charged with one count of attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official on account of the performance of official duties.”
The Justice Department noted in a press release:
Paul Pelosi later described to police that he had been asleep when DePape, whom he had never seen before, entered his bedroom looking for Nancy Pelosi.
According to the indictment, minutes after the 911 call, two police officers responded to the Pelosi residence where they encountered Paul Pelosi and DePape struggling over a hammer. Officers told the men to drop the hammer, and DePape allegedly gained control of the hammer and swung it, striking Pelosi in the head. Officers immediately restrained DePape while Pelosi was injured on the ground. As set forth in the indictment, once DePape was restrained, officers secured a roll of tape, white rope, a second hammer, a pair of rubber and cloth gloves, and zip ties from the crime scene, where officers also observed a broken glass door to the back porch.
“If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for the assault count and 20 years in prison for the attempted kidnapping count,” the DoJ noted further.
Prior to Tuesday’s midterm elections in November, Nancy Pelosi suggested that the attack on her husband would play a role in whether she will retire from the House.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, anchor Anderson Cooper said that there has “been a lot of discussion about whether you’d retire if Democrats lose the House.”
She responded by saying that the “decision will be affected about what happened the last week or two,” which led Cooper to ask, “Will your decision be impacted by the attack in any way?”
“Yes,” the Speaker said.
“It will?” the anchor asked.
“Yes,” she said.
Pelosi, so far, has yet to retire. But she did step down from the Democratic Party’s House leadership.
In describing how she was informed of the attack, Pelosi said she heard a “bang, bang, bang, bang, bang on the door.”
“So I run to the door, and I’m very scared,” she said. “I see the Capitol Police and they say, ‘We have to come in to talk to you.’”
