NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at Democrats for opening impeachment proceedings against him, calling the probe into his efforts to get Ukraine to investigate rival Joe Biden a “manufactured crisis.”

Trump spoke out following a meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in New York — and shortly after the White House’s release of a rough transcript of his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky.

Referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who opened the impeachment inquiry on Tuesday, Trump said, “She is wasting her time on a manufactured crisis.”

“All they are talking about is nonsense,” he added.

The summary of the call showed that Trump pressed Zelensky to open an investigation into Biden’s activities in Ukraine, prompting outrage among Democrats.

A top Democrat said Wednesday that the phone call resembled a mafia boss’s corrupt squeeze on a victim.

The notes of the call released by the White House “reflect a classic mafia-type shakedown of a foreign leader,” said Adam Schiff, who leads one of the House committees involved in the impeachment investigation of Trump.

The July 25 call showed Trump urging Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Biden and other matters, referring to a “favor” without committing to giving what Zelensky sought, military aid which Trump had frozen just days before.

“This is how a mafia boss talks: ‘What have you done for us? We’ve done so much for you but there’s not much reciprocity. I have a favor to ask you,'” Schiff said.

“And what is that favor? Of course, the favor is to investigate his political rival, to investigate the Bidens.”

“Ukraine knew what it needed to do if it wanted to get military assistance.”

“The notes of the call reflect a conversation far more damning than I or many others had imagined,” said Schiff, whose House Intelligence Committee is investigating Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

Schiff said the call notes, released one day after Democrats opened an impeachment probe of the president, showed Trump seeking foreign help to support his 2020 campaign for reelection, which can be illegal.

That Trump “would abuse his power to seek the help of another nation in his campaign is the most fundamental betrayal of his oath of office,” Schiff said.

“The president of the United States has betrayed his oath of office and sacrificed our national security in doing it.”