Trump even tweeted out screenshots of the readout, which included no mention of the politically advantageous investigations Trump asked Zelensky about several months later during his much scrutinized July 25 phone call. One senior administration official said the president had long wanted to release the call to help clear his name.

Then the game plan fell apart.

Shortly after Yovanovitch gave her opening remarks, Trump took to Twitter to attack the former ambassador, saying that everywhere she “went turned bad,” including her prior postings in Somalia.

Minutes later, the tweet was read aloud to Yovanovitch on Capitol Hill.

"It's very intimidating," she said.

....They call it “serving at the pleasure of the President.” The U.S. now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy, much different than proceeding administrations. It is called, quite simply, America First! With all of that, however, I have done FAR more for Ukraine than O. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2019

Trump pushed back a few hours later, after House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff characterized the missive as "witness intimidation."

"You know what? I have the right to speak," Trump told reporters. "I have freedom of speech just as other people do, but they’ve taken away the Republicans’ rights."

When asked if he believed his statements can be intimidating, Trump replied simply: "I don't think so at all."

The daylong exchange pulled attention away from the release of the initial call between Trump and Zelensky.

The tone of that April 21 call, which was blasted out moments before ousted ambassador Yovanovitch began testifying, was much more congratulatory, taking place hours after Zelensky's historic landslide election.

It was also significantly shorter than the July 25 call, during which Trump asked the Ukrainian leader to investigate Joe Biden, his political rival. That second call is now at the center of the House impeachment inquiry.

Notably, the document released Friday does not include a mention of Ukrainian corruption, even though a readout of the the White House issued in April said the two leaders discussed implementing “reforms that strengthen democracy, increase prosperity, and root out corruption.”

Later on Friday, Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesperson, explained that the April readout was produced through "standard operating procedure for the National Security Council." He added that the description of the call "was prepared by the NSC’s Ukraine expert, likely a reference to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the NSC official who oversees Ukraine policy and has testified that he listened to the April call.

According to the more expansive summary of the call released on Friday, Trump began the April 21 call by congratulating Zelensky on a "fantastic election," agreeing that Zelensky's unlikely victory was similar to his own in 2016 after Zelensky told the president he used Trump as "a great example" for his campaign.