VOA慢速英语2019 美国参议院宣布川普弹劾罪名不成立（在线收听）

The United States Senate has voted to clear President Donald Trump of charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

美国参议院已经投票证实川普总统滥用职权和妨碍国会的罪名不成立。

The vote brought an end to the third impeachment trial in the nation's history. It followed months of impeachment processes that demonstrated the nation's sharp political divide three years into the Trump presidency.

这次投票结束了美国历史上的第三次弹劾审判。在此之前，持续数月的弹劾程序表明川普当选总统3年以来，美国的政治分歧明显。

The U.S. House of Representatives, which has a Democratic majority, impeached Trump in December. The impeachment trial in the Republican-led Senate began in January.

民主党占多数席位的众议院于去年12月对川普提起弹劾。今年1月份，共和党领导的参议院开始进行弹劾审判。

The U.S. Constitution requires two-thirds, or 67, "guilty" votes in the Senate to remove a president from office for "high crimes and misdemeanors."

美国宪法要求参议院有2/3，也就是67票支持才能以“重罪和轻罪”罢免一位总统。

Democrats who brought the impeachment charges fell short of that Wednesday. All but one Republican senator said that Trump, a member of the Republican Party, was "not guilty" of the two charges he faced. All Democrats in the Senate voted "guilty."

提起弹劾指控的民主党人在周三未能达到这项要求。除一名共和党参议员以外的所有共和党参议员都支持川普在他面临的两项指控上无罪，川普是共和党人。所有民主党参议员都投票支持川普有罪。

Senator Mitt Romney, the Republican Party's presidential nominee in 2012, announced Wednesday that he would vote to convict Trump of the first charge -- abuse of power.

作为2012年共和党总统候选人的参议员米特·罗姆尼周三宣布，他将投票支持对川普面临的第一项指控，即滥用职权的指控定罪。

Romney said, "The president asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival. The president withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so. The president delayed funds for an American ally at war with Russian invaders. The president's purpose was personal and political. Accordingly, the president is guilty of an appalling abuse of the public trust."

罗姆尼表示：“总统要求外国政府对他的政治对手展开调查。总统冻结了对该国政府的重要军事援助以督促它这么做。总统推迟了对与俄罗斯交战的美国盟友的援助。总统是出于个人和政治目的。因此总统犯有严重滥用公众信任的罪名。”

The first article of impeachment charged Trump with abusing his power by asking Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to launch an investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son. At the same time, Trump temporarily withheld over $390 million in military aid to Ukraine.

第一条弹劾条款指控川普滥用职权，要求乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽伦斯基对民主党候选人乔·拜登和他的儿子展开调查。同时，川普临时冻结了对乌克兰的超过3.9亿美元的援助。

The second impeachment article accused Trump of obstructing -- or blocking -- congressional investigations into his Ukraine-related actions. It said he did so by directing people close to him not to answer questions or provide documents to impeachment investigators.

第二条弹劾条款指控川普妨碍国会对其与乌克兰有关行为展开调查。弹劾条款称川普通过指示身边的人不要回答弹劾调查人员的问题或给他们提供文件，从而构成妨碍国会。

The final vote numbers Wednesday were 52 to 48 on abuse of power and 53 to 47 on obstruction of Congress.

周三在滥用职权指控上的最后投票数是52对48票，在妨碍国会指控上的最终投票数是53对47票。

The vote Wednesday brought an end to the fastest, most divided impeachment trial in U.S. history. It included no witnesses and lasted three weeks.

周三的投票结束了美国历史上最快、最分裂的弹劾审判。这次审判没有证人，持续了三个星期。

The U.S. Senate has never removed a president from office. The impeachment trials of Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1999 also both ended in acquittal.

美国参议院从未罢免过总统。1868年安德鲁·约翰逊和1999年比尔·克林顿的弹劾审判都以无罪告终。

Trump, however, is the first president to be impeached while facing re-election.

然而川普是首位在面临连任时被弹劾的总统。

The president's press secretary released a statement following the Senate's decision. It read in part, "As we have said all along, he is not guilty. The Senate voted to reject the baseless articles of impeachment, and only the President's political opponents – all Democrats, and one failed Republican presidential candidate – voted for the manufactured impeachment articles."

总统新闻秘书在参议院判决之后发表了一份声明。其中部分内容为：“正如我们一直说的那样，川普总统是无辜的。参议院投票否决了毫无根据的弹劾条款，只有作为川普政治对手的所有民主党，以及一位败选的共和党总统候选人投票支持弹劾条款。”