SAN FRANCISCO — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiHoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at Supreme Court McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE told California Democrats that Congress would continue aggressive investigations into President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE and the Trump administration, stopping short of calling for the beginning of an impeachment inquiry.

Addressing the California Democratic Party's annual convention in her home district, Pelosi cited former special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE's report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential

election.

"In his report, special counsel Mueller warned us in the starkest terms that there was an attack on our election and an attack on our democracy," Pelosi said. "Why won't the president defend us from this attack?"

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"What is the president covering up?" she asked. "We must investigate the president's welcoming of the assault on our democracy.

A single protester shouting "Impeach!" soon became a few, then a few dozen and then perhaps a hundred as Pelosi seemed to hint at a future inquiry.

"This isn't about politics, it isn't about partisanship, Democrats versus Republicans, no. It's about patriotism, it's about the sanctity of the constitution and it's about the future of our nation. We will go where the facts lead us. We will insist on the truth. We will build an ironclad case to act," Pelosi said.

"President Trump will be held accountable for his actions. In the Congress, in the courts, and in

the court of public opinion, we will defend our democracy," she added.

Pelosi and House Democratic leadership have played down talk of impeachment, even as a growing portion of the House Democratic Caucus calls for an inquiry. Pelosi told late-night host Jimmy Kimmel James (Jimmy) Christian KimmelFauci, Black Lives Matter founders included on Time's 100 Most Influential People list Kimmel-hosted Emmy Awards attract all-time low 6.1M viewers: 'Well, we set a record' Bubba Wallace to be driver of Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin NASCAR team MORE on Thursday that the party had to be prepared to build a case.

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"We have a defiance of the Constitution of the United States, and so when we go down this path, we have to be ready, and it has to be clear to the American people, and we have to hope that it’ll be clear to the Republicans in the United States Senate," she said Thursday, comments she echoed Saturday.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-N.Y.), who would chair impeachment hearings, said Friday he was conscious of the need to build public support for impeachment.

"Impeachment is a political act, and you cannot impeach a president if the American people will not support it," Nadler told WNYC. "The American people right now do not support it because they do not know the story. They don’t know the facts. We have to get the facts out. We have to hold a series of hearings, we have to hold the investigations."

Fifty House Democrats have called for opening an impeachment inquiry. Rep. Justin Amash Justin AmashInternal Democratic poll shows tight race in contest to replace Amash Centrist Democrats 'strongly considering' discharge petition on GOP PPP bill On The Trail: How Nancy Pelosi could improbably become president MORE (R-Mich.) is the only Republican who has called for impeachment.