A coalition of news organizations, including The Associated Press, filed a court motion in San Francisco seeking access to evidence against the man charged in last year's attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi.
During a Dec. 14 preliminary hearing, the San Francisco district attorney's office introduced audio and video evidence against David DePape, the man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi. But it has refused to release the evidence to the media.
Attorneys for the coalition said in the motion filed Wednesday that “the public and press have standing to assert their rights of access to court records and proceedings.”
The coalition also includes The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Press Democrat, CNN, Fox News, CBS, ABC, NBC and KQED, an NPR-member radio station in San Francisco.
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Evidence introduced in the preliminary hearing against DePape included audio from a 911 call made by Paul Pelosi, portions of body camera video taken by the two police officers who responded to the Pelosis' house, portions of video of a police detective interviewing DePape and footage captured by Capitol Police Department surveillance cameras.
Prosecutors say DePape broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home on Oct. 28 seeking to kidnap the former speaker — who was out of town — and instead beat her 82-year-old husband with a hammer. The violence sent shockwaves through the political world.
DePape pleaded not guilty to state charges, including attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse. He has also pleaded not guilty to federal charges of attempting to kidnap a federal official and assaulting a federal official’s family member.
He remains jailed without bail and is set to return to a state court on Feb. 23 to set a date for his trial.
