Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), has a preliminary court date on August 3rd for his Memorial Day weekend DUI arrest in Napa County, California that involved a crash with his Porsche and a Jeep. Pelosi is out on $5000 bail on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or higher.
Scene of Paul Pelosi’s car crash and DUI arrest, screen image via KGO-TV.
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement via Facebook:
Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced today (June 9th, 2022):
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing charges stemming from the DUI arrest of Paul Pelosi on May 29th, 2022, in Napa County, California.
At the time, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) arrested Mr. Pelosi (DOB 4/15/40) for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Driving with a .08% Blood Alcohol Content or Higher. He was booked into the Napa County Department of Corrections and cite released.
Mr. Pelosi agreed to a court date of August 3, 2022, at 8:30 am in Napa County Superior Court. If criminal charges are filed, Mr. Pelosi would be arraigned at that time. The case is currently under review to decide what, if any, charges will be filed against Mr. Pelosi. This is standard protocol for any DUI case that is referred by a law enforcement agency in Napa County.
No decision has been made at this time. Any speculation to the contrary is incorrect. When a filing decision is made by the Napa County District Attorney, the media and public will be notified.
The reference to speculation appears to be a response to a viral claim by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) that charges had been dropped against Pelosi, “Paul Pelosi’s DUI charges have been dropped. Is anyone really surprised?”
Paul Pelosi's DUI charges have been dropped.
Is anyone really surprised?
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) June 8, 2022
Paul Pelosi’s attorney Paul Kramer issued a statement to Fox News reporter Chad Pergram the day after Pelosi’s arrest also disputing reports:
“Statement from Atty for Paul Pelosi: Several news reports about Saturday night’s traffic incident involving Paul Pelosi have included incorrect information. Mr. Pelosi was attending a dinner party at the home of friends near Oakville…He left that party at 10:15 PM Saturday, to drive to his home a short distance away. He was alone in his car…Mr. Pelosi was fully cooperative with California Highway Patrol officers who arrived a few minutes later. A prior driving offense erroneously attributed to Mr. Pelosi is untrue and likely refers to another person with the same name…There are also incorrect reports that misstate the timing of events. Mr. Pelosi left the dinner party at 10:15 PM Saturday. The incident happened a few minutes later. CHP and Napa County processing took until 7:30 AM Sunday.”
A) Statement from Atty for Paul Pelosi: Several news reports about Saturday night’s traffic incident involving Paul Pelosi have included incorrect information.
Mr. Pelosi was attending a dinner party at the home of friends near Oakville.— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 30, 2022
C) Paul Pelosi atty: After stopping at the intersection of Walnut Drive and Highway 29, and proceeding across Highway 29 to Oakville Cross Road, his car was hit on the back fender by a Jeep heading southbound on Highway 29.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 30, 2022
E) Paul Pelosi atty: This error must be corrected.
There are also incorrect reports that misstate the timing of events. Mr. Pelosi left the dinner party at 10:15 PM Saturday. The incident happened a few minutes later. CHP and Napa County processing took until 7:30 AM Sunday.— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 30, 2022
Nancy Pelosi’s spokesman Drew Hamill distanced the Speaker from her husband in a statement issued the day after his arrest, “The speaker will not be commenting on this private matter which occurred while she was on the East Coast.”
The California Highway Patrol released a statement on the arrest:
“On Saturday, May 28, 2022, at 10:26 pm, Napa Area units responded to a crash that occurred on State Route 29 (SR-29) at Walnut Lane. Upon arrival, the Napa Area units determined the incident to be a two-vehicle non-injury crash. The driver of the Porsche (Party Number 1, Pelosi) was traveling eastbound on Walnut Lane and attempted to cross SR-29, when his Porsche was struck by a party traveling northbound on SR-29 (Party Number 2, Lopez) driving a Jeep. Pelosi was arrested for driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage at 11:44 pm. He was subsequently booked into the Napa County Detention Center for a violation of 23152(a) and 23152(b) of the vehicle code. The crash is being investigated by the Napa Area.”
Video report from KGO-TV News: