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I am recapping this phone call “transcript” that was released by the Trump Administration. The reason I put the word transcript in quotations is because of the warning at the bottom of the first page that was released that says the following:

“CAUTION: A memorandum of a Telephone Conversation (TELCON) is not a verbatim transcript of a discussion. The text in this document records the notes and recollections of Situation Room Duty Officers and NSC policy staff assigned to listen and memorialize the conversation in written form as the conversation takes place. A number of factors can affect the accuracy of the record, including poor telecommunications connections and variations in accent and/or interpretation. The word “inaudible” is used to indicate portions of a conversation that the notetaker was unable to hear.” 

With that being said, let’s get started. 

Date and Time of Call: July 25, 2019, 9:03am-9:33am EDT

It begins with President Trump congratulating President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on his election. President Zelenskyy responds by saying that it was a hard fought victory. He goes on to say that learned a lot from President Trump by using campaign techniques that President Trump used that were unique to this past election. He expresses that when President Trump calls, it means something is going well for his party in Ukraine and that he needs to continue succeeding so that he and President Trump can talk more. 

President Trump laughs and says that he believes Ukraine is very happy about how President Zelenskyy handled the campaign.

Zelenskyy responds saying that he wanted to drain the swamp in his own country. Ukraine got a lot of outsiders elected because they wanted “a new format and a new type of government.” 

President Trump says we, I’m assuming he means America, does a lot for Ukraine and we do a lot more than most countries do specifically calling out Germany for not doing much. He follows that up by saying that it isn’t “reciprocal necessarily because things are happening that are not good” but that the United States has continually been supportive of Ukraine. 

President Zelenskyy agrees with President Trump on all of that “100%.” President Zelenskyy says that even though the European Union should be doing more for them, the United States is a bigger partner in helping Ukraine. He specifically references sanctions here. Zelenskyy says that others aren’t doing what they could to help put pressure on Russia. He expresses his gratitude for the United States doing a lot for the Ukraine in that regard. He also thanks President Trump for the military support. Then, he says that Ukraine is almost ready to buy more defense weapons from the United States.

This is where President Trump says he would like Ukraine to do the United States a favor. He asks that they “find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike… I guess you have one of your wealthy people…The server, they say Ukraine has it.” President Trump says he would like to have the Attorney General call President Zelenskyy or his people so they can get to the bottom of it. This conversation is happening the day after Mueller’s congressional testimony so President Trump references that. President Trump then asks President Zelenskyy to do what he can because it’s very important.

President Zelenskyy expresses that it is also important to him and also important for any future cooperation. He says that the new Ukrainian ambassador to the United States will be continuously working to maintain a strong relationship and working to build trust between the two countries. He mentions speaking to Mr. Giuliani and that he hopes to host Mr. Giuliani in Ukraine soon. He reminds President Trump that they are his friends in Ukraine and hopes they can continue the “strategic partnership.” He promises that he will conduct the investigations into this matter openly and candidly. 

President Trump mentions a prosecutor in Ukraine that got shut down and says “that’s really unfair.” President Trump spends a few sentences on talking about how he respects Mr. Giuliani. President Trump then mentions the former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, was “bad news. He adds that the people she was dealing with in Ukraine were bad news…” This is where Joe Biden’s son is mentioned.

This is direct from the transcript:

“The other things, 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 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 terrible to me.”

President Zelenskyy reassures President Trump that the next prosecutor for Ukraine will be “100% my person.” Ukraine’s president says that he or she will look into the situation specifically mentioned by President Trump. He says this investigation should restore honesty. Then, he asks that if President Trump has any additional information that he could provide for the investigation. He finishes by saying that the previous ambassador from the US, Marie Yovanovitch, didn’t like him and was on the former President’s side.

President Trump says he will have Rudy Guiliani and AG Barr call so they can get to the bottom of it. He wishes President Zelenskyy good luck with everything. He adds that Ukraine’s economy is going to get better, saying it’s a great country.

President Zelenskyy says stayed at the Trump Tower when he visited New York City last. He thanks President Trump for the invitation to the White House. Then, he reassures President Trump that he is taking this case very seriously. President Zelenskyy says independence is a big thing for the Ukraine and that they are working on energy independence, but that he is currently buying American oil. He thanks President Trump again for his support.

President Trump thanks him and says he appreciates it. He reiterates that he will have Giuliani and Barr call and that he is welcome at the White House.

The rest of the conversation is about them visiting each other’s countries.

More congratulations on the election and farewells. 

Caroline C.
FFL Cabinet Member
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