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Ukraine president: "I don't want to be involved" in U.S. elections

Responding to the release of a memorandum from a July phone call with President Trump on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the UN that he doesn't want be involved in "democratic, open elections" in the U.S.

ZELENSKY: "I think you read everything. I think you read text. I'm sorry, but I don't want to be involved to democratic open ... elections. Elections of USA. No. Sure, we had, I think, good phone call. It was normal. We spoke about many things, and I — so I think and you read it that nobody pushed me."
TRUMP: "In other words, no pressure."

The big picture: The memorandum released by the White House confirmed that Trump asked Zelensky to work with his attorney Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate unsupported corruption allegations against Joe Biden.

  • Trump doubled down on the allegations in his press conference with Zelensky, claiming that Giuliani has "every right" to try to track down the origins of the Russia investigation in Ukraine and noting that Zelensky ran on an anti-corruption platform.
  • Responding to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's support of a formal impeachment inquiry in response to the Ukraine controversy, Trump attacked Pelosi for being "taken over by the radical left."
  • "As far as I’m concerned, unfortunately, she’s no longer the speaker of the House," he added.

Go deeper: Ukraine president's efforts to flatter Trump on display in July phone call

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