美国国家公共电台 NPR--Trump becomes the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges

Trump¹ becomes the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges

Transcript²

NPR's A Martinez talks to presidential historian Douglas Brinkley about the historical significance of the indictment³ of former President Donald Trump.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Donald Trump has been indicted⁴ on criminal charges by a grand jury in New York. The investigation⁵ revolves⁶ around hush⁷ money payments that Trump's former lawyer made to silence an adult film actor. The alleged⁸ crime involves how those payments were reimbursed⁹ and then logged as a retainer for legal services in Trump's business records. He becomes the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges. Joining us now to talk about the historical significance is Rice University professor and presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. Douglas, is there a comparable moment in U.S. political history to this?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY: No, we've never had anything like this. I mean, we've had moments like Watergate, where Richard Nixon was forced to leave the White House, but alas¹⁰, he was pardoned and didn't do any prison time. You know, Bill Clinton was impeached¹¹ over Monica Lewinsky, and Donald Trump was impeached twice, but the presidencies¹² kept on going. This is the first time that it really seems likely that the former president of the United States will be having a mug shot, being fingerprinted¹³ and, you know, having not just this indictment and these 30 charges but more indictments¹⁴ to come. So we're in for a very rocky spring.

MART?NEZ: Douglas, if we indeed see a mug shot at some point, as someone that studies presidential history, what will that mean to you? What will you think?

BRINKLEY: You know, it would tell me that Donald Trump really is an outlaw¹⁵. As a presidential historian, I've had a hard time connecting him to the tradition of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and the Roosevelts. But, A - but Trump fits very easily into a narrative¹⁶ of folk heroes, like outlaw folk heroes like Al Capone and Dillinger, Billy the Kid. Just the other day on Fox News, Donald Trump was bragging¹⁸ about the Missouri bank robber Jesse James and praising him in no terms. So, you know, the public likes their outlaw figure sometimes, and I think that's where we have to look at President Trump at this point. On the other hand, he's the leader of the Republican Party, running for reelection in 2024, so this makes this a monstrous¹⁹ story of huge size and importance. And we're going to have to see how it unspools in the coming weeks.

MART?NEZ: What do you think changes, though, in America as this thing moves forward?

BRINKLEY: Well, on the positive side, I mean, it tells us that presidents are not above the law. You know, famously, Richard Nixon said if a president does it, it must be legal, which is a big brag¹⁷ about the extension of executive power. And, of course, Nixon met his comeuppance. And I think Donald Trump here feels he is Teflon, that he can do what he wants, that he can disregard, you know, special prosecutors²⁰ or, you know, New York district attorney or the National Archives. But alas, he is culpable²¹. He is a citizen like everybody else.

The downside of this is to make sure that this isn't a case of selective prosecution²², that this isn't simply District Attorney Bragg in New York wanting to score some public points, perhaps his own reelection points, by staking out a setup for a former president. So we have to make sure that this is not selective prosecution. But anybody who did hush money payments in the way that Donald Trump did and had, you know, various types of fraud in their business would be prosecuted²³. So it could be a good story in the end that nobody is above the law.

MART?NEZ: Douglas, you mentioned Richard Nixon. He resigned from office. Was he at risk of facing criminal charges?

BRINKLEY: He was. After all, Nixon's team went to jail - I mean, the attorney general, John Mitchell, White House aides John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman and many more. Nixon was only saved by the grace of Gerald Ford²⁴, who gave that controversial pardon. And I think most historians praise for the pardon, but now, you know, that seems to be a very different than our situation now.

MART?NEZ: Yeah.

BRINKLEY: Nobody's going to pardon Donald Trump.

MART?NEZ: Rice University professor and presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. Douglas, thanks.

BRINKLEY: Thank you.

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 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

4 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

5 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。

6 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 reimbursed   

v.偿还，付还( reimburse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on the firm's business will be reimbursed. 由公司业务产生的开销都可以报销。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Employees are reimbursed for any legal fees incurred when they relocate. 员工调往异地工作时，他们可以报销由此产生的所有法律服务费用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

11 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 presidencies   

n.总统的职位( presidency的名词复数 )；总统的任期

参考例句：

• The Dalai Lama previously visited the island during the presidencies of Chen Shui-bian and Lee Teng-hui. 曾经获得诺贝尔和平奖的达赖喇嘛，此前曾在李登辉和陈水扁主政期间访问台湾。 来自互联网

13 fingerprinted   

v.指纹( fingerprint的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The criminal was fingerprinted in the sheriff's office. 罪犯在警长办公室里被取下指纹。 来自辞典例句
• They were then taken to be photographed and fingerprinted. 然后，他们被带去照相、留指纹。 来自互联网

14 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

15 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

16 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

17 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

18 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

19 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

20 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

21 culpable   

adj.有罪的，该受谴责的

参考例句：

• The judge found the man culpable.法官认为那个人有罪。
• Their decision to do nothing makes them culpable.他们不采取任何行动的决定使他们难辞其咎。

22 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

23 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

24 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。