Nancy Pelosi accuses 'poor baby' Trump of 'impeachable offenses' after he storms out of White House meeting on infrastructure to say he will NOT work with Democrats until they stop 'phony investigations'

  • President tells Democratic congressional leaders that he won't work with them on legislation while they keep him under investigation
  • Nancy Pelosi opened the day by coming out of a meeting with Democrats in Congress - some pushing for impeachment - and accusing Trump of a 'cover-up'
  • Trump then used a planned meeting on infrastructure funding with House Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to berate them and other Dems
  • Senior White House official said he was fuming and decided to attack Democrats instead of canceling scheduled Cabinet Room meeting 
  • Then he stormed outside to the Rose Garden where he had ordered a podium set up before the meeting and that White House reporters be ready to listen
  • Responding to Pelosi, he insisted 'I don't do cover-ups' 
  • 'We're doing excellent work without them,' Trump said of Democrats, saying that he is now facing the fourth or fifth investigation 
  • Pelosi said that she's praying for the president then upped the ante, saying he was committing 'impeachable offenses'
  • President predicted all-out war with Democrats in November, saying he wouldn't work with them if they were in 'a warlike posture' with investigations 

Nancy Pelosi escalated a war of words with Donald Trump Wednesday, accusing him of committing 'impeachable offenses' and dismissing his storming out of a morning White House infrastructure summit three minutes into it as a 'poor baby' moment.

The House Speaker mocked his conduct on a day of drama as 'very strange,' shortly after the president blew up a meeting with Democratic leadership scheduled to discuss how to fund $2 trillion of infrastructure investment by berating her and Chuck Schumer then holding a Rose Garden press conference to attack them more.

The showdown in the Cabinet Room came at what had been supposed to be a summit with Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and other top Democrats to hammer out how to pay for a $2 trillion infrastructure package.

But Pelosi had accused him just over an hour earlier of presiding over a 'cover-up' after holding a meeting with her caucus, some of whom are pushing aggressively to impeach the president - leaving him fuming, according to a White House official.

Instead of talking about spending, Trump walked into the room, berated the Democrats and walked out to the Rose Garden to address reporters who had been moved in front of it even before Schumer and Pelosi sat down in the Cabinet room.

'I don't do cover-ups,' Trump told the reporters, speaking in front of a podium emblazoned 'No collusion, no obstruction.'

'You people probably know that better than anybody,' he added. He said wouldn't work with Pelosi or Schumer, the Senate Minority leader, until they stood down the investigations.

President Donald Trump spoke to reporters in the Rose Garden on Wednesday after cutting short a planned meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer; he said he won't work with them as long as they're pursuing a carefully crafted plan to investigate and impeach him

President Donald Trump spoke to reporters in the Rose Garden on Wednesday after cutting short a planned meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer; he said he won't work with them as long as they're pursuing a carefully crafted plan to investigate and impeach him

Ready for battle: Trump walked to the podium set up for his impromptu press conference with pages of notes, some of which were hand written

Ready for battle: Trump walked to the podium set up for his impromptu press conference with pages of notes, some of which were hand written

Pre-prepared: Even before Pelosi and Schumer had arrived from Capitol Hill, White House reporters were invited to stand in front of the podium emblazoned with criticism of the Mueller probe from  Trump spoke

Pre-prepared: Even before Pelosi and Schumer had arrived from Capitol Hill, White House reporters were invited to stand in front of the podium emblazoned with criticism of the Mueller probe from  Trump spoke 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that she's praying for Trump and was amazed at the way the president ended the scheduled sit-down

Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer claimed the president's storm-out was a setup and he never intended to negotiate over infrastructure spending in the first place

Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer claimed the president's storm-out was a setup and he never intended to negotiate over infrastructure spending in the first place

'When they get everything done, I'm all set to – let's get infrastructure, let's get drug prices down. In the meantime we're doing excellent work without them,' Trump said. 

Pelosi and Schumer rushed back to Capitol Hill and held their own joint press conference, with Pelosi saying: 'I pray for for the president of the United States.'

An hour later she upped the ante, accusing him of committing 'impeachable offenses.'  

Pelosi described the meeting as 'very, very, very strange.'

'He walked away. Whether he intended to act on what he said before remains to be seen,' she said at the CAPS Ideas conference. 'It was very, very, very strange.'

She also said it was a 'poor baby' moment for Trump.

HOW D.C.'S DAY OF DRAMA UNFOLDED

9 a.m. Capitol Hill

House Democrats gather for closed-door caucus meeting to talk impeachment. Nancy Pelosi faces down progressives demanding it and convinces them to get behind leadership's strategy of investigating but not impeaching

10 a.m. Capitol Hill

Pelosi speaks at a brief press conference after caucus meeting and tells reporters Trump is engaged in a 'cover-up'

11.15 a.m. White House

Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are spotted arriving at the White House.At exactly the same time, reporters are asked to gather at the doors to the Palm Room, which allows access to the Rose Garden

11.23 a.m. White House

Reporters are escorted to the Rose Garden and see the podium which says 'no obstruction, no collusion' 

11.35 a.m.  White House

Reporters get a two minute warning that Trump is going to speak - meaning the meeting with the Democrats is already over

11.37 a.m.  White House

Trump walks out to the podium in the Rose Garden, notes in hand and attacks the Democrats

12.01 p.m. Capitol Hill

Pelosi and Schumer hold their own press conference and says she is praying for Trump

1.01 p.m. White House

Trump tweets a new attack on the Democrats and says: 'Thank you so much for your prayers.'

1.04 p.m. Renaissance Hotel, D.C.

Pelosi tells Democratic think tank's conference that Trump is committing 'impeachable offenses' 

'Instead in an orchestrated - almost poor baby point of view - he came in the room and said that I said he was engaged in a cover up and couldn't possibly, couldn't possibly engage in a conversation on infrastructure as long as we were investigating him,' Pelosi said. 

'Now we were investigating him since we took over the majority so there's nothing new in that. And then he had a press conference in the Rose Garden with all these sort visuals that were obviously planned before I said most currently he was engaged in a cover up. So it's really sad,' she added.  

The confrontation and effective declaration by Trump of all-out war came on a morning which had opened with liberal Democrats piling pressure on Pelosi to consider opening formal impeachment proceedings. 

That, some progressives believe, is the only mechanism capable of short-circuiting the White House's refusal to obey House subpoenas for documents and testimony. 

Progressive lawmakers used an early-morning meeting of the Democratic caucus to deliver their message to the Speaker - who faced them down and declined to proceed with impeachment.

Then, in a press conference after the caucus meeting, Pelosi fired the day's first salvo by accusing Trump of engaging in a 'cover-up' fueled by his refusal to let former White House lawyer Don McGahn and current Attorney General Bob Barr testify in Democrat-led hearings.  

'We do believe that it’s important to follow the facts. 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,' she told reporters at the Capitol. 

A senior White House aide said that Trump was fuming at the cover-up allegation as soon as he saw it.

He may have been set off by a House committee's subpoena for testimony and documents from his former communications director. 

Trump has yet to comment on the attempt by the House Judiciary Committee to compel testimony from Hope Hicks, but former aide, who is now the executive vice president and chief communications officer for Fox, is very close to him. 

Hicks has not addressed the subpoena and isn't expected to testify again. The White House claimed this week that Trump has the power to shield current and former senior officials from compelled testimony to Congress, and he argued Wednesday that the hours of questions his aides endured from lawmakers and Mueller in previous sessions were more than enough.

But instead of canceling the meeting, he let the two top Democrats and other leaders come to the Cabinet Room and asked officials to organize a podium and for White House reporters to be in the Rose Garden. 

When the Democrats arrived to the White House, the president walked in and berated them.

Then he walked out three minutes later and said nearly the same thing to reporters that he had said to the Democratic leaders and senior aides.

