Read the Transcript of Trump’s Call With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

President Donald Trump has released the transcript of his controversial phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This call has been at the root of Trump’s ongoing firestorm with regard to his apparent attempt to get a foreign government to dig up dirt against a political opponent: former Vice President Joe Biden.

You can read the complete memo here.

Trump started the call by congratulating the Ukrainian president on his election victory, which led to a back-and-forth over European nations not providing the country with enough support. Eventually, Trump asked Zelensky to work with Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

Trump raised Biden’s role in the firing of former Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin, and when Zelensky invoked Giuliani as part of the conversation, Trump said that “if you could speak to him that would be great.” Zelensky assures Trump that his government will appoint a prosecutor who “will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue.”

From Page 4.

I will ask him to call you along with the Attorney General. Rudy very much knows what’s happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great. The former ambassador from the United States, the woman, was bad news and the people she was dealing with in the Ukraine were bad news so I just want to let you know that. The other thing, There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it… It sounds horrible to me.

Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi authorized an impeachment inquiry against the president in light of the whistleblower report – marked “urgent” by Inspector General Michael Atkinson – raising the alarm on Trump’s conversations with Zelensky. Trump said he would release the “unreacted” transcript of his call, though critics say it must be accompanied by the release of the whistleblower report, which has been held back by Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire.

The timeline of Trump’s phone call has been under major scrutiny since the U.S. government halted millions of dollars worth of aid to Ukraine before Trump supposedly asked them to commence the Biden investigation. Trump has admitted to asking Ukraine to investigate Biden, and he also admitted to blocking aid because “I want other countries to put up the money. I think it’s unfair we put up the money.”

Beyond Trump’s phone calls and admitted actions with regard to Ukraine, Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, has been at the center of the scandal due to his recent actions on behalf of his client.

Giuliani has been in the headlines since last week, ever since he denied asking Ukraine to investigate Biden, only to admit it seconds later. Further reporting has uncovered the details of his agenda to put pressure on Ukraine, and in the process of Giuliani’s recent media tour, he has said that his endeavors were sanctioned by the Trump administration and the State Department.

This story is developing and we shall update accordingly

[Photo via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]