Donald Trump Trial: What the Two Sides Are Saying
2020-01-22
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1The trial to decide whether to remove U.S. President Donald Trump from office began this week.
2Trump is charged with abusing his power as president, and with obstructing - or blocking - Congress during its investigation.
3Lawmakers in the Senate will hear arguments both for and against removal.
4Seven lawmakers from the House of Representatives are making the argument for removing Trump from office.
5They are all Democrats; Trump is a Republican.
6Those Democrats say Trump abused the power of his office by urging the president of Ukraine to investigate a political rival.
7During that time, Trump was withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine.
8The Democrats say Trump was inviting a foreign country to interfere in American politics.
9And, they say, his request served his own political interests instead of the national security interests of the country.
10Lawyers for Trump will defend the president.
11They say there is no direct evidence that the president was connecting the release of aid to Ukraine to agreeing to an investigation.
12They point out that, in time, the aid money was released without any investigation.
13In addition, Trump's lawyers say it is not unusual for foreign aid to be slowed or stopped.
14And, they say, presidents have the power to make decisions without political opponents questioning their reasons.
15Democrats from the House of Representatives are also charging Trump with blocking Congress's investigation into the president's phone call with Ukraine.
16They note that one of the jobs of the House of Representatives is to investigate possible wrongdoing by the president.
17However, they point out that Trump's office directed witnesses not to testify or give related documents to Congressional investigators.
18They say that witnesses who chose to come forward suffered public statements from the president that seemed to urge them not to give information.
19In addition, several government agencies followed the example of the White House and refused to provide documents.
20Trump's lawyers answer that a president refusing to take part in an investigation is not unusual.
21They say government lawyers and past decisions have found that the president is protected from congressional testimony.
22Their position is that when officials blocked Trump's advisers from speaking or giving information,
23they were protecting the rights and powers of the president - not blocking an investigation.
24In 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.
25Democrats say no. They say the U.S. Constitution permits a president to be removed for a number of wrong actions.
26Those include, in the words of the Constitution, "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
27Trump's lawyers argue that the action must be so bad that it threatens the constitutional order or violates the law.
28They say nothing that Trump has been accused of meets that level.
29They warn that if Trump is removed, future presidents risk being attacked by opposition lawmakers who guess what they are thinking or feeling.
30In the end, the senators will decide whether or not to convict the president.
31A two-thirds vote on either charge is required to remove Trump from office.
32I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.
1The trial to decide whether to remove U.S. President Donald Trump from office began this week. Trump is charged with abusing his power as president, and with obstructing - or blocking - Congress during its investigation. Lawmakers in the Senate will hear arguments both for and against removal. 2Abuse of power 3Seven lawmakers from the House of Representatives are making the argument for removing Trump from office. They are all Democrats; Trump is a Republican. 4Those 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 withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine. 5The Democrats say Trump was inviting a foreign country to interfere in American politics. And, they say, his request served his own political interests instead of the national security interests of the country. 6Lawyers 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. 7In 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. 8Obstruction of justice 9Democrats 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. 10However, they point out that Trump's office directed witnesses not to testify or give related documents to Congressional investigators. 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. 11Trump'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 testimony. Their position is that when officials blocked Trump's advisers from speaking or giving information, they were protecting the rights and powers of the president - not blocking an investigation. 12An 'impeachable offense' 13In 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. 14Democrats 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, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." 15Trump'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 opposition lawmakers who guess what they are thinking or feeling. 16In 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. 17I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. 18Eric Tucker reported this story for the Associated Press. Kelly Jean Kelly adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 19________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21rival - n. a person or thing that tries to defeat or be more successful than another 22testify - v. to talk and answer questions about something especially in a court of law while formally promising that what you are saying is true 23convict - v. to prove that someone is guilty of a crime in a court of law