Elizabeth Warren says the US Congress should begin impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump.
The Democratic presidential candidate went to the Senate floor on Tuesday to reiterate her call for impeachment hours after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared "case closed" on the Russia probe and potential obstruction by the president.
Holding a copy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, Ms Warren responded to Mr McConnell that "wishing won't make it so."
She said that because of a Justice Department opinion that a sitting president can't be indicted, the only way to the hold the president accountable is to initiate impeachment.
Meanwhile, Bill Weld, the Republican former governor and federal prosecutor challenging Mr Trump for their party’s nomination in 2020, says the president is “impeachable” as a result of the Mueller report, attacking his administration’s “brazenness” over the handling of the investigation into Russian collusion.
Democratic contender Eric Swalwell has likewise called for impeachment to remove the “really bad kid in the White House” as Joe Biden surges ahead of nearest rival Bernie Sanders in the opinion polls
Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin has meanwhile refused to release the president’s tax returns to the House Ways and Means committee.
The White House is also instructing former counsel Don McGahn not to comply with a subpoena for documents from the House Judiciary Committee, arguing the materials are subject to executive privilege.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone sent a letter to committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Tuesday saying Mr McGahn has been directed not to disclose the documents. The committee requested information about Mr McGahn's interactions with Mr Trump that were provided to the special counsel.
Mr Cipollone says Mr McGahn does not have any "legal right" to the documents because they're under White House control. He says the committee should direct its request to the White House.
She said enough evidence is in the report to try and remove the president. She said, "It's there in black and white in the report."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
He had originally demanded access to Trump's tax returns in early April under a law that says the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) "shall furnish" the returns of any taxpayer to a handful of top lawmakers.
Trump has privately made clear he has no intention of turning over the much-coveted records. He is the first president since Watergate to decline to make his tax returns public, often claiming that he would release them if he was not under audit.
"What's unprecedented is this secretary refusing to comply with our lawful ... request. What's unprecedented is a Justice Department that again sees its role as being bodyguard to the executive and not the rule of law," said New Jersey Democrat Bill Pascrell.
Donald Trump does not have any public appearances until 11:00 am local time, when he is expected to attend Melania Trump’s Be Best anniversary celebration.
He is then scheduled to have lunch with Vice President Mike Pence at 12:15 pm in the White House private dining room, an event that is closed to the press.
The president will then participate in a meeting with Republican senators at 3:00 pm in the Cabinet Room, another closed press event.
