The weekend arrest of Paul Pelosi, the husband of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, on suspicion of driving under the influence came after the Porsche he was driving was hit by another vehicle in wine country, authorities said.
Paul Pelosi, 82, was taken into custody shortly before midnight Saturday in Napa County, according to a sheriff’s office online booking report.
He was driving a 2021 Porsche into an intersection near the town of Yountville and was hit by a 2014 Jeep, the California Highway Patrol said in a statement late Sunday.
No injuries were reported, and the 48-year-old driver of the Jeep was not arrested.
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Pelosi could face misdemeanor charges including driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 or higher, the police booking report said. He was released early Sunday on $5,000 bail, records showed.
Drew Hammill, spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi, told The Associated Press on Sunday: “The Speaker will not be commenting on this private matter which occurred while she was on the East Coast.” A telephone message left Monday with Nancy Pelosi’s office seeking comment on the additional details in the highway patrol statement was not immediately returned.
Representatives for Paul Pelosi did issue a statement Monday, saying he was "attending a dinner party at the home of friends near Oakville. He left that party at 10:15 p.m. Saturday, to drive to his home a short distance away. He was alone in the car."
The statement also refuted an element of NBC Bay Area's reporting Sunday night that Napa court records show Paul Pelosi was arrested on a similar charge four years ago, saying "a prior driving offense erroneously attributed to Mr. Pelosi is untrue and likely refers to another person with the same name."
Nancy Pelosi on Sunday delivered the commencement address at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Paul and Nancy Pelosi have been married since 1963.
Pelosi’s arrest was first reported by TMZ.