Trump told the press that he had entered his meeting with Pelosi and Schumer saying he wanted a deal to fund refurbishment and replacement of infrastructure like roads, tunnels, bridges and airports. 

'But you know what?' he said he told them. 'You can't do it under these circumstances. So get these phony investigations over with.'

He says he told them, 'It's sad. This meeting was set up a number of days ago at 11 o'clock. All of a sudden I hear last night they'll have a meeting, right before this meeting, to talk about "The I-word," he said, referring to impeachment over claims that he obstructed justice. ' 

Special Counsel Robert Mueller dismissed Democrats' claims that his campaign colluded with Russians in 2016, but left it to Trump's own Justice Department to determine whether to charge him with obstruction for allegedly trying to impede the Russia probe.

'The I-word! Can you imagine? I don't speak to Russians about campaigns,' Trump said. 'When I went to Wisconsin and Michigan and Pennsylvania, I don't say, "Let's call Russia." ... It's a hoax. The greatest hoax in history.' 

Trump tweeted a mouthful after the White House blowup, ending with a jab at Nancy Pelosi for piously saying she would be praying for him

Democrats in Congress are hanging on Pelosi's every word as the try to discern whether she's on board for a Trump impeachment

Democrats in Congress are hanging on Pelosi's every word as the try to discern whether she's on board for a Trump impeachment

Moments after Trump concluded speaking, Pelosi and Schumer rebutted him on Capitol Hill. 

'He wasn't really respectful. He took a pass, and it just makes me wonder why he did that,' Pelosi told reporters. 'In any event, I pray for the President of the United States and I pray for the United States of America.'

'He came in the room and made the statement he made – well, I won't even characterize it,' she said. 

TRUMP PREDICTED ALL-OUT WAR WITH DEMOCRATS

Donald Trump spoke with reporters on November 7, 2018, the day after Democrats won control of the House of Representatives: 

QUESTION: The real question is, you just said up here, and said from this podium, that it's -- are you offering a my-way-or-highway scenario to the Democrats? You're saying ...

TRUMP: No. Negotiation. Not at all.

QUESTION: ... that if -- if they start investigating you, that you can play that game and investigate them.

TRUMP: Oh, yeah. Better than them.

QUESTION: Can you compartmentalize that --

TRUMP: And I think I know more -- and I think I know more than they know.

QUESTION: Can you compartmentalize that and still continue to work with them for the benefit of the rest of the country? Or are you --

TRUMP: No.

QUESTION: Are all bets off?

TRUMP: No. If they do that, then it's just -- all it is, is a warlike posture.

Schumer accused Trump of orchestrating the whole spectacle in advance. 

'It's clear this was not a spontaneous move on the president's part,' Schumer claimed. 'It was planned.

'To watch what happened in the White House would make your jaw drop. 

'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.'

The senior White House official who spoke to DailyMail.com said the sign was printed a month before - and Trump had used the graphic that appeared on the podium in a tweet. 

In a bizarre sub-plot, Kellyanne Conway was reported to have been involved in a confrontation with Pelosi after Trump stormed out. 

After Conway turned to Pelosi and asked if she had a response for the president, prompting the House Speaker to say: 'I'm responding to the president, not staff.'

As the Cabinet Room emptied, a source told the Wall Street Journal that Conway told Pelosi: 'That’s really pro-woman of you.'  

A source confirmed to DailyMail.com that Trump was the only one who spoke - before he left the short-lived meeting.

As Trump ranted about Democrats in the Rose Garden, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was spotted outside the West Wing talking to senior presidential advisor Ivanka Trump, suggesting she was also in the room at the time of her father's eruption. 

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and Conway were also standing near the entryway that connects the Cabinet Room to the Rose Garden via a short hallway.

