OnPolitics: 'Engaged in a cover-up'

FROM WASHINGTON AND BEYOND

Friday, May 24

President Donald Trump at the White House on May 16, 2019.

Impeachment talk is getting heated. Here's why.

The drama that could upend the 2020 race.

President Donald Trump is "engaged in a cover-up" and "crying out" for impeachment, Nancy Pelosi said this week, but Democrats won't be taking the bait - for now.

The House speaker's explosive comments came in a week of mounting tension over impeachment talk that boiled over when Trump demanded Democrats drop their "phony" investigations or else he would torpedo any deals to solve America's infrastructure problems.

Trump's comments - or "temper tantrum," as Pelosi called it - came after a closed-door meeting with Democratic leaders. Trump walked out of the meeting, ratcheting up drama that could imperil his own agenda . So why did Trump bolt? Hours earlier, Pelosi accused Trump of an impeachable "cover-up." Trump's reply: "I don't do cover-ups."

All of this week's impeachment talk started with Justin Amash: Trump called the GOP congressman "a loser" Sunday after Amash claimed the Mueller report shows Trump "engaged in impeachable conduct."

A wave of Democrats showing support for impeachment followed - including Beto O'Rourke - but Republicans not named Amash remain firmly against it. And without clear evidence and bipartisan support, "you're wasting your time ," Pelosi said.

But with Trump and House Democrats in a stalemate and tensions rising, impeachment may become a reality. Here's what would happen if Dems tried to end Trump's presidency before 2020.

Candidate beef of the week: Biden vs. Trump

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden

Matt Rourke/AP

The opening blow: Two days after Pennsylvania native Joe Biden rallied in Philadelphia, Trump told Pennsylvanians at a Monday rally that "Biden deserted you. He left you for another state."

The counterpunch: Biden, who moved to Delaware at age 10 so his father could take a job, told supporters that Trump's insult proved he "doesn't understand the struggles working folks go through."

The winner: I can't say, but this Quinnipiac poll shows Biden is leading among Democrats and Trump's not getting credit for the economy.

This week in Trump:

•	Congress could obtain Trump's taxes under a new law passed in New York.
•	Trump's taxes must be disclosed by the IRS, an agency memo said, contradicting the White House.
•	Michael Cohen claims Trump's lawyer backed his false statement to Congress.
•	Trump slammed Fox News for holding a Pete Buttigieg town hall: "Wasted airtime."

President Donald Trump calls up Blake Marnell, wearing a jacket with bricks representing a border wall, to the stage during a 'Make America Great Again' campaign rally at Williamsport Regional Airport, May 20, 2019 in Montoursville, Pennsylvania. Trump is making a trip to the swing state to drum up Republican support on the eve of a special election in Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district, with Republican Fred Keller facing off against Democrat Marc Friedenberg.

Drew Angerer, Getty Images

This week in 2020 Democrats:

•	Bernie Sanders promised a $15 minimum wage to McDonald's workers if he wins.
•	Biden's criticism of North Korea resulted in the country calling him a "fool of low IQ."
•	O'Rourke live-streamed his haircut to feature his immigrant barber.
•	Buttigieg drew applause at that Fox News event for dismissing Trump's tweet.
•	John Hickenlooper called Biden a candidate with a backwards-looking message who "won't satisfy" voters.

Thanks for reading, OnPolitics friends. Let's catch up next week. - Josh Hafner

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Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at the Capitol to introduce the Inclusive Prosperity Act, which would impose a tax on Wall Street speculation, in Washington, Wednesday, May 22, 2019.

J. Scott Applewhite, AP