NBC Bay Area offers highly similar report on Paul Pelosi attack as parent company
NBC News retracted a story that shared key details with the Bay Area affiliate.
A new NBC Bay Area report about the assault on Paul Pelosi last month includes several of the same details in NBC News' retracted national report that suggested Pelosi may not have been in immediate danger when police arrived prior to his attack.
NBC News national correspondent Miguel Almaguer reported on Nov. 4 for "Today" that police didn’t know they were responding to the Pelosi residence, Pelosi opened the door for police but didn’t attempt to escape or declare an emergency, and even walked away from law enforcement and toward his eventual attacker.
Almaguer’s report was erased from all NBC News platforms later in the day. It was scrubbed from social media, and NBC News issued an editor's note on its website, reading, "This piece has been removed from publication because it did not meet NBC News reporting standards."
However, a local NBC reporter’s similar story was not retracted and remained online as of Wednesday morning.
Last Friday, exactly one week after Almaguer’s report was mysteriously retracted with little public detail, NBC’s San Francisco local affiliate KNTV, which is branded as NBC Bay Area, aired an explosive report with highly similar details indicating Pelosi opened the door for police and didn’t immediately attempt to escape.
Anchor Jessica Aguirre told viewers the NBC Bay Area investigative team "looked into why state and federal prosecutors each describe one specific detail of the police response differently," before tossing it to reporter Bigad Shaban.
"This all has to do with the moments, seconds really, just before Paul Pelosi was struck in the head with a hammer inside his San Francisco home. Now, there continues to be contradicting accounts of a relatively simple question," Shaban told viewers. "Who opened the door that night when San Francisco police arrived to the Pelosi house?"
NBC SILENT AFTER RETRACTING PAUL PELOSI REPORT UNDER MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
NBC Bay Area investigative report Bigad Shaban
Shaban explained that a federal indictment indicates "two officers" opened the door, but the San Francisco District Attorney’s office had previously stated, "Mr. Pelosi opened the door with his left hand."
Shaban then cited "a source familiar with the investigation who personally watched the police body camera footage from that night," and said officers "knocked on the door of the Pelosi home, then backed away, and the video clearly shows Paul Pelosi open the door with his left hand."
"The body cam video shows officers having a brief conversation with Pelosi and David DePape… before DePape starts beating Pelosi with a hammer," Shaban reported. "We reached out to the Department of Justice for an explanation of its differing account of this seemingly innocuous issue of who opened the door, but so far, we have not heard back."
An NBC Bay Area report on the Paul Pelosi attack quoted a source who said Pelosi opened the door for police the night of the assault. (NBC Bay Area / Screenshot)
The local NBC reporter also spoke with then-interim San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. Shaban asked, "Are you able to shed any light as to why Paul Pelosi didn’t run out of the house towards police officers when he was able to actually open the door for them when they arrived?"
Jenkins responded by saying it’s not fair to play "Monday morning quarterback" when analyzing how a victim responded to a crime.
The NBC Bay Area segment never mentioned the since-retracted NBC News report by Almaguer.
NBC News has refused to explain what violated standards in its Nov. 4 story, and Almaguer has not appeared on air since his report was removed.
PAUL PELOSI RETURNS HOME FROM HOSPITAL DAYS AFTER HAMMER ATTACK
The report was accused in some corners of fueling purported conspiracy theories about the true timeline of events that led to suspect David DePape allegedly brutally assaulting Pelosi with a hammer. Some NBC insiders believe the report was squashed because it went against the mainstream narrative, while another NBC insider told Fox News Digital that the word inside the company is that a "biased" source was used by Almaguer. Another insider said it was embarrassing for Almaguer's story to follow a "conspiracy theory."
(left) Paul and Nancy Pelosi attend the Pre-GRAMMY Gala. (right) David DePape. (Michael Short/ San Francisco Chronicle)
Shaban did not immediately respond when asked if he feels his reporting backs up the retracted NBC News report. NBC Bay Area did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NBC News did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
A former senior NBC News executive who worked with Almaguer previously told Fox News Digital the network needs to explain what’s going on.
"NBC’s silence on this matter speaks volumes. NBC owes it to its audience to be truthful and not cover this up," the former executive said.
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Fox News’ David Rutz contributed to this report.
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