House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says the “transcript” the White House released just hours ago reveals President Donald Trump is using his office like a “Mafia boss.”
Reading from the transcript, Rep. Schiff notes Trump’s lamentation over a “lack of reciprocity” – that the U.S., Trump says, does a lot for Ukraine, but Ukraine does not do enough for the U.S.
“This is how a Mafia boss talks,” Schiff, who holds a law degree from Harvard, says.
Schiff also calls Trump’s remarks “a classic Mafia-like shakedown of a foreign leader.”
Watch:
(The “transcript” is not a verbatim or complete recording of the July 25 telephone conversation. It is culled from aides’ notes and memories. It spans just five pages despite the phone call lasting reportedly 30 minutes.)