Christopher BergBy Sandy Malone and Christopher Berg
Napa County, CA – Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s (D-California) husband pleaded guilty to a DUI charge on Tuesday and the dashcam footage of his arrest has been released (video below).
As part of a plea deal, Paul Pelosi pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence and causing injury. The charges stem from an injury collision he caused while he was intoxicated.
As part of the plea deal, Pelosi was sentenced to five days in jail, three years of probation, and ordered tp complete eight hours of a work program, according to The Washington Post.
Judge Joseph Solga gave Pelosi two days credit for time already served and two days credit for good conduct, leaving one remaining day in jail on his sentence.
Pelosi will also need to pay a fine of $1,723, pay $150 in restitution, and drive with an ignition interlock device on his car for one year.
Under California law, Pelsoi’s charges could have been filed as a felony, but the prosecutor decided to file misdemeanor charges after considering the extent of the victim’s injuries.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) said Pelosi was driving a 2021 Porsche on State Route 29 just before 10:30 p.m. on May 28 when he crashed into a 2014 Jeep driving by a 48-year-old man, the New York Post reported.
The arrest affidavit showed that when officers arrived on the scene, Pelosi was still sitting in his wrecked Porsche.
“His eyes appears red/watery, he was unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurred, and he had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath,” the complaint read.
The officers asked for Pelosi’s ID and he gave them his driver’s license and a “11-99 Foundation” donor card that showed he supported the CHP charity that provides emergency assistance to employees and scholarships for their children, FOX News reported.
The 82-year-old Pelosi showed “signs of impairment” during field sobriety tests and officers “observed objective signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication,” according to the complaint.
The first count of the two-charge complaint said that Pelosi injured the other driver “while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage and a drug and under their combined influence,” FOX News reported.
Investigators later determined the politician’s husband a blood-alcohol content of .082 percent based on a blood test taken two hours after the crash, the Associated Press reported.
The document said that both vehicles had “major collision damage,” the New York Post reported.
The SUV driver, who has not been identified by name, was standing next to his wrecked Jeep when officers arrived and he declined medical attention at the scene.
However, five days later he told investigators that he was suffering headaches, “pain to his upper right arm, right shoulder and neck,” and was having trouble lifting things, the New York Post reported.
Police determined at the scene that Pelosi was responsible for the crash but attorneys for the politician’s husband initially tried to blame the Jeep driver and claimed he had struck the back of the Porsche as he turned onto State Route 29.
The husband of the highest ranking Democrat in Congress was booked into the Napa County jail and released later on $5,000 bail.
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office announced on June 23 that 82-year-old Paul Pelosi had been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and driving with a .08% blood alcohol level or higher causing injury, the Associated Press reported.
Following Pelosi’s guilty plea, dashcam video of the arrest was released.
In the video, Pelosi could be heard slurring his speech and giving signs of impairment during field sobriety tests.
You can see the video from the arrest below:
Holly Matkin
