美国国家公共电台 NPR Democrats' Impeachment Divide Tests Pelosi

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tried to guide Democrats² away from starting impeachment³ proceedings⁵ against President Trump⁶ since she picked up the gavel this year. But the White House continues to block congressional efforts to investigate the administration and to see the evidence underlying⁷ special counsel Robert Mueller's report. And more and more Democrats are starting to sound like Representative John Yarmuth of Kentucky.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN YARMUTH: There's a growing realization⁸ in the caucus⁹ that impeachment's inevitable¹⁰. So it's not a question of if but when.

CORNISH: The House speaker will hold a special meeting tomorrow morning to hear from Democrats over whether or not to move forward with impeachment. NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis joins us now. And, Susan, are Democrats at a tipping point?

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE¹¹: You know, the needle is certainly moving closer in that direction. They're still divided. It's unclear where they will land. But tomorrow's meeting is a reflection of the fact that Pelosi's sort of slow and steady strategy isn't holding up for a lot of Democrats. They admit they were unprepared for the level of defiance¹² they've seen from the Trump administration to their oversight¹³ demands.

The latest came today in the House Judiciary Committee, where former White House counsel Don McGahn refused to appear after the administration exerted executive privilege over his testimony¹⁴ related to the Mueller report. Democrats say it's not just about Mueller. The administration is fighting Congress on a lot of fronts. They're also refusing to turn over the president's tax returns. The cumulative¹⁵ effect of all this is you have more and more Democrats saying, look. We didn't want to have to consider impeachment, but we increasingly feel like we have no choice. And it may be the only way to get what we want from this administration.

CORNISH: How would impeachment do that - help them in their struggle to get the testimony and documents and things like that?

DAVIS: It's a really interesting debate inside the party. And I think the people that are hesitant to move forward with impeachment will argue the end game hasn't changed one bit. The Senate's still controlled by Republicans. President Trump is almost certainly not going to be removed from office via impeachment, so you're going to spend a lot of time on something that will not ultimately happen.

But I think Democrats think that opening a formal impeachment investigation¹⁶ could change some calculations. I talked to one Rhode Island Democrat¹, David Cicilline. He's on the Judiciary Committee. He supports moving forward with impeachment. And he said it's really about sending a message. This is what he said.

DAVID CICILLINE: I think the principal reason to do it is that it will communicate this heightened level of seriousness, and it will be a direct response to an administration that is attempting to cover up and impede¹⁷ and obstruct¹⁸ Congress's role in conducting an investigation.

DAVIS: Other Democrats on Judiciary also will argue that since impeachment is technically¹⁹ a legal proceeding⁴ - it's sort of like a trial - that it would strengthen their legal hand in getting the administration to cooperate. There's, obviously, no certainty that they would. But defying subpoenas²⁰ in an official impeachment inquiry²¹ would take this confrontation²² to a whole new level.

CORNISH: Speaker Pelosi has often said that the threshold for impeachment is overwhelming and bipartisan. Are they there yet?

DAVIS: Well, Democrats - it may be becoming overwhelmingly clear, but the country isn't; at least that's what polls tell us. So it's not overwhelming yet, and it's not quite bipartisan. Although, we should say that one Republican, Michigan's Justin Amash, came out in favor of impeachment proceedings over the weekend, although he's a bit of a contrarian in the party not a reflection of the broader mood.

One big thing to watch for, Audie, is when Robert Mueller testifies. There's concern on Capitol Hill that he might try to speak to the Judiciary Committee in private. I've talked to Democrats on the committee that say that won't fly. It needs to be in public, and they want it to happen soon.

CORNISH: That's NPR's Susan Davis. Thanks so much.

DAVIS: You're welcome.

1 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。

2 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》

3 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

4 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

5 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

6 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。

7 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

8 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

9 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

10 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

11 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。

12 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

13 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

14 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

15 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

16 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。

17 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

18 obstruct   

v.阻隔，阻塞(道路、通道等)；n.阻碍物，障碍物

参考例句：

• He became still more dissatisfied with it and secretly did everything in his power to obstruct it.他对此更不满意，尽在暗里使绊子。
• The fallen trees obstruct the road.倒下的树将路堵住了。

19 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

20 subpoenas   

n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句
• Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网

21 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。

22 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。