Trump 'Was At the Center of a Massive Fraud' Against the American People, Congressman Says

Congressman Jerry Nadler has alleged that President Donald Trump was central to "several" major frauds against the American people.

Speaking on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, the Democratic representative from New York discussed a sentencing memo for Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen on Friday as well as other indictments that have come from the ongoing investigation into the president's 2016 campaign. Federal prosecutors representing the Southern District of New York believe Trump participated in federal crimes when he directed his ex-lawyer to violate campaign finance laws by paying off Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal to keep their alleged affairs with the then presidential candidate secret.

"I think what these indictments and findings show, is that the president was at the center of a massive fraud, several massive frauds against the American people," Nadler told State of the Union host Jake Tapper. The representative explained that it is now the job of investigators and Congress to "get to the bottom of this, to find out exactly what was going on."

Nadler said that the probe need to determine "what did the president know and when did he know it, so that we can then hold him accountable."

Tapper asked Nadler about the possibility of Trump being indicted for his alleged crimes. The host pointed out that the legality of such a move is in dispute by legal experts, asking the congressman to weigh in with his perspective.

"There's nothing in the Constitution that prohibits the President from being indicted," Nadler responded. "Nobody, not the president, not anybody else can be above the law," he said.

"There's no reason to think that the president should not be indicted. The reason given by the office of legal counsel is that it would take up too much of his time, he couldn't do his job," the congressman explained. However, he rebutted those arguments, pointing out that the Constitution specifically allows for a president to a be impeached, which "certainly takes up a lot of time for the president."

Thus far, Trump has publicly dismissed the Friday memo alleging his direct involvement in Cohen's admitted crimes. "Totally clears the President. Thank you!" he tweeted on Friday. But legal experts and politicians have scoffed at the outright dismissal.

"I think you might not know that the person prosecutors identify as Individual-1, who committed multiple felonies, is you," Ted Lieu, a Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote on Twitter in response to Trump.

"Except for that little part where the US Attorney's Office says that you directed and coordinated with Cohen to commit two felonies. Other than that, totally scot-free," tweeted attorney George Conway, who has been a frequent critic of the president despite being married to Trump acolyte Kellyanne Conway.

Conservative commentator David Brooks also told PBS Newshour that the Trump administration is in a state of increased concern following the memo's release on Friday. "There's more fear, worry, almost mania in the White House," Brooks said. "They really don't know what's going to happen," he explained.