Donald Trump went on the offensive in the Ukraine affair and had a record of the telephone conversation between him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj published. The US President sees himself relieved.
Trump again denied pressure on Selenskyj. "There was no pressure," he said in New York. This is clear from the protocol published by the White House. Once again, Trump presented himself as a victim. "It's the biggest witch hunt in American history."
In the telephone conversation with Selenskyj, Trump provoked investigations that might harm his political rival Joe Biden. He would hire his personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani and Justice Secretary William Barr to contact Selenskyj on the matter, Trump said, according to the July 25 minutes.
"This is how a mafia boss speaks"
The published transcript was a conversation protocol, but not a verbatim account of the interview, as the document said. The congress has also requested more government-held documents on the subject matter.
Many Democrats saw it as proven that Trump wanted to use the help of a foreign government to harm his rival Biden and thus influence the election campaign.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said the talks show that Trump undermined the "integrity of our elections". The secretary of the Intelligence Committee of the Chamber of Parliament, Adam Schiff, described the protocol as proof that Trump had blackmailed the Ukrainian "mafia-moderate". Trump's statement that the US was doing so much for Ukraine and now expecting a favor for it, Selenskyj could not have misunderstood. "That's what a mafia boss says," Schiff said.
The President of the United States has betrayed our country.
That's not a political statement-it's a harsh reality, and we must act.
He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free.
I support impeachment.
A leading Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said that with the publication of only one minutes of talks, the allegations have not been dispelled. Democrats' former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Twitter, "The President of the United States has cheated on our country, it's not a political statement - it's a harsh reality and we need to act."
Democrats in the House of Representatives had started preparations for impeachment on Tuesday. They accuse Trump of breaking the constitution with Ukraine.
