Pelosi said she will ask FBI to investigate pro-Palestine protesters

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday she will ask the FBI to investigate the financing of pro-Palestine protesters, seemingly indicating they may be Russian plants.

"For them to call for a cease-fire is Mr. Putin's message, Mr. Putin's message. Make no mistake, this is directly connected to what he would like to see. Same thing with Ukraine. It's about Putin's message," Pelosi said in an interview with CNN.

She said she thinks only "some" of these protesters are "spontaneous and organic and sincere" but that some "are connected to Russia."

Interviewer Dana Bash then specifically asked Pelosi if she believed some of the protests are Russian plants.

"I don't think they're plants. I think some financing should be investigated. And I want to ask the FBI to investigate that," Pelosi said.

She then said she has confidence that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will win reelection, despite growing criticism of the president among Democratic voters over his handling of Israel's war in Gaza.

Pelosi, as a leading congresswoman, has had a history of sparking controversy in the wake of recent political tensions abroad. The lawmaker led a delegation to Ukraine in May 2022 to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and followed it with a trip to Armenia that September, sparking internal debate in the country over its long alliance with the Kremlin.

But that same year, Pelosi also made her trip to the self-governed province of Taiwan, sparking increased tensions with mainland China.