VOA慢速英语2019 美众议院议长佩洛西就要求草拟弹劾条款（在线收听）

US House Speaker Asks Lawmakers to Prepare Articles of Impeachment

The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives has directed congressional leaders to take steps aimed at removing the president from office.

美国众议院议长指示国会领导人，采取措施赶总统下台。

Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked lawmakers chairing House committees to prepare articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. The Democratic Party controls the House of Representatives and all of its committees.

众议院议长南希·佩洛西（Nancy Pelosi）要求主持众议院各委员会的议员们起草弹劾特朗普总统的条款。民主党控制着众议院及众议院所有委员会。

Impeachment is the process by which the lower house of Congress brings charges against a U.S. president. The Senate decides if the president remains in office in a trial overseen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

弹劾是国会众议院对美国总统提出指控的过程。在最高法院首席大法官监督下，参议院进行审理决定总统是否继续任职。

In a recorded statement, Pelosi said that the facts of the case were not disputed. She said, "The president abused his power for his own personal political benefit at the expense of our national security..."

佩洛西在一份正式声明中表示，此案事实没有争议。她说：“总统为了个人的政治利益而滥用职权，以我们的国家安全为筹码。”

Pelosi made the announcement as Democratic lawmakers push to have an impeachment vote in the House before the Christmas holiday.

佩洛西宣布这一消息时，民主党正在推动众议院在圣诞节假期前对弹劾进行投票。

Only two presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868, and Bill Clinton in 1998. But neither man was forced from office. In 1974, Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency when it appeared he would be impeached.

史上只有两名总统被弹劾：1868年的安德鲁·约翰逊和1998年的比尔·克林顿。但两人都不是被迫下台的。1974年，理查德·尼克松辞任总统，当时他似乎将要遭到弹劾。

Impeachment hearings continue

弹劾听证会继续进行

Pelosi's announcement follows a day of hearings in which a group of law professors met with the House Committee on the Judiciary.

在佩洛西发表声明之前，一群法学院教授参加了众议院司法委员会进行的为期一天的听证会。

Democratic lawmakers asked three of the four constitutional experts to give evidence. They were Noah Feldman of Harvard University Law School, Pamela Karlan of Stanford University Law School and Michael Gerhardt of the North Carolina School of Law. Republican committee members asked Jonathan Turley of George Washington University Law School.

民主党议员邀请这四位宪法专家中的三位前来作证。他们分别是哈佛大学法学院的诺亚·费尔德曼，斯坦福大学法学院的帕梅拉·卡兰以及北卡罗来纳大学法学院的迈克尔·格哈特。该委员会的共和党成员邀请了乔治华盛顿大学法学院的乔纳森·特利。

Much of the hearing dealt with what the writers of the 232-year-old U.S. Constitution would think about the act of impeaching a president.

听证会大部分时间都在探讨美国这部有232年历史的宪法的起草者对弹劾总统行为的看法。

Feldman said the writers of the Constitution would have considered what Trump did "as exactly the kind of abuse of office, high crimes and misdemeanors, that they were worried about."

费尔德曼表示，宪法起草者会认为，特朗普总统的所作所为“正如他们担心的那种显滥用职权，构成重罪与轻罪。”

Congressman Doug Collins, a Republican, answered by saying, "I don't think we have any idea what they would think, with all due respect."

共和党议员道格·柯林斯回应称：“恕我直言，他们会怎么想，我们无从得知。”

The Judiciary Committee is studying whether Trump's actions rate as something punishable by impeachment. The Constitution says the president must be guilty of "high crimes and misdemeanors."

司法委员会正在研究特朗普的行为是否构成弹劾的条件。宪法规定，总统必须犯下重罪与轻罪（才会被弹劾）。

Turley told lawmakers that the writers of the Constitution wanted impeachment to be used rarely. He argued against moving ahead without additional evidence.

特利对议员们表示，宪法起草者希望尽量不要启动弹劾。他反对在没有其它证据的情况下继续推动弹劾。

Democratic lawmakers say Trump abused his power by withholding about $400 million in military aid from Ukraine last summer. Congress approved the aid earlier this year. The Ukrainians eventually received the assistance.

民主党议员表示，特朗普滥用权力在今年夏天扣押了向乌克兰提供的约4亿美元的军事援助。国会今年年初批准了这笔援助。乌克兰人最终也得获得了这笔援助。

The Democrats say Trump withheld the aid because he wanted Ukrainian officials to announce an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden. Biden is seeking the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

民主党表示，特朗普扣押援助是因为他希望乌克兰官员宣布对前副总统乔·拜登进行调查。拜登正在寻求获得民主党的总统提名。

White House officials have publicly released records of two telephone calls between Trump and Ukraine's president. However, lawmakers dispute the meaning of what was said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he did not feel pressured by Trump, who says he did nothing wrong.

白宫官员公布了特朗普和乌克兰总统的两次通话记录。但是，议员们对通话所传达的意思表示怀疑。乌克兰总统沃伦米尔·泽伦斯基称没有受到特朗普的压力，而特朗普称自己没有做错任何事情。

Words in This Story

articles – n. (pl.) a part of a legal document that deals with one subject

benefit – n. a good result or effect from some action

expense – n. cost; the amount of money spent on something

misdemeanor – n. wrongdoing; crime