As Trump ranted about Democrats in the Rose Garden, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was spotted outside the West Wing, talking to senior advisor Ivanka Trump, suggesting she was also in the room at the time of her father's eruption

As Trump ranted about Democrats in the Rose Garden, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was spotted outside the West Wing, talking to senior advisor Ivanka Trump, suggesting she was also in the room at the time of her father's eruption

Pelosi ramped up her allegations of a presidential cover-up just after 1 p.m., opening the door for impeachment as liberal members of her caucus continue to publicly nudge her in that direction. 

'The fact is – in plain sight, in the public domain – this president is obstructing justice and he's engaged in a cover-up,' she said during a conference held by the Center for American Progress. 

'And that could be an impeachable offense.'  

In his mini tweet-storm during the lunch hour, Trump wrote: 'Nancy, thank you so much for your prayers, I know you truly mean it!' 

Reporters at the White House were summoned with mere minutes' notice to hear Trump speak and field two questions.

By then the president's podium was already set up with a placard declaring that the Mueller probe found 'NO collusion' and 'NO obstruction,' suggesting the public remarks weren't completely impromptu. 

Trump quoted from a Wall Street Journal editorial that called for Democrats to move on from their investigations.

'There was no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign,' he said. 'That's it. But they want to make this a big deal. Whether or not they carry the big "I-word" out.' 

'There is a danger here,' he claimed. 'If someday a Democrat becomes president and you have a Republican House, they can impeach him for any reason, or her. Any reason. We can't allow that to happen.' 

The president vented about Democrats' plan of attack, re-launching investigations on which he believes the Mueller probe was the final word

 The president vented about Democrats' plan of attack, re-launching investigations on which he believes the Mueller probe was the final word

Trump stood at a Rose Garden podium that already had a 'NO Collusion, NO Obstruction' placard on it, suggesting the hastily called press event wasn't entirely imprompt

Trump stood at a Rose Garden podium that already had a 'NO Collusion, NO Obstruction' placard on it, suggesting the hastily called press event wasn't entirely impromptu

Trump's clash with congressional Democrats is just the latest in a series of head-on collisions since Democrats took over the House of Representatives in January. 

'I respect the courts. I respect Congress. I respect right here where we're standing,' he said Wednesday, referring to the White House. 'But what they've done is abuse. This is investigation number four on the same thing, probably five, and it really started, I think, pretty much from the time we came down the escalator in Trump Tower.'

'We're doing a lot without them,' Trump added. 'Let them play their games. We're going to go down one track at a time.'

A senior aide repeated Trump's one track comment yet told DailyMail.com that Trump would consider working with Democrats on legislative priorities as investigations into him continue. 

'I think we have to see,' the person said, noting that they are 'literally accusing the president of a crime' and then claiming they want to work on infrastructure. 'Give me a break.' 

Pelosi took a parting shot at the president as her own hastily scheduled press conference ended, speculating with an acid tongue about why he had decided to storm out of their meeting.

'Maybe it was lack of confidence on his part, that he really couldn't match the greatness of the challenge that we have,' she said.

The all-out confrontation with Trump will actually help Pelosi, who is battling against the progressive wing of her caucus who want to impeach Trump. 

Her comparison of Trump's conduct to Nixon's are the furthest she come to date about going forward on impeachment proceedings against Trump - a tactic she has worried will backfire on Democrats in the 2020 election. 

Pelosi also argued that the probes being conducted by six House committees into Trump's businesses, his taxes, his 2016 campaign and his administration are getting underneath the president's skin.

Our investigations are 'reaping benefits,' she said.

Her comments came after she said earlier in the day she would not proceed with impeachment proceedings against the president amid pressure from some in her party to do just that.  

Pelosi hosted a closed-door meeting with House Democrats on Wednesday at the Capitol to try to rein in lawmakers who want to see impeachment proceedings begin against Trump. 

Her tactic appeared to work - for now. Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was one of those beating the impeachment drumbeat, sounded a more muted tone after the gathering.

'I was satisfied with the openness of the conversation,' she told NBC News. 'I think we're having thoughtful conversations about it and that's the important thing.'

Pelosi let the six committee chairs leading investigations against Trump make the case that the Democrats are investigating the president and don't need to go as far as impeachment to continue to do so.

