The chairmen of four congressional committees slammed the partial transcript of a phone call between President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released by the White House on Wednesday.

“The transcript is an unambiguous, damning, and shocking abuse of the Office of the Presidency for personal political gain," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-N.Y.), House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffSchiff to subpoena top DHS official, alleges whistleblower deposition is being stonewalled Schiff claims DHS is blocking whistleblower's access to records before testimony GOP lawmakers distance themselves from Trump comments on transfer of power MORE (D-Calif.), House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings Elijah Eugene CummingsBlack GOP candidate accuses Behar of wearing black face in heated interview Overnight Health Care: US won't join global coronavirus vaccine initiative | Federal panel lays out initial priorities for COVID-19 vaccine distribution | NIH panel: 'Insufficient data' to show treatment touted by Trump works House Oversight Democrats to subpoena AbbVie in drug pricing probe MORE (D-Md.) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel Eliot Lance EngelHouse panel halts contempt proceedings against Pompeo after documents turned over Engel subpoenas US global media chief Michael Pack The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Pence lauds Harris as 'experienced debater'; Trump, Biden diverge over debate prep MORE (D-N.Y.) said in a joint statement.

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"This is a clear breach of trust placed in the President to faithfully execute the laws and to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution," they continued. “The record of the call released by the White House confirms our worst fears: that the President abused his office by directly and repeatedly asking a foreign country to investigate his political rival and open investigations meant to help the President politically. Not once, not twice, but more than half a dozen times during one telephone call. This was a shakedown. The President of the United States asked for a ‘favor’ after the Ukrainian President expressed his country’s need for weapons to defend against Russian aggression."

The partial transcript of the call released Wednesday confirms that Trump asked Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE’s role in the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor.

The White House released the document a day after House Democrats formally launched an impeachment inquiry against the president that was triggered by his dealings with Ukraine.

The four committee chairmen who issued the statement will continue their respective investigations into the administration, but will now do so under the umbrella of an impeachment inquiry.

Democrats are also seeking to obtain a whistleblower complaint that is reported to be about a series of conversations Trump had with Ukraine's leader, not just the one phone call.

The president has denied any wrongdoing in his conversations with Zelensky.