Donald Trump has accused
Nancy Pelosi of “playing the race card” after she condemned a series of vicious tweets he directed at black congressman Elijah Cummings.The US president described Mr Cummings' Baltimore district as a “filthy” and “rat and rodent infested mess” where “no human being would want to live”.It comes as the prospect of a push in congress for Mr Trump’s impeachment grows after the US House judiciary committee asked a judge to force the release of grand jury evidence from the special counsel's wide-ranging probe.Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load:The request, filed on Friday, explicitly referenced congress’ impeachment powers and is a major step forward in the Democrats' legal fight against Mr Trump.California Governor Gavin Newsom is also reportedly on the verge of a move that could force Mr Trump to release his tax returns if he wants to appear on the state’s ballot in the 2020 elections.Meanwhile, political commentators have noted that Mr Trump has used the word "infested" six times on his account - and each time it has been in reference to areas populated predominantly by people of colour. His attacks directed at Mr Cummings also appeared to have been inspired by a Fox &
Friends report that aired minutes before the president’s outburst, which criticised living conditions in Mr Cummings’ district.Nancy Pelosi led
Democratic representatives in defending Mr Cummings, accusing the US president of “racist attacks”.