A Friday morning NBC News segment on the attack of Paul Pelosi from reporter Miguel Almaguer was taken down and an editor’s note apologizing for the story not meeting “NBC News reporting standards” was added to the online article.
“This piece has been removed from publication because it did not meet NBC News reporting standards,” the note reads on the article about Pelosi’s release from the hospital on Thursday night.
A person with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap, “The decision was made to remove the segment after it was determined, shortly after it aired, that the main source for the information was unreliable regarding the question of the circumstances that the police encountered when they arrived at the house, specifically what the police saw and how far the attacker was from the door.”
Mediaite shared the since-deleted video from “The Today Show,” in which Almaguer’s reporting seemed to contradict reports from police and Pelosi himself about the assault by suspect David DePape, who has since been charged with attempted murder.
In the clip, Almaguer, who has worked for NBC since 2009, says, “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.” He also said, “Why Pelosi didn’t try to flee or tell responding officers he was in distress is unclear.”
According to police reports, Pelosi himself called 911 and let police in when they arrived. “The officers rushed into the house, tackled (DePape), and disarmed him. Mr. Pelosi remained unresponsive for about three minutes, waking up in a pool of his own blood,” the documents stated.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was not at home at the time of the attack, although she was DePape’s intended target. DePape told police he planned to hold her hostage and “break her kneecaps” if she did not do as he wanted.