Paul Pelosi, 86, did not show up for his first court appearance on a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge stemming from a July crash in Napa County, sending his lawyer to enter a not guilty plea instead.
Attorney Amanda Bevins appeared on Pelosi's behalf Friday in Napa County Superior Court and entered the plea, Fox News Digital reported. Pelosi himself was absent. No explanation was offered for why the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose not to attend. Bevins declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
The Napa County District Attorney's Office charged Pelosi roughly a month earlier with one count of misdemeanor hit-and-run and an infraction for an unsafe turning movement. Both charges stem from a July 3 incident in which Pelosi allegedly struck a parked Tesla while driving a burgundy Maserati convertible, then left the scene without attempting to identify the Tesla's owner or provide the information California law requires.
Deputies later found Pelosi about a half-mile from the crash site. He allegedly told officers he had intended to return.
The District Attorney's Office acknowledged it does not typically issue news releases for misdemeanor hit-and-run cases involving only property damage. It made an exception for Pelosi because of what it called "significant public and media interest" in the case. That phrase alone tells you something about the weight of the Pelosi name in Northern California, and the scrutiny the office knew it would face if it treated this case like any other fender-bender.
The criminal complaint, previously obtained by Fox News Digital, did not indicate whether anyone else was in the Maserati at the time of the collision. The extent of the damage to the parked Tesla has not been publicly detailed.
Nancy Pelosi, for her part, has declined to answer questions about the case. Fox News Digital pressed the former Speaker on both the hit-and-run charge and her recent vote to cut aid to Israel. She refused to address either topic.
This is not Paul Pelosi's first brush with California traffic law, not by a long shot. The New York Times reported last month that Pelosi has received driving infractions in four Bay Area counties in recent years: San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, and Napa. That is a geographic spread that suggests a pattern, not an isolated lapse.
The most serious prior incident came in 2022, when Pelosi pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI after a separate crash in Napa County. A judge sentenced him to probation, ordered restitution and fines, required completion of a DUI education program, and mandated the installation of an ignition interlock device on his vehicle.
Nancy Pelosi has remained active in Democratic politics even as her husband's legal troubles have mounted. She recently pointed fingers at Biden's inner circle over the former president's cognitive decline, drawing scrutiny over her own record of public statements on the matter.
And the Pelosi driving history extends much further back. In 1957, a crash in San Mateo County killed Pelosi's 19-year-old brother while Pelosi was behind the wheel. A jury later cleared him of wrongdoing in that case. It is a decades-old tragedy, but it is part of a record that, taken whole, raises fair questions about judgment and accountability on the road.
Consider the basic facts the complaint lays out. An 86-year-old man driving a burgundy Maserati convertible strikes a parked car, leaves the scene, and is found a half-mile away. He says he meant to come back. He already has a DUI conviction in the same county. He has racked up infractions across the Bay Area.
For most Americans, a misdemeanor hit-and-run would mean a court date you actually attend. Pelosi sent a lawyer. The Napa County DA's office had to explain why it even bothered to announce the charges publicly, because for anyone else, a case like this would barely make the local blotter.
The former Speaker, meanwhile, has stayed busy on the national stage. She attended the dedication ceremony for the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on June 18, and she has remained vocal in San Francisco political disputes involving accusations of racism in a mayoral race. But on the subject of her husband's mounting legal problems, she has had nothing to say.
The case now moves forward in Napa County Superior Court. No next court date has been publicly announced. The possible penalties Pelosi faces if convicted on the misdemeanor charge remain unspecified in the public record so far. Whether the 2022 DUI conviction and its conditions, including the ignition interlock requirement, will factor into the court's handling of this new case is an open question.
The Pelosi family has long maintained a residence in Napa County. Paul Pelosi built a career as a venture capitalist. His wife spent decades accumulating power in Washington, rising to Speaker of the House twice. That kind of influence can open doors. It can also, as the Pelosis have learned in other contexts, attract the kind of attention that makes quiet exits difficult.
When ordinary people hit a parked car and drive off, they face the music in person. The Pelosis apparently prefer to send a representative, and hope nobody asks follow-up questions.
