Nancy Pelosi accuses Trump over National Guard delay on January 6 attack: ‘He took joy in not doing it’

WASHINGTON, DC: Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday, January 6, delivered a testimony before the reconvened January 6th House Committee, denying Donald Trump’s assertions that she was the one who stopped the National Guard from responding to the Capitol riot.

Calling his version a lie, she stated, "He took joy in not doing it. He was savoring it."

Nancy Pelosi argues Trump violated his oath of office

Pelosi testified before the January 6th Committee to explain that she never imagined a President would turn against his own government. 

She stated, “I could never have had the idea that a President of the United States would incite an insurrection on the Capitol of the US — this symbol of democracy throughout the world — on the Constitution of the United States, which he took and we all took an oath to uphold, on the Congress of the United States, who that day had the constitutional responsibility to accept the results, to certify the results of the election.”

Nancy Pelosi says Trump savored the National Guard delay

During her talk, Pelosi said that while Trump claims he wanted to send help, the truth was that leaders were actually begging him to act on it.

She told the committee, "The list goes on and on. And today, that President who incited that insurrection continues to lie about what happened that day. On my way over here, I saw on TV that he was claiming that we did not ask for the National Guard.”

She added, “I thank Representative Hensarling, as well as Elaine Luria, for setting the record straight, and other testimony that you have heard here. For over three hours, we begged him to send the National Guard. He never did it. He took joy in not doing it. He was savoring it."

Nancy Pelosi says Trump’s own staff proved he lied

Pelosi pointed out that even Trump’s own staff gave evidence that goes against what he is saying now.  She mentioned that the acting Secretary of Defense told the truth when he was forced to speak under oath.

Pelosi stated, "And right now, he was saying on TV today, “I wanted to send it; they just wouldn’t do it.” His own Secretary of Defense — acting Secretary of Defense — testified under oath against what the President is saying today. Maybe not in public, but under oath. God forbid that they ever put this President under oath. His people know never to do that, because who knows what will happen. But what he’s saying today, still lying about it, is an insult to the American people."

She concluded by saying, "Good-thinking people in our country — and I believe in the goodness of the American people. Believing in their goodness is what gives us hope that we can move on from this even stronger. His lies that he continues to tell are an insult to the courage of our founders, the beautiful vision they had of this country."

It is to be noted that to mark the fifth anniversary of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, House Democrats had reconvened the House select committee. This event serves as a platform to discuss the ongoing impact of the riot and to voice concerns that President Trump's current actions that they say continue to threaten the stability of American democracy.

While legal proceedings continued, the White House launched a page criticizing Democrats for having 'masterfully reversed reality' and saying Trump 'corrected a historic wrong' in pardoning the rioters.

White House website blames Nancy Pelosi for security failures

The conflict grew after Trump’s administration put out a website page blaming the Capitol Police and Pelosi for the violence that day. 

The White House website read, "Video and audio recordings, including unaired HBO footage from her own daughter, show Nancy Pelosi repeatedly acknowledging responsibility for the catastrophic security failures — admitting, “We have totally failed” and “I take full responsibility” for not having the National Guard pre-deployed, despite intelligence warnings and President Trump’s offers of troops that were ignored under her leadership as Speaker."