Pelosi denies calling federal agents ‘stormtroopers’: Let’s go to the videotape

By K Walker

Did she really forget what she said or is this just playing politics?

The congressional hearing on Monday where you didn’t hear Attorney General Bill Barr’s testimony as much as you heard Democrats lecturing him was quite something.

In the midst of it all there was a moment where Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) asked AG Barr for his reaction to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s characterization of federal police officers who were attempting to bring peace to cities under siege like Portland as “stormtroopers.”

Here’s the transcript from the video:

Doug Collins: The stormtrooper comments by the Speaker of the House — and we know that that is a direct reference to the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. Don’t you think it encourages the violence that we’re seeing? Don’t you think that it encourages the participation against the police?

William Barr: I think that’s possible and I think it’s irresponsible to call these federal law enforcement officers “stormtroopers.”

Pelosi has vigorously denied calling the federal officers stormtroopers. During an appearance on Tuesday on MSNBC’s “The Beat,” she was confronted over the allegation by host Ari Melber. Her response is that she didn’t actually call federal law enforcement officers “stormtroopers.” Rather, she claims, she said they acted like stormtroopers.

.@SpeakerPelosi tries clarifying that she said federal police “acted like” stormtroopers but weren’t literally “stormtroopers” pic.twitter.com/Jiq7dqSYFf

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) July 28, 2020

So if I say, “The speaker acts like an idiot,” it’s not an insult because I didn’t say she actually was an idiot. Got it.

But let’s not quibble over semantics. Instead, let’s review the many times Pelosi said that the federal officers are stormtroopers. Here is a tweet she posted on July 17 in which she states that “unidentified stormtroopers” in “unmarked cars” are “kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti.”

Unidentified stormtroopers. Unmarked cars. Kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti.

These are not the actions of a democratic republic.@DHSgov’s actions in Portland undermine its mission.

Trump & his stormtroopers must be stopped.

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 18, 2020

Need more evidence? Here she is at a joint press conference on July 23 with tag team partner Chuck Schumer declaring that “the use of stormtroopers under the guise of law and order is a tactic that is not appropriate to our country in any way.”