'Engaged In A Cover-Up'
Political theatre was on full display on Wednesday as the feud between Democrats and President Donald Trump boiled over into multiple public spectacles.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke to her caucus Wednesday morning amid mounting pressure and increased appetite for impeachment proceedings to formally begin. Shortly after the meeting, Pelosi told reporters that "we believe no one is above the law, including the President" and "we believe the President of the United States is engaged in a cover-up."
While Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer were scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House to to discuss infrastructure today, Fox News' John Roberts reported the commander-in-chief became so "incensed" at the comments that he stormed out of the meeting minutes after it started.
The president addressed the situation with what appeared to be an impromptu press conference in the Rose Garden, where he complained that there was no need for Democrats to continue their investigations in light of the Mueller report. He admitted that he told Pelosi and Schumer that while "I want to do infrastructure... you can’t do it under these circumstances" — imploring the Democratic leadership to "get these phony investigations over with."
And Trump also responded directly to Pelosi's remarks, inaccurately claiming "I don't do coverups" — leading to much eye-rolling from journalists and spectators alike.
NBC News’ Peter Alexander appeared on MSNBC where he dispassionately dismantled President Trump's eyebrow-raising claim: "The key sound bite from president Trump today was, 'I don't do cover-ups.' Which of course ignores the facts"
Scheduled Outrage?
But it appears the president's press conference wasn't so sudden after all. The surprise speech was reportedly planned in advance.
In fact, according to ABC News, White House aides even went so far as to try to convince the commander-in-chief to abandon his plan to go on the attack against Democrats. But Trump was already fuming at the start of the day and Pelosi's comments just pushed him over the edge and set this spectacle in motion.
The House speaker and Senate minority leader were quick to pick up on the orchestration of the meeting, calling it a "planned" sabotage.
"It was clear this was not a spontaneous move on the president's part," Schumer told reporters.
Pelosi added: "He had a press conference in the Rose Garden with all of this sort of visuals that obviously were planned long before I said most currently that he was engaged in a cover-up, so it is really sad."
The House Speaker proceeded to give President Trump a taste of what he was giving up — listing landmark bipartisan infrastructure bills signed in the past and explaining that House Democrats would have been willing to work with him so that he could secure a legacy project and key accomplishment. She explained that Trump "took a pass," adding, "I pray for the President of the United States. I pray for the United States of America."
President Trump didn't take that well, firing back at Pelosi in a series of tweets where he accused the Democratic leadership of "tearing the United States apart."
"You can’t investigate and legislate simultaneously – it just doesn’t work that way," he added. "You can’t go down two tracks at the same time."
But the Speaker wasn't about to let the president get to her, doubling down at a conference Wednesday afternoon and stressing, "this president is obstructing justice and he’s engaged in a cover-up. And that could be an impeachable offense."
The Calls Grow Louder
Meanwhile, the calls for impeachment from many in the Democratic party continue to grow louder.
While participating in a CNN town hall in Iowa, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke renewed his call to impeach President Trump.
"If we do nothing because we are afraid of the polls or the politics or the repercussions in the next election, then we will have set a precedent for this country that, in fact, some people because of the position of power and public trust that they hold are above the law," he explained.
And O'Rourke isn't the only one starting to get restless at the lack of action.
Rep. Steve Cohen, who is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told MSNBC’s Ari Melber that "80, 90 percent of the [Democrats on the] committee are on board to go forward" with an impeachment inquiry.
Still, no formal moves have been made, and Democratic House Whip Rep. James Clyburn is tamping down expectations.
"We have not gotten there yet," he told CNN's John Brennan.
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