Lawyers for the man accused of attacking Nancy Pelosi’s husband asked a federal judge Wednesday for more time to review a heap of new evidence, including forensic images from electronic devices and thousands of other documents handed over by the government.
David DePape—who was also granted a computer to review those documents in San Francisco in jail—is accused by state and federal prosecutors of striking Paul Pelosi, 87, with a hammer in his San Francisco home on Oct. 28.
As the cases move through the courts, new details continue to emerge from court documents and statements DePape made to the press about his lack of remorse for what prosecutors characterize as a conspiracy-fueled attack plot.
The federal case charges DePape with attempted kidnapping of a federal officer or employee and the assault of an immediate family member of a federal official. Charges in the San Francisco Superior Court case, meanwhile, include attempted murder, first-degree residential burglary, elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and threatening a family member of a public official. He is set to appear in state court on Feb. 23.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges in both cases.
New Details Emerge
Police-worn camera footage of the alleged attack was released in late January after a group of news organizations won a court fight against DePape’s attorney and the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
The video showed what police saw when they came to the door of the Pelosi home.
On the same day the footage was made public, DePape gave a bombastic statement to KTVU, telling the local television station he targeted the Pelosis because he believed the former speaker of the House put people’s individual liberties under attack.
“People killing it [individual liberties] have names and addresses, so I got their names and addresses, so I could pay them a little visit, […] have a heart-to-heart chat about their bad behavior,” he told the station.
DePape seemed unapologetic in the phone call and even told the reporter that he’d not gone far enough.
“I want to apologize to everyone,” he said in the jail call. “I messed up. What I did was really bad. I’m so sorry I didn’t get more of them. It’s my own fault. No one else is to blame. I should have come better prepared.”
DePape’s next federal court date is set for March 15.