Congresspeople call Trump's transparency bluff in amazing letters

Members of Congress are calling President Donald Trump out on his bullshit.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) is calling Trump's bluff after the president, in response to criticism from Democrats, declared himself "the most transparent president, probably in the history of this country" on Wednesday and insisted, "I don't do cover-ups."

In a letter to Trump, Jayapal took Trump at his word and asked to "come over and review documents related to your administration's decision to rescind Title IX guidance protecting LGBTQ students."

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The Trump administration (and, specifically, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos) is doing everything it can to revoke protections extended to LGBTQ students under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act.

The concern is so great, the now-Democrat-dominated House just passed a new Equality Act aimed at extending LGBTQ protections. And with good reason: on Friday, the Trump administration announced a plan to roll back LGBTQ protections in regards to health care, which the Times says is, "leaning government policy toward recognizing only immutable characteristics of sex at birth."

By calling him out, Rep. Jayapal is highlighting that Trump's transparency assertion is, unsurprisingly, a big lie. And she's not alone. Other congresspeople have joined in with their own letters calling out Trump.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) used Trump's words in a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr asking to check out all that Mueller evidence.

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Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) sent a similar letter to Barr about the Mueller Report.

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Rep. David Ciccilline (D-RI) also wrote to Barr, using Trump's claims of transparency to ask for documents related to Trump's claim that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional.

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Four other congresspeople -- Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Rep. J. Luis Correa (D-CA), Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) -- wrote to Trump asking for "metrics and any relevant data" backing his claim that family separation at the border actually makes the country safer.

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Trump probably won't respond, of course. Because his claims of transparency are bunk. But by calling him out directly, the members of Congress are at least keeping the conversation, as well as the issues addressed in their letters, in the public eye and out of the dark, where Trump would likely prefer them to stay.

UPDATE: May 24, 2019, 12:46 p.m. EDT Updated to add letter from Rep. Ted Lieu.