Trump Impeachment Trial Ends in Acquittal

#. Trump Impeachment Trial Ends in Acquittal

 

After months of tense debates and bitter division in Congress, the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump has concluded.

On February 5, the Senate held a vote and found the president not guilty of abuse of power and of obstructing an investigation.

The impeachment process began in late 2019, when a government whistle-blower filed a complaint against the president.

The documents revealed that Trump had threatened the government of Ukraine in Eastern Europe.

He told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that millions of dollars of aid would be held back unless he helped Trump investigate a rival politician in the U.S.

This appeared to be a clear violation of the president's power, as the use of political authority in exchange for personal favors is strictly forbidden.

So, after reviewing the evidence, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump.

Impeachment is a process that allows members of government to hold other government officials accountable if they are suspected of committing an offence.

Those offences include treason, bribery, and other political crimes.

In this instance, two articles of impeachment  were brought against Trump - one for abusing his power and one for preventing investigators from doing their job.

For only the third time in U.S. history, an American president faced the possibility of being removed from office.

The responsibility of conducting the impeachment trial fell on the Senate.

During the trial, however, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican and close ally of President Trump, announced that he would not remain impartial.

The senator refused to allow Democrats to introduce new witnesses and evidence.

As a consequence, the trial wrapped up quickly and a final vote was held.

The results were 52-48 and 53-47 in favor of acquittal.

Only one Republican Senator voted to remove Trump.

In the wake of his acquittal, the president's approval rating rose to 49 percent, the highest since he took office in January 2017.

The boost could be crucial for the president in the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

 

• Impeachment impí:tʃmənt  비난, 고소, 고발, [법] 탄핵, [폐어] 불명예  Impeach ɪmˈpiːtʃ  탄핵[고발]하다 , …에 대해 의문[의혹]을 제기하다

• acquittal əˈkwɪtl  무죄 선고 (↔conviction)  acquit əˈkwɪt 무죄를 선고하다 (↔convict)    win an acquit 무죄 방면[석방]을 얻어내다.

• trial ˈtraɪəl 재판, 공판  debate dɪˈbeɪt  토론[토의/논의] , 논쟁, 논란 / 논의[토의/논쟁]하다 (=discuss)

• bitter ˈbɪtə 격렬한 , 억울해하는  conclude kənˈkluːd 결론[판단]을 내리다

• hold / take a vote 투표를 실시하다  senate ˈsenət (미국·오스트레일리아·캐나다·프랑스 등의) 상원 (→Congress, the House of Representatives)

• obstruct əbˈstrʌkt 막다 [방해하다]  whistle-blower 내부고발자  filed a complaint  제출하다, 고소하다

• hold somebody/something back ~을 저지[제지]하다 , (진전·발전을) 방해[저해]하다

• investigate ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt 수사[조사]하다, 살피다  investigation ɪnˌvestɪˈɡeɪʃn 수사[조사]  authority ə|θɔːrəti 지휘권, 권한

• in exchange 그 대신, 답례로 ,  (… 와) 교환으로, (… 의) 대신으로((for, of))

• appear  əˈpɪr  … 인 것 같다 (=seem) , 나타나다, 보이기 시작하다 , 생기다, 발생하다  appearance ə|pɪrəns  모습 , 출현

• representative ˌreprɪˈzentətɪv 대표(자) , 대리인 / (특정 단체를) 대표하는 the House of Representatives (미 의회·주 의회의) 하원

• accountable əˈkaʊntəbl (해명할) 책임이 있는  commit kəˈmɪt (그릇된 일·범죄를) 저지르다 [범하다] , 자살하다

• offence əˈfens 위법[범법] 행위, 범죄 (=crime)  treason ˈtriːzn 반역죄  bribery ˈbraɪbəri 뇌물 수수 

• bring a suit against … 을 상대로 소송을 일으키다 

• republican rɪˈpʌblɪkən 공화당원, 공화당 지지자 (→Democrat)  democrats ˈdeməkræt  (미국의) 민주당원[민주당 지지자] (→Republican)

• ally ˈælaɪ 동맹국, (특히 정치적) 협력자  impartial ɪmˈpɑːrʃl 공정한, (↔partial), (=neutral, unbiased)  , 중립의

• wrap something up (합의·회의 등을) 마무리짓다  In the wake of  … 의 뒤를 좇아, …에 뒤이어, …의 결과로써

• rise - rose 증가[상승] / (높은 위치·수준 등으로) 오르다, 올라가다 [오다]  boost buːst 신장시키다, 북돋우다 / 격려, (신장시키는) 힘, 부양책