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NBC News is under mounting pressure to explain its actions after suspending star reporter Miguel Almaguer over one of his Today show segments on the Paul Pelosi hammer attack.
It took the action despite a second report on the company-owned-and-operated NBC Bay Area station that repeated many of the same points in Almaguer’s report.
National correspondent Almaguer quoted sources saying the husband of House Speaker Nancy did not immediately declare an emergency when he answered the door to police at the couple’s San Francisco home following a 911 call.
NBC removed the footage from its website hours after airing on November 4, saying it ‘did not meet’ its reporting standards – and this week suspended the 45-year-old reporter pending an internal investigation.
Yet San Francisco’s local NBC Bay Area news still has available online a report that also questions versions of the horrific incident, asking why Mr. Pelosi didn’t flee the $8million house the moment officers arrived.
The suspension of Almaguer- who has been with NBC since 2009 – has now reignited conspiracy theories surrounding the early hours break-in and attack on October 28, allegedly carried out by Canadian national David DePape, 42.
Miguel Almaguer, 45, a correspondent with NBC’s Today show, was suspended this week after he reported inaccurate information on Paul Pelosi’s attack
But San Francisco’s local NBC Bay Area news still has available online a report that also questions versions of the horrific incident. Bigad Shaban reports
A TV story by NBC Bay Area correspondent Bigad Shaban that also raises questions over the horror is still available to view online. ‘The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, in another court document that was filed earlier this month, said Mr. Pelosi opened the door with his left hand,’ Shaban says. ‘So the question is, what really happened?’
Paul Pelosi was attacked with a hammer in his home by David DePape last month
Almaguer has not appeared on the network since the report, which directly contradicted claims made by prosecutors and the police.
One former senior NBC executive told Fox News that the station ‘needs to be more transparent with its viewers about this error… NBC owes it to its audience to be truthful and not cover this up’.
In the now retracted report, Almaguer can be heard saying over footage of the four-bedroom Pelosi home: ‘NBC News learning new details about the moments police arrived.
Unlike most affiliates, NBC Bay Area is directly owned and operated by the parent company. It is one of only around a dozen in the country to have such an arrangement while more than 200 others are independently owned.
National correspondent Almaguer quoted sources saying the husband of House Speaker Nancy did not immediately declare an emergency when he answered the door to police
‘Sources familiar with what unfolded in the Pelosi residence now revealing when officers responded to the high priority call they were seemingly unaware they had been called to the home of the Speaker of the House.
‘After a knock the front door was opened by Mr. Pelosi. The 82-year-old did not immediately declare an emergency or try to leave his home, but instead began walking several feet back into the foyer toward the assailant and away from police.’
The correspondent added: ‘It’s unclear if the 82-year-old was already injured or what his mental state was, say sources.
‘According to court documents, when the officer asked what was going on ‘defendant smiled and said that everything’s good’ but instantaneously a struggle ensued as police clearly saw David DePape strike Paul Pelosi in the head with a hammer.
‘After tackling the suspect, officers rushed to Mr. Pelosi who was lying in a pool of blood.’
The footage then cut to Almaguer on screen saying: ‘Law enforcement officials tell us the bottom line here is this is a terrifying situation.
‘We still don’t know exactly what unfolded between Mr. Pelosi and the suspect for the 30 minutes they were alone inside the house before police arrived. Officials who were investigating this matter would not go into further details about these new details.’
However, a TV story by NBC Bay Area correspondent Bigad Shaban that also raises questions over the horror is still available to view online.
Shaban began by clearing up conflicting official reports over who opened the door to officers, saying the Department of Justice said in a federal indictment that it was the police.
However he continued: ‘But the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, in another court document that was filed earlier this month, said Mr. Pelosi opened the door with his left hand.
‘So the question is, what really happened?
‘According to a source familiar with the investigation who personally watched the police body camera footage from that night, officers knocked on the door of the Pelosi home and then backed away. And the video clearly shows Paul Pelosi open the door with his left hand.’
