‘Do Us a Favor’: Calls Shows Trump’s Interest in Using U.S. Power for His Gain – The New York Times

Mr. Trump jumped in: “In other words, no pressure.”

But critics seized on the conversation as proof that the president violated his oath of office by coercing another world leader into supporting his personal political agenda.

The document provided a rare opportunity to review a private conversation between the United States president and another leader.

It included a note cautioning that it was “not a verbatim transcript” but was based on “notes and recollections of Situation Room duty officers” and national security staff. Voice recognition software was also used in preparing the document, which included long, direct quotations, senior administration officials said.

An American official translated Mr. Zelensky’s statements into English, officials said. The document included three ellipses indicating that part of Mr. Trump’s comments may be missing, though it is unclear how much was left out. Administration officials said the ellipses indicated when Mr. Trump trailed off or was inaudible.

The release of the conversation’s details marked a culmination of an extraordinary series of revelations that began in recent weeks with the whistle-blower’s private expressions of concern about Mr. Trump’s actions and prompted Democrats in Congress to officially begin an impeachment inquiry.

And unlike most Washington memos, Wednesday’s document was written like a movie script.

“There is a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution, and a lot of people want to find out about that,” Mr. Trump said to Mr. Zelensky, referring to unfounded allegations that the former vice president tried in 2015 to stop a prosecution of a company that his son worked for at the time.