美国国家公共电台 NPR After 2 Weeks In Office, Trump Faces More Than 50 Lawsuits

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Donald Trump¹ has been president for not quite two weeks, and he already faces dozens of lawsuits³ over White House policies, as well as personal business dealings. As NPR's Joel Rose found, that as many more than earlier presidents faced in their first days on the job.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE⁴: The lawsuits started on inauguration⁵ day, and they haven't let up.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

DENNIS HERRERA: The president's executive order is not only unconstitutional; it's un-American.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

MAURA HEALEY: My message is simply this - that no one is above the law, that...

ANTHONY ROMERO: And when President Trump enacts⁶ laws or executive orders that are unconstitutional and illegal, the courts are there to defend everyone's rights.

ROSE: That was San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and ACLU executive director Anthony Romero in New York. Most of the 50-plus lawsuits filed so far have to do with immigration, including dozens related to the travel ban on immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries, but not all. Lawyers representing the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics⁷ in Washington sued President Trump for his alleged⁸ conflicts of interest. Deepak Gupta told NPR last week that the lawsuit² could have broad implications.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

DEEPAK GUPTA: This is about testing the proposition that the framers really meant it when they said that the president has to have undivided loyalty⁹ to the American people and should not have financial entanglements¹⁰ with foreign governments.

ROSE: The White House is fighting all the lawsuits. Trump says the ethics suit is, quote, "without merit," unquote, and that the immigration orders are necessary to keep the country safe. This flurry of litigation goes way beyond what other administrations faced. At this point, the Obama administration had been sued just five times and the Bush White House only four. Jonathan Turley teaches at the George Washington University Law School.

JONATHAN TURLEY: The Trump administration may set records in terms of the number of lawsuits filed against the administration or against President Trump personally.

ROSE: Turley knows firsthand about suing the president. He was lead counsel in a case brought by Congress that successfully challenged part of the Affordable¹¹ Care Act. Legal challenges like that one have become basically standard procedure in Washington.

JULIAN ZELIZER: When a president releases an executive order, one of the instant responses is to try to tie it up legally.

ROSE: Julian Zelizer teaches political history at Princeton. In an era of heightened partisanship¹², Zelizer says executive orders are an increasingly popular way to make policy. The Obama administration used them. Now the Trump administration is doing the same. And Zelizer says Democrats¹³ and their allies are pushing back the only way they can - in court, just like Republicans did.

ZELIZER: Opponents of President Trump are looking to what the Republicans did in the last few years as a roadmap forward. Conservatives know this can be an incredibly effective tool to stopping presidents from doing things that you don't want them to do.

ROSE: Donald Trump is no stranger to litigation. He's been a defendant¹⁴ and a plaintiff in literally¹⁵ thousands of lawsuits as a real estate developer and reality TV star. His legal strategy - fight back. Here's Trump during the campaign.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: When I get sued, I take it right - just take it all the way. You know what happen happens? If you settle suits, you get sued more.

ROSE: Some of the lawsuits from Trump's business career will follow him into office. Jonathan Turley at George Washington University says that, too, is novel and could be a distraction¹⁶ for the White House.

TURLEY: Those lawsuits that are found to have merit and are based on President Trump's personal conduct are likely to be something of a nuisance.

ROSE: The lawsuits over Trump's executive orders could be huge obstacles to his agenda for years to come. Court hearings on the challenges over his travel ban are getting underway across the country. Joel Rose, NPR News, New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF APHRODESIA SONG, "EVERYDAY")

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 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

3 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

6 enacts   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The legislative branch enacts laws; the executive branch enforces them, and the judicial branch interprets them. 立法部门制订法律，行政部门执行法律，司法部门解释法律。
• Hold phasic characteristic correctly, ability enacts the policy with an actual suit, measure. 正确地把握形势特点，才能制定出切合实际的政策、措施。

7 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

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 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

10 entanglements   

n.瓜葛( entanglement的名词复数 )；牵连；纠缠；缠住

参考例句：

• Mr. White threaded his way through the legal entanglements. 怀特先生成功地解决了这些法律纠纷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At dawn we broke through the barbed wire entanglements under the city wall. 拂晓我们突破了城墙的铁丝网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

12 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

13 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》

14 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

15 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

16 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。