美国国家公共电台 NPR Ex-Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Should Get 'Substantial Prison Term,' Feds Say

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Federal prosecutors¹ are requesting substantial prison time for President Trump²'s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen. Cohen has pleaded guilty to financial crimes, campaign finance violations³ and lying to Congress. NPR justice reporter Ryan Lucas is here with us in the studio again. Hello again, Ryan.

RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE⁴: Hello again.

KELLY: So you've gone through these latest court filings. What are the prosecutors saying?

LUCAS: Well, there are two court filings here, it's important to note. One is by the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District of New York, and the other is by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office. Now, the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York, its file - its filing is related to Cohen's guilty plea to financial crimes, campaign finance violations committed in New York. This filing is not good news for Cohen. Prosecutors say that he committed at least four serious crimes. They say he was motivated by personal greed. And they reject Cohen's appeal for leniency⁵ from the judge. Cohen had been asking for time served, so in essence no time...

KELLY: No more prison time. Right.

LUCAS: ...No time in jail. Prosecutors in New York say, nope, we're not game with that. They are asking for Cohen to get from four to five years in prison.

KELLY: All right. So that's the first filing, from the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York. What about the other one that's coming from Special Counsel Mueller's office?

LUCAS: Well, Mueller's team does not have a recommendation as to a particular sentence. But in the document today - it's seven pages - we learned more about Cohen's cooperation and what he's been telling investigators⁶.

KELLY: And what more did we learn? What has he been talking about?

LUCAS: Well, Mueller's team says that over the course of seven meetings that it has had with Cohen, he has provided what they call relevant and truthful⁷ information. For example, they say he's provided information about his own contacts with Russian interests during the campaign, discussions with others while making those contacts. He's provided information about certain, quote, "discreet⁸ Russia-related matters" core to the investigation⁹. They say he obtained this by virtue¹⁰ of his regular contact with Trump Organization executives during the campaign.

That could point to members of the Trump family who hold senior positions in the Trump organization. They also say that he's provided information about his contact with people connected to the White House in 2017 and 2018, so it connects us to the White House there. And finally, it says that he has described the circumstances around preparing and circulating his response to congressional inquiries¹¹ while continuing to accept responsibility for what were ultimately false statements. That, of course, relates to the lies he's admitted telling Congress about efforts to build this Trump Tower in Moscow.

KELLY: So a lot of information packed into this - what is it - 38-page document we've got in front of us and, interestingly, none of it redacted. Let me ask you about one other thing we learned today from the U.S. attorney's office, that Cohen does not have a formal cooperation deal. Why not?

LUCAS: That's right. Well, Cohen's lawyers said in their sentencing memo¹², in their request - they said that he didn't have a formal deal because basically he wants to move on from this. This has destroyed his life, and he needs to move forward and look ahead. What the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District of New York is saying is that he doesn't have a formal deal because he's declined to provide information about additional criminal conduct that he may personally have engaged in or that he may have knowledge of. Now...

KELLY: So he cooperated, but not enough.

LUCAS: He cooperated, but normally, in order to get a cooperation deal, you have to provide information about all criminal conduct that you have knowledge of. You do that, and then the government generally - or often - will ask the court to go easy on you. Now, Cohen is asking, as I said, for no time served - sorry - for time served, so no time at all. We now know that the government is asking for up to five years - very different perspective there. The decision ultimately lies in the hands of a federal judge in Manhattan who will make that decision on December 12.

KELLY: Next week. NPR justice reporter Ryan Lucas, thanks.

LUCAS: Thank you.

1 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。

2 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。

3 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

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 leniency   

n.宽大（不严厉）

参考例句：

• udges are advised to show greater leniency towards first-time offenders.建议法官对初犯者宽大处理。
• Police offer leniency to criminals in return for information.警方给罪犯宽大处理以换取情报。

6 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

8 discreet   

adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的

参考例句：

• He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
• It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

9 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。

10 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

11 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？