JIM TREACHER: Paul Pelosi’s Attacker Was Neither a Male Prostitute Nor a Trump Supporter. But the whole thing was weird*, and still is:
The whole thing was just bizarre. The “male prostitute” thing started because a local reporter said one of the two men was in his underwear when he opened the door for police. This claim was quickly dropped, and nobody has ever explained why it was made.
(I never understood why it would be a scandal anyway if a man was attacked in his own home while wearing only underpants. He was in his house in the middle of the night!)
Then NBC aired this report:
This sequence of events has been vindicated by police bodycam footage, but at the time it was different than the version that had been given to the public.
Instead of explaining, NBC deleted the video from their website, and reporter Miguel Almaguer suddenly disappeared. Almaguer no longer works for the network, after 18 years of service, and has never explained anything about the incident.
That’s weird, man!
Jim Geraghty adds: The Detail About Pelosi’s Attacker That Everyone Chose to Ignore.
I have no objection to Paul Pelosi’s attacker, David DePape, being sentenced to 30 years in prison. Throw the book at the bastard.
But I notice a strange detail in the coverage in the New York Times:
Judge Corley said in court that she had taken into account Mr. DePape’s lack of a previous criminal record and his vulnerability to conspiracy theories.
Lack of a previous criminal record? He was in the country illegally! His tourist visa expired in 2008! He had been residing in the country illegally for fourteen years when he attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband!
The New York Times described DePape as “a Canadian citizen who moved to San Francisco in his 20s,” and the Associated Press labeled him “a Canadian who moved to the U.S. more than 20 years ago.” Those descriptions are really misleading. DePape’s illegal immigrant status is not mentioned in the coverage from CNN, CBS, the BBC, The Guardian, and many other news reports on the verdict.
The Times characterized Pelosi’s attacker as almost an inevitable consequence of the fierce criticism of his wife:
Mr. DePape reflects the underbelly of American politics: a man driven by online conspiracy theories who seemed to embrace the rhetoric of many right-wing figures, who have used dehumanizing language for years to describe Ms. Pelosi and call her an enemy of the United States.
Yes, online conspiracy theories are bad, and no one should break into any lawmaker’s house, seeking to break their kneecaps, and violently assault a lawmaker’s spouse.
But there are some other lessons to be taken from DePape’s crime. One is that some of the people who either enter the country illegally, or those who enter legally and then stay beyond the legal limit, and who then move to sanctuary cities, are bad and dangerous people who should be deported.
* And speaking of weird: What’s Going On Here? Paul Pelosi’s Attacker Has Already Been Tried and Sentenced – Meanwhile, the Man Who Wanted to Kill Justice Kavanaugh Hasn’t Even Gone to Trial.