The 7 craziest moments in Trump's Ukraine transcript

"I would like you to do us a favor, though"

President Trump.
(Image credit: Illustrated | SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images, Screenshot/New York Times)

The White House released on Wednesday the rough transcript of a July phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which the U.S. president appears to solicit dirt about his potential 2020 rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, from the foreign leader.

The move to release the phone call — which is not a verbatim transcript and is constructed instead from notes from officials who were present during the call — was a defensive one by the Trump administration. Trump's conversations with Zelensky had come under scrutiny after a whistleblower raised concerns about their calls, prompting House Democrats to announce intended impeach proceedings against the sitting president on Tuesday for what would be only the fourth time in U.S. history.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.