The transcript of the controversial phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart has been released by the White House.
In it, Trump asks if the Ukrainian leader can "look into" Democratic hopeful Joe Biden and his son over corruption allegations..
The U.S. president has labeled it a 'witch hunt',... as Democrats continue to push for his impeachment.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
According to a White House memorandum of a July phone between the leaders of the United States and Ukraine that was released on Wednesday,... Trump asked President Volodymyr Zelensky to "look into" former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter's involvement with Burisma Holdings,... a private Ukrainian gas firm.
The transcript revealed that the two presidents talked for about 30 minutes,... and Trump's request to look into Biden was the only time he mentioned the former Vice President.
Democrats claim Trump's call was to solicit a foreign leader to dig up dirt on a potential rival in the 2020 presidential election.
They have also expressed concerns about why Trump reportedly decided to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine,... a week before he spoke with Zelensky.
Trump, however, maintains that the call was "perfect" and there was no "quid pro quo".
With the latest allegations against President Trump,... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Wednesday that the Democrats were launching an official inquiry into impeaching the president.
"And this week, the president has admitted to asking the president of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically. The action of the Trump, the actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonorable fact of the president's betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections. Therefore today, I'm announcing the House of Representatives moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry."
President Trump spoke to reporters on Wednesday for the first time since Pelosi's move,... calling for transparency on the matter involving Biden and his son,... and the Democrats' latest efforts nothing more than a 'hoax'.
"It's all a hoax folks. It's all a big hoax. And the sad thing about this hoax is that we worked so hard with all these countries and I mean, I've been up early in the morning to late in the evening and meeting with different countries, all for the good of our country and the press doesn't even cover all of this."
Speaking to reporters alongside President Trump in New York on Wednesday,... Zelensky said "nobody can put pressure" on him,... because he's "the president of an independent state".
Zelensky also added that he didn't pressure any prosecutors or other officials in Ukraine about looking into the Biden's.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
