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President Trump Storms Out of Meeting with Top Democrats over “Phony” Inquiries

HeadlineMay 23, 2019

President Trump stormed out of a White House meeting Wednesday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, saying he won’t work with the Democratic leaders until they end what he called “phony” inquiries into his presidency. Trump’s outburst came just hours after Pelosi accused him of engaging in a “cover-up” by resisting congressional subpoenas.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “We believe that no one is above the law, including the president of the United States. And we believe that the president of the United States is engaged in a cover-up.”

Trump cited Pelosi’s comment as his reason for storming out of Wednesday’s meeting. He spoke to reporters in the White House Rose Garden just after the confrontation.

President Donald Trump: “I don’t do cover-ups. You people know that probably better than anybody.”

Trump’s outburst ended discussions with Pelosi and Schumer on a $2 trillion plan to reinvest in U.S. infrastructure. After the aborted meeting, Sen. Schumer said Trump had clearly planned the move in advance.

Sen. Chuck Schumer: “It’s clear that this was not a spontaneous move on the president’s part. It was planned. When we got in the room, the curtains were closed. The president, there was a place for him at the front so he could stand and attempt to tell us why he wouldn’t do infrastructure. And, of course, then he went to the Rose Garden with prepared signs that had been printed up long before our meeting.”

Meanwhile, House Speaker Pelosi’s staff held a caucus meeting Wednesday to tamp down demands by many Democrats to open impeachment proceedings against Trump.

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