美国国家公共电台 NPR Democrats Intensify Calls For Potential Impeachment Over Whistleblower Complaint

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We're going to spend the first part of today's program taking a closer look at the call this summer between President Trump¹ and Ukraine's leader. President Trump says the call was routine, but Democrats² want to know if he abused the power of his office. NPR's Jenny Gathright has more.

JENNY GATHRIGHT, BYLINE³: President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke⁴ on the phone in July, and according to Trump...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It was a perfect conversation. It was - couldn't have been any better.

GATHRIGHT: According to reporting in The Wall Street Journal, Trump repeatedly urged the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden's son Hunter during that phone call. House Democrats are looking into whether Trump's request to investigate Biden coincided with his administration's withholding⁵ of military aid from Ukraine.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STATE OF THE UNION")

ADAM SCHIFF: And we may very well have crossed the Rubicon here.

GATHRIGHT: That's House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff speaking on CNN today. The Rubicon he's talking about is the road to impeachment⁶, which he says he's been reluctant to pursue. Schiff says if Trump did pressure Ukraine into investigating his political opponent Biden, impeachment could be appropriate.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STATE OF THE UNION")

SCHIFF: This would be, I think, the most profound violation⁷ of the presidential oath of office - certainly during this presidency⁸, which says a lot, but perhaps during just about any presidency.

GATHRIGHT: There is one major roadblock to a congressional investigation⁹ here. Congress still hasn't seen the contents of an August whistleblower complaint - a complaint that multiple news outlets¹⁰ say had to do with Trump and Ukraine. Speaking on CNN today, Treasury¹¹ Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the White House shouldn't let Congress look at the whistleblower complaint.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STATE OF THE UNION")

STEVEN MNUCHIN: I think that would be a terrible precedent¹². Conversations between world leaders are meant to be confidential¹³.

GATHRIGHT: Trump said he'd love to release a transcript¹⁴ of his phone conversation with Ukrainian President Zelensky. But in Trump's words, you have to be a little bit shy about sharing the details of that kind of discussion. The two leaders are actually scheduled to talk again this week, this time face-to-face at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Jenny Gathright, NPR News.

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 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 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。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

6 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。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

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 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

12 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

13 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

14 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。