Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged President Trump to release the transcript of his July phone call with Ukraine’s leader.
McConnell told the White House earlier this week that Trump needed to release the transcript of his conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky to back up his claim that nothing improper took place, according to reports.
The White House released a five-page transcript of the call Wednesday that showed Trump urged his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who was on the board of a gas company in the country. Biden is a top contender to take on Trump in the 2020 general election.
Democrats accused Trump of a quid pro quo after the transcript’s release, linking his decision to freeze nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine days ahead of his conversation with Zelensky to his request for an investigation into Biden.
Trump has denied he abused his power by making the request, but it prompted Democrats to launch a formal impeachment inquiry into the president.
McConnell has also dismissed criticism of the call as “laughable to think this is anywhere close to an impeachable offense,” Politico reported.
“I’ve read the summary of the call. If this is the ‘launching point’ for House Democrats’ impeachment process, they’ve already overplayed their hand,” McConnell said in a statement. “It’s clear there is no quid pro quo that the Democrats were desperately praying for.”
The call was part of a whistleblower complaint that alleged Trump asked Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election. The complaint, released Thursday, also claimed White House officials sought to “lock down” all records of the call.
