'A coverup in addition to obstruction': Congresswoman blasts Trump for using executive privilege to hide misconduct

On Tuesday, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), a proponent of opening an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, laid into the administration in conversation with CNN's Anderson Cooper, criticizing the president for trying to use the cover of executive privilege to cover up misconduct under investigation by Congress.

"So if you go to court under the umbrella of an impeachment proceeding, does that give you extra power in front of judges in any way?" asked Cooper. "I basically just — I'm not a lawyer. I don't understand why someone would be compelled to do something they're not currently compelled to do under the law which they're supposed to be doing."

"They are currently compelled to do something under the law," replied Scanlon. "The breadth of the assertion of privilege or immunity that the president has made here is — frankly it's ridiculous. There's no basis in the law. There may be specific issues, but he's gone way over his skis there. But that goes to the fact that we now have a coverup in addition to the obstruction. And so it does raise the bar."

"We saw, I think a lot of members saw a real shift in tone from their constituents over the past week, particularly the past weekend, with the president instructing witnesses not to come to testify before Congress when there's a subpoena, and his continued obstruction, his stonewalling of the American people," Scanlon added.

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