VOA慢速英语2019 川普弹劾案进入参议院审理

The trial to decide whether to remove U.S. President Donald Trump¹ from office began this week. Trump is charged with abusing his power as president, and with obstructing² – or blocking – Congress during its investigation³. Lawmakers in the Senate will hear arguments both for and against removal.

决定是否将川普赶下台的审判本周开始进行。川普被控滥用职权并且妨碍国会调查。参议员将会听取赞成或反对罢免川普的论据。

Abuse of power

滥用权力

Seven lawmakers from the House of Representatives are making the argument for removing Trump from office. They are all Democrats⁴; Trump is a Republican.

7名众议员提出了罢免川普的论点。他们都是民主党人，而川普是共和党人。

Those Democrats say Trump abused the power of his office by urging the president of Ukraine to investigate a political rival. During that time, Trump was withholding⁵ hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine.

那些民主党人表示，川普滥用职权敦促乌克兰总统调查他的一位政治对手。在此期间，川普扣押了美国对乌克兰数亿美元的军事援助。

The Democrats say Trump was inviting⁶ a foreign country to interfere⁷ in American politics. And, they say, his request served his own political interests instead of the national security interests of the country.

民主党人表示，川普是在邀请外国干涉美国政治。他们还表示，川普这一要求符合他自己的政治利益，而不是美国的国家安全利益。

Lawyers for Trump will defend the president. They say there is no direct evidence that the president was connecting the release of aid to Ukraine to agreeing to an investigation. They point out that, in time, the aid money was released without any investigation.

川普的律师将为他作出辩护。他们表示，没有直接证据表明川普总统将发放对乌克兰援助与乌克兰同意调查联系起来。他们指出，在乌克兰没有进行调查的情况下，这笔援助资金也得到了及时发放。

In addition, Trump's lawyers say it is not unusual for foreign aid to be slowed or stopped. And, they say, presidents have the power to make decisions without political opponents questioning their reasons.

此外，川普的律师表示，减缓或停止对外国援助并不罕见。他们还表示，总统有权在没有政治对手质疑其理由的情况下做出决定。

Obstruction⁸ of justice

妨碍司法公正

Democrats from the House of Representatives are also charging Trump with blocking Congress's investigation into the president's phone call with Ukraine. They note that one of the jobs of the House of Representatives is to investigate possible wrongdoing by the president.

众议院的民主党人还指控川普阻止国会对他与乌克兰的电话进行调查。他们指出，众议院的职责之一就是调查总统可能犯下的错误。

However, they point out that Trump's office directed witnesses not to testify or give related documents to Congressional investigators⁹. They say that witnesses who chose to come forward suffered public statements from the president that seemed to urge them not to give information. In addition, several government agencies followed the example of the White House and refused to provide documents.

但是他们指出，川普办公室指示证人不要作证，也不要给国会调查人员提供相关文件。他们表示，选择挺身而出的证人受到了总统公开声明的压力，声明似乎在敦促他们不要提供信息。此外，一些政府机构也效仿白宫拒绝提供文件。

Trump's lawyers answer that a president refusing to take part in an investigation is not unusual. They say government lawyers and past decisions have found that the president is protected from congressional testimony¹⁰. Their position is that when officials blocked Trump's advisers¹¹ from speaking or giving information, they were protecting the rights and powers of the president – not blocking an investigation.

川普的律师回应称，总统拒绝参加调查并不罕见。他们表示，政府律师和历史裁决认为总统免于国会作证。他们的立场是，官员们阻止川普的顾问发表讲话或提供信息时，他们是在保护总统的权利和权力，而不是阻止调查。

An ‘impeachable offense¹²'

难以完成的问罪

In addition to the two charges, lawyers from both sides are arguing over a third point: whether a president needs to carry out a crime in order to be removed from office.

除了这两项指控之外，双方律师还在争论第三点：总统是否只有犯了罪才能被免职。

Democrats say no. They say the U.S. Constitution permits a president to be removed for a number of wrong actions. Those include, in the words of the Constitution, "Treason, Bribery¹³, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

民主党人称并非如此。他们表示，《美国宪法》允许因为总统的一系列错误行动而将其免职。用宪法的原文来说就是：“叛国、受贿或其它重罪和轻罪。”

Trump's lawyers argue that the action must be so bad that it threatens the constitutional order or violates the law. They say nothing that Trump has been accused of meets that level. They warn that if Trump is removed, future presidents risk being attacked by opposition¹⁴ lawmakers who guess what they are thinking or feeling.

川普的律师辩称，这些行动必须非常恶劣，威胁到宪法秩序或是违反法律。他们称川普被指控的行动没有达到这一水平。他们警告说，如果川普被免职，未来的总统可能会受到猜测他们想法或感受的反对派的攻击。

In the end, the senators will decide whether or not to convict the president. A two-thirds vote on either charge is required to remove Trump from office.

参议员们最终将裁决总统是否有罪。两项指控中的任意一项都必须获得2/3票数支持才能将川普免职。

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 obstructing   

阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
• He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

6 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

7 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

8 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

11 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

12 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

13 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。