Additionally, a pro-impeachment faction addressed the members, lawmakers in the room said afterward.

Pelosi described it as a 'respectful' gathering and said the meeting wasn't about persuading lawmakers to change their minds about impeachment.

'It's not a question of persuasion, we were just exchanging information and points of view,' she said. 

And she hit back at an early morning tweet from Trump who charged Democrats with sacrificing their legislative work to investigate him. 

'We do have our legislative agenda that we're moving forward on. It was a very positive meeting, a respectful sharing of ideas, and I think a very impressive presentation by our chairs,' Pelosi said.

Democrats in Pelosi's corner were able to talk about victories in their probe of Trump, his businesses, his 2016 campaign and his administration. 

House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler discussed his panel's vote to hold Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt for not handing over the full, unredacted report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller. 

He pushed for the full House to vote on contempt of Congress for Barr this month. 

Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was one of those beating the impeachment drumbeat, sounded a more muted tone after the gathering

Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was one of those beating the impeachment drumbeat, sounded a more muted tone after the gathering

House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler pushed for the full House to vote on holding Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt this month

House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler pushed for the full House to vote on holding Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt this month

He also said Mueller must testify in public, according to a Democratic source in the room. The Judiciary panel and the Justice Department are negotiating on Mueller's testimony and reports indicate the special counsel would prefer to speak behind closed doors.  

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff discussed his panel's recent agreement with the Justice Department to begin accessing parts of Mueller's files in the Russia investigation.

And House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings pointed out that Democrats won a key court case - a federal district judge ruled on Monday that the accounting firm Mazars will need to turn over Trump's accounting records to the panel.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren pointed out than any subpoenas in an impeachment inquiry would also have to go through the court process. 

'Regarding impeachment inquiry, we still have to go to court to get our subpoenas enforced. You know, we are winning those battles now,' she said.

The impeachment talk among Democrats heated up in the wake of former White House counsel Don McGahn's refusal, at the White House's request, to comply with a subpoena for his testimony on the Russia investigation and his testimony outlined in Mueller's report.

His refusal to appear Tuesday set off a wave of fury among Democrats.

Democratic lawmakers said afterward that Pelosi was able to tamp down on some members' call for Trump's head.

'Nancy still prevails in persuading our caucus to keep your powder dry on that one,' Rep. Gerry Connolly said afterward of the impeachment talk even as he conceded no lawmakers pushing for impeachment changed their minds.

'The overwhelming majority of the House Democratic Caucus continue to believe that the speaker has set forth the appropriate course which is deliberate yet forceful,' Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said afterward.

'There is a growing number of members who have publicly articulated a desire to move toward an impeachment inquiry but as far as I can tell the number is somewhere between 20 and 25,' he added. 'There are 239 members of the House Democratic Caucus, which means the overwhelming majority continue to believe that we should proceed along the course that we're on right now.' 

Some lawmakers, however, cautioned that continued defiance by the president would heat up impeachment talk again. 

'I think that we're seeing the drumbeat moving in that direction, the more he defies us,' Democratic Rep. Katie Hill said. 'But I don't think that the process is as a whole, is there.'   

Pelosi was a leader in the House in the 1990s when Republicans tried to impeach then-President Bill Clinton - only to lose control of the lower chamber in the next election. 

But some more liberals members have pushed to move forward with impeachment proceedings amid Trump's defiance of congressional subpoenas for information on . his businesses and testimony from former administration officials. 

The calls have even gone beyond the halls of Congress to the 2020 presidential campaign.

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who is running for the Democratic nomination, said during a town hall in Iowa Tuesday night that impeachment is 'not something that I take lightly'.

'If we do nothing because we are afraid of the polls or the politics, or the repercussions in the next election, we will set a precedent that, in fact, some people, because of the position of power and public trust that they hold, are above the law,' he said.                        

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Trump storms out of infrastructure meeting with Pelosi and Schumer and vents to press instead

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