Nancy Pelosi just got a very public “fact check” from the man who was in charge of Capitol security on January 6 — and it’s not a good look for the former House Speaker.
The California Democrat unloaded on President Donald Trump Monday after he announced a sweeping federal crime crackdown in Washington, D.C., taking direct control of the Metropolitan Police Department and activating the D.C. National Guard to patrol the streets.
“Donald Trump delayed deploying the National Guard on January 6th when our Capitol was under violent attack and lives were at stake,” Pelosi fumed. “Now, he’s activating the D.C. Guard to distract from his incompetent mishandling of tariffs, health care, education and immigration — just to name a few blunders.”
It didn’t take long for former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund — who resigned after the Jan. 6 riot — to hit back, and hard.
“Ma’am, it is long past time to be honest with the American people,” Sund said in a scathing statement. He recounted how on January 3, 2021, just three days before the riot, he formally requested National Guard support. That request, he says, was shot down by Pelosi’s own Sergeant at Arms.
“Under federal law (2 U.S.C. §1970), I was prohibited from calling them in without specific approval,” Sund explained. “That same day, Carol Corbin at the Pentagon offered National Guard support, but I was forced to decline because I lacked the legal authority.”
When January 6 arrived and chaos erupted, Sund said he begged again for the Guard — and was stalled for over an hour. “While the Capitol was under attack and despite my repeated calls, your Sergeant at Arms again denied my urgent requests for over 70 agonizing minutes, ‘running it up the chain’ for your approval,” Sund wrote.
He then accused Pelosi of hypocrisy: “When I needed assistance, it was denied. Yet when it suited you, you ordered fencing topped with concertina wire and surrounded the Capitol with thousands of armed National Guard troops.”
Pelosi’s own daughter showed the Speaker on Jan. 6 telling aides she wanted Trump to come to the Capitol so she could “punch him out” and “go to jail… happy.”
The remarks were caught on camera for an HBO documentary and aired by CNN. In the clip, Pelosi’s staff told her the Secret Service had dissuaded Trump from coming due to security concerns, but Pelosi replied, “I hope he comes. This is my moment. I’ve been waiting for this.”
It is still a mystery why she wasn’t “waiting” to authorize the National Guard to secure the Capitol through the House Sergeant at Arms, as former Chief Sund highlights.
Trump on Monday called his D.C. crime crackdown “liberation day” for the capital, vowing to rid the city of violent gangs, roving mobs, and “drugged-out maniacs.” The move gives the president full control of the MPD for 30 days under the Home Rule Act, and he warned that New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles could be next.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals… and we’re not going to take it anymore,” Trump declared at the White House. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Guard troops from D.C. and other states will be deployed within days as “force multipliers” for local and federal officers.
