Pence aiming to release records of his own Ukraine calls

Vice president ignores questions about Donald Trump calling for China to investigate Joe Biden on the White House lawn

Mike Pence says he will release transcripts of his phone calls with Ukraine and denied Donald Trump asked for foreign help in his re-election efforts, despite the president appearing to do exactly that on the White House lawn just days ago.

The vice president said he was working with the White House counsel’s office to release the transcripts of his own calls with Volodymyr Zelensky after House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry into Mr Trump, alleging an abuse of power surrounding his 25 July phone call with the Ukrainian president.

“I’d have no objection to that,” Mr Pence said when asked by reporters on Wednesday whether he would release the transcripts.

He said he was working with the White House counsel’s office to release transcripts of his own calls, and that he “never discussed the issue of the Bidens” with Mr Zelensky.

A whistleblower complaint stemming from Mr Trump’s phone call said the president withheld military financial aid from Ukraine just days before speaking with Mr Zelensky and urging him to launch an investigation into one of his 2020 political rivals, Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing by either of the Bidens.

Mr Trump also requested the Ukrainian president look into the origins of the US probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, to seemingly support his unfounded claim that Ukraine was behind foreign interference rather than the Kremlin.

The US Intelligence Community has confirmed Russia was responsible for a multi-pronged influence campaign that sought to undermine the candidacy of former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in favour of Mr Trump.

He referred to a memorandum of the president’s phone call with Ukraine on multiple occasions, saying a “plain reading” of the five-page documents shows “there was no quid pro quo”.

The vice president also told reporters he stood by his comments from a 2016 debate in which he said foreign governments shouldn’t get involved in domestic elections.

He then ignored shouted questions noting that Mr Trump suggested, in front of network cameras on the White House lawn, that China should start an investigation into the Bidens.

At one point a reporter asked Mr Pence: “The president himself has said that he asked a foreign government to investigate his domestic political rival … so, is that OK with you?”

“I don’t believe that’s the case,” Mr Pence responded. “I know that’s the way [House Intelligence Committee] Chairman [Adam] Schiff characterised it in his manufactured transcript.”

“The president said it on the lawn,” a reporter replied.

Mr Pence was speaking outside of an event in Wake, Iowa, where he addressed supporters about the president’s trade policy.

He encouraged Americans to read the memorandum, which he repeatedly referred to as a transcript, saying “they will see that the president did nothing wrong.”

“There was no pressure,” he added. “There was no quid pro quo. The president simply raised the issues of importance and interest to the American people.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report