United States President Donald Trump gave the order to remove then US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, halfway through a dinner at Trump Hotel, according to a video that has surfaced.

Key points: The video from April 2018 lasts 83 minutes and most of it shows no images

The video from April 2018 lasts 83 minutes and most of it shows no images Mr Trump's is heard asking someone to "get rid of" Ms Yonvanovitch

Mr Trump's is heard asking someone to "get rid of" Ms Yonvanovitch Democrats say Ms Yovanovitch hindered Mr Trump's efforts to investigate Bidens

The video, obtained by Reuters from Lev Parnas's attorney Joseph Bondy, begins with Mr Trump posing for photos then entering a room with a table set for 15, including a close-up of the President's place setting.

The video, from April 2018, lasts 83 minutes and most of it shows no images of the participants as the camera was pointed at the ceiling.

Halfway through the recording, one of the participants suggests Ms Yovanovitch is a problem.

Former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was called back from Ukraine in May 2019 after what she called a "concerted campaign" against her. ( AP: J Scott Applewhite )

Mr Trump's voice can then be heard saying "Get rid of her. Get her out tomorrow. I don't care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. OK? Do it."

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr Parnas, a former associate of Mr Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, had recounted the conversation in media interviews last week.

Mr Trump has said that he does not know Mr Parnas.

After the media report on Friday, Mr Parnas found a digital recording of the comments, his lawyer said, and sent it to the House Intelligence Committee, which is continuing to investigate Mr Trump's conduct.

"I was particularly gratified to see that everything Mr Parnas has been stating about that event was true," Mr Bondy said, referring to the April 30, 2018 dinner.

"It is yet another example of Mr Parnas's version of events being corroborated by evidence in the form of recordings, emails, text messages."

Mr Parnas, a Florida businessman, has been providing evidence to Democrats now pushing for Mr Trump's ouster at his impeachment trial in the Senate.

The seven impeachment managers are tasked with convincing the Senate that President Trump should not remain in office. ( AP Photo: J. Scott Applewhite )

He played a key role in Mr Giuliani's effort to dig up dirt on Mr Trump's political rival Joe Biden in Ukraine.

He is now under indictment for campaign finance violations in a separate criminal case.

Other attendees at the dinner were Mr Trump's son Donald Trump Junior and Mr Parnas's associate Igor Fruman, according to a shot of his place setting.

Topics that surfaced at the dinner included cannabis financing, Tesla, Amazon, natural gas, aluminium, steel, golf and Russia and Ukraine.

'Not a fan'

Mr Trump has said he had the right to fire Ms Yovanovitch, a main figure in the series of events that led to his impeachment.

Mr Trump fired her in May 2019 and he told local media on Friday that he was "not a fan" of Ms Yovanovitch.

Ms Yovanovitch told the impeachment inquiry Mr Trump ousted her based on "unfounded and false claims" after she had come under attack by Mr Giuliani.

Democrats say Mr Trump associates spent nearly a year trying to oust Ms Yovanovitch because they saw her as an obstacle in their efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating Mr Biden.

Schiff accuses Trump of threatening him

Meanwhile, Democratic US House impeachment manager Adam Schiff said on Sunday he believed Mr Trump's comment that he has not yet "paid the price" was intended as a threat.

House impeachment manager Adam Schiff was one of the key speakers as Democrats opened their arguments in the Senate impeachment trial. ( AP )

Mr Trump launched another attack on Democrats including Mr Schiff over the Senate impeachment trial, saying on Twitter "he has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!"

Asked by local media if he viewed that as a threat, Mr Schiff said: "I think it was intended to be."

As lead impeachment manager, Mr Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, played a central role in Democrats' efforts to paint Mr Trump's behaviour as dangerous to democracy in America and around the world in arguments before the Republican-led Senate.

While some Republican senators said Mr Schiff had been effective, most appeared unswayed.

The politician from California, a former federal prosecutor, has been a regular target of attack from Mr Trump and his Republican supporters in Congress.

Mr Schiff said on NBC he was making the argument "that it's going to require moral courage to stand up to this president".

"This is a wrathful and vindictive president," he said.

"I don't think that there's any doubt about it and if you think there is, look at the President's tweets about me today, saying that I should pay a price."

Not a death threat, Trump's supporters say

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Mr Trump's Twitter post.

White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told local media she had not spoken to Mr Trump about the tweet but, "I think he means he hasn't yet paid the price with the voters".

US senator James Lankford, a Republican, likened Mr Trump's comment to those of Democrats who say Republicans will pay a price at the ballot box for supporting Mr Trump or will pay a price in the future as they are held accountable.

"I don't think the President is trying to be able to do a death threat here or do some sort of intimidation," he told local media.

"Both of them are saying the American people will speak on this."

US President Donald Trump is accused of trying to launch an investigation into his political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter. ( ABC News: Jonathan Ernst )

Mr Trump's team of lawyers began their defence on Saturday, local time, arguing Democrats' efforts to remove the President from office would set a "very, very dangerous" precedent in an election year.

The impeachment inquiry in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives centres on accusations that Mr Trump froze US military aid in an effort to get Ukraine to launch political investigations against Mr Biden and his son Hunter.

It began with a phone call during which Mr Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate the Bidens.

US President Donald Trump's troubles began with a phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. ( Reuters: Jonathan Ernst )

Hunter Biden had served on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

Mr Trump also asked Mr Zelenskiy to investigate a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 US election.

The investigation makes Mr Trump the third US president to be impeached, after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998, although the Senate — where Republicans enjoy a majority — would need to convict him to remove him from office.

Reuters