Trophy gets finished in whitewash (5-2)
I believe the answer is:
cover-up
'whitewash' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'trophy gets finished' is the wordplay.
'trophy' becomes 'cup' (cup is a kind of trophy).
'gets' means one lot of letters goes inside another (gets can mean captures or absorbs).
'finished' becomes 'over' (similar in meaning).
'cup' enclosing 'over' is 'COVER-UP'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for cover-up that I've seen before include "Withhold information" , "Whitewash" , "Conspiracy to conceal" , "Withholding of information" , "Concealment of facts, should be exposed" .)