The Republicans projected confidence going into Thursday. Reports that President Trump had pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden’s son had finally nudged Democrats on Wednesday to announce an “official impeachment inquiry,” but some of Trump’s top defenders insisted that he would be exonerated by a transcript of the call between the two leaders—and implied that Democrats were walking into a trap.

“They’re going to be embarrassed when these transcripts come out,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement. “And I hope the American public wakes up.” Speaking to Fox & Friends, Rudy Giuliani handwaved the entire scandal, saying “there’s no mention of military aid, there’s no quid pro quo.” Trump himself was particularly cocky, tweeting, “You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo! This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!”

Trump and Giuliani were right—sort of. The summary transcript, released on Wednesday morning, contains no explicit quid pro quo; Trump does not tell Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, or else lose $250 million in aid. But the summary is, in some ways, even worse than imagined—a damning document in which the president’s corruption is on full display. Far from being a trap, it only bolsters the Democrats’ case for impeachment.

The phone call was meant to be about establishing a working relationship between the two leaders—and Trump makes it abundantly clear that the best way to do so is by aiding his reelection. He urges Zelensky to speak with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr about investigating the Bidens (for complicated and unfounded reasons explained here). “There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great,” Trump tells Zelensky. “Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it ... It sounds horrible to me.”

The message is apparent: You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Months after claiming the Mueller report showed no evidence of collusion between Russian intelligence officials and members of his campaign, Trump is once again asking for foreign help in an election. By mentioning that the United States has been “very good” to Ukraine at the beginning of the call, moreover, Trump appears to suggest that future aid is contingent on Zelensky investigating his political opponents.