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Miguel Almaguer, a correspondent with NBC’s Today show has been suspended while an internal investigation is conducted at the network after the broadcaster was forced to retract its reporting that only served to fan conspiracy theories about the attack on Paul Pelosi.
Almaguer, 45, who has worked for NBC since 2009, compiled a report that suggested Nancy Pelosi‘s husband was not in any danger when police arrived at the couple’s San Francisco home.
It stated, using information from an anonymous source, that Pelosi had told San Francisco police there was no indication he was in any danger and did not declare and emergency when he answered the door.
Miguel Almaguer, 45, a correspondent with NBC’s Today show has been suspended after he reported inaccurate information on Paul Pelosi’s attack
Almaguer compiled a report suggesting Nancy Pelosi’s husband was not in any danger when police arrived at the couple’s San Francisco home
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul
‘After a ‘knock and announce,’ the front door was opened by Mr. Pelosi. The 82-year-old did not immediately declare an emergency or tried to leave his home but instead began walking several feet back into the foyer toward the assailant and away from police. It’s unclear if the 82-year-old was already injured or what his mental state was, say sources,’ the Almaguer’s voiceover detailed, together with accompanying graphics.
The report, which aired November 4, was later found to be inaccurate as it completely contradicted claims made by both prosecutors and police.
The police’s narrative of the incident told how Pelosi was struggling with the intruder, David DePape, when they arrived at his home. Pelosi was left with a cracked skull.
Hours later, NBC News removed the video report from their website, stating it ‘did not meet NBC News reporting standards’.
Nevertheless, following the report’s airing, prominent right-wing media personalities including Fox News’ Tucker Carlson raised speculation and pushed false conspiracy theories about the assault suggesting the retraction was proof of a cover-up.
‘We don’t comment on personnel matters,’ NBC News spokesman Stephen Labaton the Daily Beast when asked about Almaguer’s suspension.
A federal grand jury indicted David DePape, 42, last week on charges of assault and attempted kidnapping for allegedly breaking into Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco mansion
Last week a federal grand jury indicted David DePape, 42, on charges of assault and attempted kidnapping in connection with the break in at the Pelosi residence on October 28.
Speculation has mounted in recent weeks about the attack as many questions went unanswered. But the recent indictment provides fresh information about the fateful night and DePape’s apparent motivations.
He was said to have woken Paul Pelosi up early that morning and allegedly told police how he wanted to restrain the man so he could take a nap while he waited for the House Speaker to return home.
But just moments after cops arrived on the scene, the indictment says, DePape struck the Pelosi in the head with a hammer swinging it at ‘full force.’
The entire incident was recorded on police body camera footage, according to the indictment.
DePape was arrested that night, and is being held without bail at the San Francisco County Jail.
DePape is being held without bail at the San Francisco County Jail. He faces up to 50 years in prison for the federal assault and kidnapping charges
Authorities say that following his arrest, they found a roll of tape, white rope, a hammer, and a pair of rubber and cloth gloves at the scene.
They also discovered he had researched the Pelosi’s $8million four-bedroom home just two days before the alleged attack.
He reportedly also told FBI investigators afterwards that he would ‘kneecap’ the House Speaker in an effort to show Congressmembers that there are consequences to their actions as he sought to lure another unidentified politician to him.
The Canadian citizen is now facing up to 50 years in prison.
According to the indictment, filed in the US District Court in the Northern District of California on Wednesday, San Francisco police received a call from Paul Pelosi at around 2.23am on October 28.
He then proceeded to tell officers how a man broke into his home looking for his wife, the House Speaker, saying he would wait for her to return to the San Francisco mansion.
By the time officers arrived on the scene, the indictment says, DePape was gripping a hammer as Paul Pelosi apparently tried to fight him off
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.’
By the time police arrived on the scene moments later, they saw DePape — wearing shorts, running shoes and a sweatshirt — and Paul ‘jointly gripping a hammer.’
When a police 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 just 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.’
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.
Police responded to the Pelosi residence in San Francisco just before 2.30am on October 28
A glass door was shattered after DePape allegedly made his way into the house
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.
He is said to have woken up Paul Pelosi the night of October 28, and tell him he would ‘wait’ for the House Speaker to return home so he could ‘kneecap’ her. The couple are seen here in 2019
DePape then reportedly went on to tell police how he had a hit list, which included the House Speaker.
He said he had planned to hold the Speaker hostage and talk to her.
If she told him ‘the truth,’ he said he would let her go, but if she ‘lied,’ he would ‘break her kneecaps’ so that she would have to be wheeled into Congress — thereby showing other members that there are consequences to their actions.
DePape purportedly said he views Pelosi as the ‘leader of the pack’ of lies told by the Democrat Party, but said there was another person — only identified as Target 1 in the indictment — that was further up on his list.
He said he had a plan to use the House Speaker to lure the other target to him.
Police later seized two hammers, a sword and a pair of rubber and cloth gloves from the garage he was staying in in Richmond, California.
They also found that he researched the Pelosi home just two days before — and also researched an address associated with Target 1 as well as another unnamed individual on his list.
DePape reportedly told investigators how he had a hit list, which included the House Speaker
DePape had been living in the Bay Area for more than 20 years and was previously in a relationship with nudist Oxane ‘Gypsy’ Taube, 53, with whom he has two children.
Taub, who was jailed in 2021 for attempting to kidnap a 14-year-old boy, said DePape had vanished for over a year and returned to her and their children ‘mentally ill’.
Speaking in a jailhouse phone call to ABC 7, she said: ‘He came back in very bad shape. He thought he was Jesus.
‘He was constantly paranoid, thinking people were after him. And it took a good year or two to get back to, you know, being halfway normal.’
She added: ‘He is mentally ill. He has been mentally ill for a long time.’
But neighbors living close to DePape’s modest home – which he rented from photographer Malcolm Lubliner – painted a different picture.
Like Polt, a neighbor who asked not to be named, agreed that DePape kept himself to himself and seemed harmless.
She said: ‘There was nothing that stood out about him and he never said anything that seemed odd.
‘We’re all pretty left on this street and he never said anything rightwing. I was so surprised when this happened – I guess I should have googled him before.’
In secret. DePape had begun writing a bizarre blog named Frenly Friends in which he claimed he had a fairy friend that appeared to him as a bird.
Along with fairy friends, the blog also included rambling screeds denying the Holocaust, supporting Kanye West’s recent anti-Semitic rant and other far right conspiracy theories.
He also shared images of Hilary Clinton as a zombie.
Nancy Pelosi on Monday night gave her first television interview since her husband was attacked on October 28
Speaking about the attack, Nancy Pelosi said DePape attacked her husband because she is ‘very effective’ at her job.
She told CNN that her husband had part of his skull removed and reshaped during surgery – describing it as a ‘pretty serious operation’.
Holding back tears at times, Pelosi told Anderson Cooper that she was ‘traumatized’ by the fact that her husband was injured as a result of her actions.
‘This for me is really the hard part because Paul was not the target, and he’s the one who is paying the price,’ she said, in an interview which was broadcast on Monday night.
‘I’ve been a target for a long time. Because I’m very effective.
‘I’m a great, she said, ‘master of the legislation.’
‘I love doing that. That is what I love to do, is to write legislation, and – on the policy side.
‘On the political side, I’m an outstanding, shall we say, a master of the resources necessary, intellectual, financial, political to win elections.
‘So they have to put a stop to me, right, because they know that I’m about having our members succeed.’
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