WASHINGTON – In the days following the phone call between President Donald Trump and Ukraine's new president, senior White House officials intervened to "lock down" all records of the call.
That's according to a declassified whistleblower complaint released Thursday by the House Intelligence Committee.
The complaint says that the whistleblower learned about the effort from "multiple U.S. officials."
Click here to read the complaint.
Committee members are hearing testimony Thursday on the complaint and details of the July 25 call on which Trump prodded Ukraine's leader to work with Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and the U.S. attorney general to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden.
Trump has said he's done nothing wrong.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Trump's actions detailed in the newly released whistleblower complaint read like "a classic organized crime shakedown."
Schiff on Thursday opened a hearing with acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire. Maguire released the complaint to Congress and the public this week after weeks of delay.
Democrats have criticized Maguire for withholding the complaint.
Schiff said the whistleblower shows "more of a dedication of country, more of an understanding of the president's oath of office, than the president himself."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry.