In Washington, there is an awful lot of legislating left to do this year. In the coming months, Congress will need to negotiate a budget, decide what to do with the dreaded debt ceiling and tackle many other matters, from a possible big infrastructure package and making improvements in the Affordable Care Act to, perhaps, even matters of war and peace.

In every case, the president's party will need Democrats to get these things done; and if members of the "Freedom Caucus" in the House continue to buck their party, President Donald Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan may regularly need Democrats in the House even on simple matters like keeping the government open.

How should the Democrats use this leverage? What should their priorities be? In addition to the more traditional negotiations that will take place, Democratic Leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi should consider making clear at the outset that there will be three non-negotiable items on their agenda that will need to be addressed to make the coming discussions successful:

Full presidential cooperation with the various probes into Russian interference in U.S. politics. This cannot and should not be a partisan issue. The president can do much more than he has to help these vital investigations, including: acknowledge publicly for the first time that Russia has developed a new offensive capacity and has used it here in the U.S. and abroad; testify openly to Congress under oath about what he knows (as Hillary Clinton did); pledge full cooperation and cease all efforts to disrupt the process; and work with Congressional leaders of both parties on a comprehensive strategy to ensure these types of interference campaigns never happen again.

Trump's failure to hold Russia to account for these attacks on the American homeland is not only a dangerous encouragement for Russia to replicate its efforts in future elections here and abroad, but is also encouraging Russia's malevolent global ambitions. Since Trump has been elected we've seen an escalation in Russia's land-grab in Ukraine; the breaking of a decades old nuclear treaty vital to Europe's security; refusal of Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease his backing of Bashar Assad and bring peace to Syria; and signs of Russian aggression in countries as far flung as France, Nicaragua, Libya and Afghanistan. Crafting a successful response to Russia's effort to undermine the global order and advance its interests is one of America's most important foreign policy challenges – and it all begins with full presidential cooperation in the ongoing Russian probes.

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Commonplace financial transparency. The president should agree to release his tax returns for the years he has been in the political arena: 2015, 2016 and at least through 2020. Additionally, he should agree to an annual public audit of all of his businesses. Tax returns will be an inadequate window into his secret business empire. Democrats should require that every partner of every deal, including those who have lent him money, be known publicly every year.

There are many reasons for Democrats to require these steps as conditions for future talks: respect for democratic norms, safeguarding against public corruption and abuse of power, and because Trump promised. But most importantly, the secrecy of Trump's businesses is a grave national security concern. No person would ever be hired for a sensitive national security position in the government without disclosing their financial interests for fear of corruption, exploitation by a foreign power or illegal self-dealing. This same common sense standard must be applied to the president himself, particularly when he has done nothing – nothing – to create distance between himself and his companies.

If the president had untaken an honest effort to minimize these reasonable concerns – selling off assets to retire debt to unknown creditors, releasing his tax returns, using a true blind trust and a firewall – one might be able to give him the benefit of the doubt. None of that has happened.

Trump is already making foreign policy decisions that raise questions regarding foreign exploitation or corruption, including a dramatic escalation in Yemen that helps Saudi Arabia, an attaboy for Turkish President Recep Erdogan's recent power grab, appeasement of Russia on many fronts, several countries left off the initial Muslim Ban where Trump does business, and the easing of rhetoric after family trademarks were granted in Mexico and China. The current situation cannot continue. Trump must either fully divest, or fully disclose. America must know if the president's decisions are intended to benefit him or the nation.

Cessation of presidential use of his private businesses for matters of state. Trump has now conducted two of the most important bilateral meetings of his presidency (Japan and China) at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which his White House is now regularly formally referring to as the "Southern" or "Winter" White House (bestowing on it quasi-official status). And yet the government of the United States pays him tens of thousands of dollars every time he stays here; the value of the property is enhanced by its semi-official status; and every new member to the this unique private club makes Trump more money. His use of Mar-a-Lago for state businesses has already directly enriched Trump, and there is no public record of those buying access to him due to the private nature of his clubs. It is perhaps the single most corrupt scheme hatched by an American president in our history, and it serves as a global embarrassment every time it is used in this fashion. It must stop.

In the spirit of the "Art of the Deal," Democrats should let our deal-making president know what they will need to help advance his priorities in coming months. He needs stuff from them. They – and the American people – need some stuff from him.