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 (D-Calif.) on Wednesday accused 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 of being "engaged in a cover-up" following a special meeting of House Democrats focused on ongoing congressional investigations into the Trump administration.

"We do believe that it is important to follow the facts, we believe that no one is above the law, including the president of the United States, and we believe the president of the United States is engaged in a cover-up, in a cover-up," Pelosi told reporters on Capitol Hill.

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Her broadside came just moments before she, Senate Minority Chuck Schumer Chuck SchumerCruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish Senate Democrats introduce legislation to probe politicization of pandemic response Schumer interrupted during live briefing by heckler: 'Stop lying to the people' MORE (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats headed to the White House to meet with Trump on a possible $2 trillion infrastructure package. But the meeting quickly went off the rails after Trump learned of Pelosi’s “cover-up” remarks; the president told the Democrats he couldn’t work with them until they halted all of their "phony investigations."

"I don’t do cover-ups," Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden.

Democrats certainly won’t stop their probes into the president. But inside the closed-door Democratic meeting in the Capitol, Pelosi continued to urge caution about rushing down the path of impeachment, pointing to recent court victories in Democrats' fight to obtain testimony and documents from the Trump administration and his business entities.

A district court this week issued a ruling upholding Democrats’ subpoena ordering Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars, to hand over financial documents.

JUST IN: Speaker Pelosi says "we believe the president of the United States is engaged in a cover up" by stonewalling testimony for ongoing congressional investigations. pic.twitter.com/ncU6SegLrP — MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 22, 2019

Pelosi has been facing rising calls from members of her own party to launch impeachment proceedings to investigate potential obstruction of justice by Trump; 10 examples of possible obstruction were outlined in 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.

Some House Democratic chairmen also have grown more open to impeachment as they deal with the Trump administration stonewalling their probes and issuing a near-blanket refusal to respond to congressional subpoenas.

In the closed-door meeting Wednesday, Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters Maxine Moore WatersPowell, Mnuchin stress limits of current emergency lending programs Pelosi: House will stay in session until agreement is reached on coronavirus relief Omar invokes father's death from coronavirus in reaction to Woodward book MORE (D-Calif.) continued to bang the drum for impeachment, saying Congress had a “responsibility” to uphold the Constitution and provide a check on the president.

"We need to stand up for ourselves," said Rep. Steve Cohen Stephen (Steve) Ira CohenTennessee Rep. Steve Cohen wins Democratic primary Democrats exit briefing saying they fear elections under foreign threat Texas Democrat proposes legislation requiring masks in federal facilities MORE (D-Tenn.), a Judiciary Committee member who's endorsed launching an impeachment inquiry. He estimated that a half dozen Democrats spoke up in favor of impeachment in the meeting.

But many other speakers in the meeting rushed to Pelosi’s defense. Rep. Zoe Lofgren Zoe Ellen LofgrenBusiness groups start gaming out a Biden administration Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence DHS opens probe into allegations at Georgia ICE facility MORE (D-Calif.), a fellow Bay Area lawmaker who serves on the Judiciary panel, told Pelosi that having a House impeachment inquiry “doesn’t change a darn thing,” according to a source in the room.

“Nothing,” the Speaker agreed.

“We still have to go to court to get our subpoenas enforced. You know, we are winning those battles now,” Lofgren continued, adding that impeachment “just muddies the issue and damages us.”

As he updated members on his panel’s probes into Trump, Judiciary 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.) said the full House should immediately vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress next month when lawmakers return from the Memorial Day recess, sources in the meeting said.

Barr has refused to testify before the Judiciary panel over a dispute with Nadler and Democrats who want staff attorneys to be able to question Trump's new attorney general. Nadler also insisted that Mueller's testimony before his committee needs to be public, a response to reports that Mueller and the Justice Department want some of the questioning to take place behind closed doors.

Pelosi's public remarks Wednesday marked her strongest yet on Trump following the release of Mueller's report earlier this year. Pelosi said earlier this month that she agreed with Nadler's assertion that the U.S. was facing a "constitutional crisis" after the panel voted to hold Barr in contempt of Congress after he refused to turn over Mueller's full report to lawmakers.

Pelosi has long viewed impeachment proceedings as a potential political trap heading into the 2020 election, with the potential to alienate swing voters and gin up enthusiasm among the president's base.

That view was echoed by other Pelosi allies in Wednesday’s meeting.

“I, right now, feel that we’re meeting our responsibility to defend the Constitution through the process that we’ve heard about today. I don’t in any way feel like we’re being timid, I don’t stand in front of any crowd and feel weak, but I point to all of the work that’s happening in these various Committees and I think that meets the bar that I set for defending the Constitution,” Rep. John Sarbanes John Peter Spyros SarbanesCongress must finish work on popular conservation bill before time runs out Congress must enact a plan to keep government workers safe The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by the Air Line Pilots Association - Progress slow on coronavirus bill MORE (D-Md.), a Baltimore native like Pelosi, told his colleagues in the room.

“I do worry that if we move to impeachment, it’s going to make it harder, not easier, for us to beat the President for a whole variety of different reasons,” “So, because I believe that the current process — not an impeachment inquiry — is sufficient to put the pressure on, to be strong, on the one hand, and I believe that an impeachment proceeding is not going to help us in terms of defeating the President.”

—Cristina Marcos contributed. Updated at 12:14 p.m.