美国国家公共电台 NPR Rosenstein Denies That He Discussed Recording Trump, Invoking 25th Amendment

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

And now we're joined by NPR national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. Hi, Carrie.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE¹: Hi, Ari.

SHAPIRO: You followed Rosenstein for years since he was the U.S. attorney in Baltimore. Is this account in character for him?

JOHNSON: Well, he's really not known as being a brazen² or a mercurial³ guy. It's true he was very shaken after the firing of FBI director Jim Comey last year. That's when his memo⁴ criticizing Comey was cited as a justification⁵ by the White House. Rosenstein pushed back on that at the time. Remember, the president went on to tell NBC News he fired Comey because of the Russia thing. Now that whole episode is a central part of the ongoing⁶ special counsel inquiry⁷. And of course, Rod Rosenstein is the one who appointed the special counsel last year.

SHAPIRO: I know you've been speaking with people close to Rosenstein today. What are you hearing?

JOHNSON: Yeah. I got hold of a guy named Jim Trusty, former prosecutor⁸, who's known Rod Rosenstein for 15 years. Here's his reaction.

JIM TRUSTY: I can't imagine a circumstance where he seriously suggested wearing a wire in dealing⁹ with the president.

JOHNSON: Indeed, one person in the room for the conversation reported by The Times is telling reporters Rosenstein made that remark, but it was sarcastic¹⁰, that it was like a dark joke or black humor. Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in New York - former U.S. attorney in New York, tweeted that jokes about wiring people up in prosecutor circles are as common as knock knock jokes. And as for stirring up conversation about the 25th Amendment¹¹, Jim Trusty says Rod Rosenstein's a good lawyer who once wanted to be a judge. The 25th Amendment is reserved for cases where the president is totally incapacitated, Jim Trusty says.

TRUSTY: And I also don't doubt for a moment that Rod knows that whatever you think of President Trump¹², we're nowhere close to a situation where you can legitimately¹³ suggest the 25th Amendment's going to kick in.

SHAPIRO: And what has the reaction been from people close to the White House?

JOHNSON: Ari, it's been fast and furious. The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted almost immediately after this Time story came out that he was shocked - oh, who are we kidding at this point, Jr. said. No one is shocked that these guys would do anything in their power to undermine Donald Trump. And Laura Ingraham, the Fox News host who was mentioned for several top White House jobs last year, tweeted that Rod Rosenstein must be fired today. Congressman¹⁴ Jim Jordan, a close ally of President Trump, is demanding to see some of these memos¹⁵ described in The Times story and other documents so we can judge for ourselves.

Now, Democrats¹⁷ in - on Capitol Hill have a very different reaction. Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat¹⁶ in the Senate, says this story must not be used as a pretext¹⁸ for the corrupt¹⁹ purpose of firing Rod Rosenstein and installing an official who'll allow the president to interfere²⁰ in the special counsel probe.

SHAPIRO: What would happen if Rosenstein, who oversees²¹ the special counsel probe, were fired?

JOHNSON: This would be the disaster scenario²² that so many Democrats and even some Republicans in Congress have been warning about for months. Remember, the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was imploring²³ the president to wait to get rid of Attorney General Jeff Sessions or Rosenstein until after the November midterm elections. Rosenstein is the day-to-day supervisor²⁴ of the special counsel team.

Remember, in the last few weeks there's been a flurry of activity - conviction of Paul Manafort in Virginia, a guilty plea by Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, in D.C. with an agreement to cooperate, the sentencing of former campaign adviser²⁵ George Papadopoulos. And the president's former lawyer Michael Cohen has been meeting with the special counsel too.

So the timing²⁶ of this report on Rod Rosenstein is weird²⁷. If he goes, it may not be enough to derail the whole Russia probe. Remember that the Justice Department has been doling²⁸ out pieces of this investigation²⁹ to the U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere. So even if Rosenstein goes, this investigation may continue.

SHAPIRO: NPR national Justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. Thank you.

JOHNSON: My pleasure.

1 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。

2 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

3 mercurial   

adj.善变的，活泼的

参考例句：

• He was of a mercurial temperament and therefore unpredictable.他是个反复无常的人，因此对他的行为无法预言。
• Our desires and aversions are mercurial rulers.我们的欲望与嫌恶是变化无常的统治者。

4 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？

5 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 sarcastic   

adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的

参考例句：

• I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
• She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。

11 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

12 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。

13 legitimately   

ad.合法地；正当地，合理地

参考例句：

• The radio is legitimately owned by the company. 该电台为这家公司所合法拥有。
• She looked for nothing save what might come legitimately and without the appearance of special favour. 她要的并不是男人们的额外恩赐，而是合法正当地得到的工作。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

14 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

15 memos   

n.备忘录( memo的名词复数 )；（美）内部通知

参考例句：

• Big shots get their dander up and memos start flying. 大人物们怒火中烧，备忘录四下乱飞。 来自辞典例句
• There was a pile of mail, memos and telephone messages on his desk. 他的办公桌上堆满着信件、备忘录和电话通知。 来自辞典例句

16 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

17 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》

18 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

19 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

20 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

21 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

22 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

23 imploring   

恳求的，哀求的

参考例句：

• Those calm, strange eyes could see her imploring face. 那平静的，没有表情的眼睛还能看得到她的乞怜求情的面容。
• She gave him an imploring look. 她以哀求的眼神看着他。

24 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

25 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

26 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

27 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

28 doling   

救济物( dole的现在分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• "What are you doling?'she once demanded over the intercom. 有一次他母亲通过对讲机问他：“你在干什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• Many scrollbars are quite parsimonious in doling out information to users. 很多滚动条都很吝啬，给用户传递的信息太少。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

29 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。