Quick Take
Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was arrested for alleged drunken driving on May 28. Posts on social media falsely claim that the DUI charges against Pelosi have been dropped. But the Napa County District Attorney’s Office said the case is still under review and no decision has been made on the charges.
Full Story
Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence on May 28 at 11:44 p.m.
The California Highway Patrol said Pelosi was driving a 2021 Porsche that was hit by a 2014 Jeep as Pelosi’s car tried to cross a state road in Napa County, ABC10 reported. No one was hurt in the accident. Pelosi was booked into jail at 4:13 a.m. the following morning and released on a $5,000 bond a few hours later.
He could face charges of driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 or higher, the Associated Press reported.
But social media posts falsely claimed that all DUI charges against Pelosi have been dropped.
Comedian Rob Schneider shared a tweet on June 8 from Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado claiming that Pelosi’s charges were dropped. A Facebook page called The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast, a fan page for the Joe Rogan podcast, shared a screenshot of Schneider’s tweet.
A post on Instagram shows a screenshot of a tweet that reads, “BREAKING: All charges have reportedly been dropped against Paul Pelosi for his DUI crash. Gavin Newsom reportedly intervened at the request of Nancy Pelosi and directly ordered the California Highway Patrol to drop all charges.”
But the posts offer no evidence to support those claims.
Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley released a statement on June 9 on Facebook saying that the case is still under review.
“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,” reads part of the statement.
“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 statement continued. “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.”
The statement added that “no decision has been made at this time” and “any speculation to the contrary is incorrect.”
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office said the media and public will be notified when a decision is made.
Update, Aug. 24: Paul Pelosi pleaded guilty on Aug. 23 to driving under the influence. He was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation. He had already served two days in jail and received good behavior credit for two other days; he will serve eight hours in a work program in lieu of the remaining day. Pelosi also will have to pay about $5,000 in victim restitution and $2,000 in fines.
Update, July 1: Paul Pelosi has been charged with driving under the influence causing injury and driving with a .08% blood alcohol level or higher causing injury, the Napa County District Attorney’s Office said in a June 28 press release. Both are misdemeanor charges.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
Altman-Devilbiss, Alexx. “Nancy Pelosi’s husband arrested for drunk driving, online records say.” ABC News. 29 May 2022.
Associated Press. “Pelosi’s husband arrested on suspicion of DUI in California.” 29 May 2022.
Boebert, Lauren (@Laurenbobert). “Paul Pelosi’s DUI charges have been dropped. Is anyone really surprised?” Twitter. 8 Jun 2022.
Freiman, Jordan. “Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, arrested for alleged drunk driving.” CBS News. 31 May 2022.
Morales, Caroline. “Napa County DA reviewing Paul Pelosi’s DUI Charges.” ABC10. 9 Jun 2022.
“NANCY PELOSIHUSBAND ARRESTED FOR DUI IN NAPA…Involved In Car Crash.” TMZ. 29 May 2022.
Napa County District Attorney’s Office Facebook page. Statement on charges pending against Paul Pelosi. 9 Jun 2022.
Schneider, Rob (@RobSchneider). “Twitter won’t let me retweet this…Here’s a screenshot.” Twitter. 8 Jun 2022.