He continued: ‘Also as written in the DA docs, the source tells us the bodycam video shows officers having a brief conversation with Pelosi and David DePape, the man accused of breaking into the Pelosi home, before DePape starts beating Pelosi with a hammer.’
He said the Department of Justice had not responded the station’s inquiry about the discrepancy.
A federal grand jury indicted David DePape, 42, on charges of assault and attempted kidnapping for allegedly breaking into Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco mansion
Shaban also tackled the question of why Pelosi didn’t rush out of the door to safety the moment officers arrived.
Interviewing San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, he said: ‘The case has obviously garnered a fair share of conspiracy theories about what actually happened that night.
‘As part of your investigation are you able to shed any light as to why Paul Pelosi didn’t run out of the house towards police officers when he was able to actually open the door for them when they arrived?’
Jenkins replied: ‘Everybody reacts to situations differently and he will one day need to explain to potentially a jury why he did what he did and what thought process was going on in his mind.’
Back in the studio, Shaban again questioned why the Department of Justice filed a federal document saying officers opened the door, when it was Pelosi.
‘Our source who has seen the police bodycam video can’t understand why the federal investigators wrote that the officers opened the door. Because they say the video shows officers didn’t.
‘But when two police agencies give slightly different accounts of what happened in this high profile case it just feeds into conspiracy theories and that’s what we’re seeing right now on social media.’
The report asks why Pelosi didn’t flee the $8million house the moment officers arrived
A glass door was shattered after DePape allegedly made his way into the house
Nancy Pelosi, 82, was in Washington at the time of the attack and was the intended target, according to the indictment against DePape filed in the US District Court in the Northern District of California.
Her husband made his 911 call around 2.23am, saying a man had broken into his home looking for his wife and he was waiting for her return, it added.
During the two-minute phone call, the indictment says, Pelosi made clear he did not know the man – even as DePape could be heard in the background saying his name is ‘David’ and he is a ‘friend’.
Towards the end of the call — after a dispatcher agreed to stay on the line with Paul — he told police that the man wanted him to ‘get the hell off the phone’.
When police arrived moments later, they saw DePape wearing shorts, running shoes and a sweatshirt and carrying a hammer.
After an officer asked what was happening, it is alleged, DePape replied that ‘everything is good,’ even as he continued to encircle Pelosi.
An officer then yelled at him to ‘drop the hammer,’ to which he allegedly replied: ‘Umm nope.’
That is when, the indictment says, DePape pulled the hammer over his head, grabbed Pelosi and swung it ‘abruptly and forcefully’ at the victim.
In total, the indictment says, the entire attack lasted 15 seconds.
Police then rushed into the home, according to the indictment, and found Pelosi and DePape on the ground, with DePape’s legs covering the 82-year-old.
Officers were then able to restrain DePape, the indictment says, and called for medical assistance ‘as a pool of blood swelled around Mr. Pelosi’s head.’
Nancy Pelosi gave her first television interview since her husband was attacked on October 28. She was in DC at the time of the attack
In a subsequent search, San Francisco police officers found a broken glass door — indicating how DePape allegedly broke into the home — as well as a roll of tape, white rope, a hammer, a pair of rubber and cloth gloves and a journal.
Following the attack, Pelosi is said to have told police officers how DePape woke him up that night demanding to know where Nancy was.
He told officers he tried to explain to his attacker that she would not be home for a few days, but he said he would ‘wait’.
And in an interview with the FBI, DePape is said to have admitted to breaking into the mansion with a hammer, finding Pelosi in his bed and waking him up.
DePape reportedly also said he had zip ties in his bag he was going to use to restrain Pelosi so he could take a nap — because he was tired from carrying his backpack of supplies into the home.
When asked about the assault, DePape also reportedly told police that Pelosi would ‘take the punishment’ if he tried to ‘stop him,’ telling the elderly man he did not ‘come here to surrender.’
He added that he did not leave even after Pelosi called 911 because, much like the American Founding Fathers, he was ‘fighting tyranny’ without the option of surrender.
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