House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s accusation that President Trump “is engaged in a cover-up” provoked backlash among conservatives and prompted President Trump to abruptly abandon key infrastructure negotiations with Democrats who came to meet with him at the White House.
Trump left the Wednesday meeting and promptly appeared in the Rose Garden to declare, “I don’t do cover-ups.” Back on Capitol Hill, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., called the various Democrat-led investigations into the president “witch hunts and ridiculous foolishness.”
Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., compared Pelosi’s cover-up accusation to dropping “a nuclear bomb.”
But Democrats are convinced Trump is attempting to cover up some kind of criminal behavior and maybe even ties to Russia, which can be found only by obtaining his tax returns, financial documents, and other material they are seeking from the president and that Trump is trying to block.
[Related: Trump’s impeachment inevitable, warns former House rep]
Some lawmakers aren’t sure what Trump may be covering up but they are determined to find out.
“My belief is he is trying to cover up the impeachable truth,” Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, told the Washington Examiner.
Green introduced articles of impeachment against the president on the opening day of Congress. He’s not certain what Trump is hiding but believes it must be important.
“That might be what we will find and I’m not sure what it will be,” Green explained. “But I don’t believe he has gone through these great lengths to cover this up for no reason at all.”
Many Democrats agree with Green. They believe the president’s decision not to release his tax returns, which has become a tradition for presidential candidates but is not required by law, signals he may be covering up crimes. His financial records, which Trump is also trying to block from Democrats, may also reveal illegal activity, they reason.
[Also read: Rep. Steve Cohen implies Pelosi is unpatriotic for not pushing to impeach Trump]
Democrats have also become increasingly convinced Trump has something to hide because he has refused to allow top aides to testify at oversight hearings and he has not ordered the release of the underacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference into the 2016 election.
Some Democrats believe the cover-up alone is proof of a crime.
“When somebody covers up, it means there is something to cover up that is detrimental to their position and the American people,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told the Washington Examiner.
While the Mueller report redactions are legally required, Democrats view the president’s unwillingness to release them as evidence he’s trying to conceal actions he may have taken to obstruct the Mueller probe.
“He has refused to release the full Mueller report with the underlying information, he’s refused to release his tax returns, he’s refused to provide information on any number of things that committees have been asking for, he’s consistently continued to lie and obstruct justice, as outlined in the Mueller report, around his attempts to get people to fire the special counsel,” Jayapal said.
“He clearly doesn’t want an investigation into any of his actions. So it’s a giant cover-up,” she said.
[Opinion: It feels like Trump wants impeachment much more than Pelosi]
Jayapal said Trump may be trying to cover up obstruction of justice or violations of the obscure Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits federal officeholders from accepting gifts from foreign governments.
“There’s a whole series of constitutional violations when somebody covers up,” Jayapal added.
Several House committees are pursuing investigations into the president and have issued subpoenas and filed court cases to obtain documents.
Democrats outline the rational for the probes in the accompanying legal documents.
The Ways and Means Committee subpoenaed six years of Trump’s tax returns, informing the Treasury Department and IRS, “it is considering legislative proposals and conducting oversight related to our Federal tax laws, including, but not limited to, the extent to which the IRS audits and enforces the Federal tax laws against a President.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., who has been successfully battling Trump in court to obtain his private financial records, told the Examiner he is trying to find out whether Trump is hiding a conflict of interest or violations of the Emoluments Clause.
“That’s what I’m concerned about,” Cummings told the Examiner.
A federal court upheld Cummings’ subpoena of Trump’s financial statements, which Cummings believes may falsely portray his assets and liabilities.
[Read: Elijah Cummings denies wife’s charity is conflict of interest or tax violation]
Democrats base their suspicions on testimony and documents provided by Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who is now in prison and has lied to Congress.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., a member of the Judiciary Committee who advocates for an impeachment inquiry, said the probes into Trump aim to determine “if there is foreign influence in his actions.”
Many Democrats say Trump’s moves to block congressional oversight are worrisome enough, even if nobody is sure what will be revealed.
“The simple answer is we don’t know,” Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., a Democratic presidential candidate, said. “We don’t know exactly what he’s covering up.”
Moulton pointed to the Mueller report, which concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin favored Trump in the 2016 election.
Mueller concluded the Trump campaign did not collude with the Russians, rejecting an accusation Democrats have been making since Trump won the White House.
But Moulton, like many Democrats, continues to suspect Russia is influencing the president and that their investigation can end the cover-up.
“That’s a national security concern that should be on the minds of every American whether you are a Trump supporter or a Trump hater,” Moulton said.
“Maybe his tax returns will reveal a little bit more about his connections to Russia.”
