Washington: Top US diplomats encouraged Ukraine's newly elected president to conduct an investigation linked to Joe Biden's family in return for a high-profile visit with President Donald Trump.
It soon escalated into what one diplomat feared was a 'crazy' swap that risked vital US military aid.
That's according to a cache of text messages released late on Thursday by House investigators following a 10-hour interview with one of the diplomats, Kurt Volker, who stepped down as special envoy to Ukraine amid the Democrats' impeachment inquiry.
The pages layout the raw contours of a potential quid-pro-quo exchange Trump gets his political investigation of a top Democratic rival in return for granting favour to Ukraine.
The text messages convey a distinct campaign among the three diplomats, who apparently against some of their stated better judgment appear to be trying to help Ukraine reset its relationship with Trump by pushing his interest in investigating his Democratic rival and the 2016 election.
The other ambassadors are William 'Bill' Taylor, the charge d'affaires at the US embassy in Ukraine, and Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union.