美国国家公共电台 NPR Former Officials Say White House's Use Of Secret System Is Unusual, 'Disturbing'

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Yesterday a whistleblower's seven-page complaint was made public. It claims that the White House tried to, quote, "lockdown the notes of a call between President Trump¹ and the president of Ukraine." To do that, the complaint says, the White House put those notes about the call in to a codeword-level system. That system is reserved for highly sensitive information. President Trump and the White House, we should note, say none of this is true.

NPR's White House reporter Ayesha Rascoe is on the line. Good morning, Ayesha.

AYESHA RASCOE, BYLINE²: Good morning.

KING: So you have been talking to former National Security Council officials. What are they saying about how normal or abnormal this behavior is?

RASCOE: So I talked to officials from different administrations, and they say taking an action like this was just really unheard of during their time at the NSC. Phone calls between the president and world leaders are typically classified, but they're not treated in this manner, which is really reserved for details about intelligence programs or tools that the U.S. would not want other countries to know about.

I spoke³ with Michael Green, who worked at the NSC for about five years during the Bush administration. He pointed⁴ out that this was after Sept. 11. And this is what he had to say about his experience with these calls.

MICHAEL GREEN: Even in that context, I had never heard or witnessed what we're seeing now, where a transcript⁵ was routed directly to the most sensitive, compartmented security clearance⁷ so that no one could see it.

RASCOE: Because of that, he said he found these allegations to be pretty disturbing. Ned Price was a senior director at the NSC during the Obama administration, and he also said he'd never heard of anyone taking actions like this. He pointed out that this idea that is - that this information would need to be stored on a separate system is undercut by the administration's decision to release unredacted notes on the call. So it would appear that there wasn't really classified information discussed.

KING: Yeah, that's an interesting point. So we have this system for highly sensitive information. What do we know about how the system works, the logistics of it?

RASCOE: So there are different classification systems. And what seems to be referred to in the complaint would be a compartment⁶ within the category of top-secret information.

This system was in place in prior administrations and is still in place for the Trump administration, according to a former NSC official that worked under Trump.

What's key about the system is that only select people in the administration would be able to access it. This official told NPR's Franco Ordo?ez that only about four to six people in the White House likely had access. And information in this system is shared in person, not over unsecured phone lines or through email.

KING: OK. So this is interesting. This system existed prior to the Trump administration. We may not have known about it if it hadn't been for this whistleblower complaint. But it does make me wonder, what is the White House saying about all of this?

RASCOE: So right now, they're not saying much. I asked this - the White House specifically about this allegation and whether they will confirm or deny it and they declined to go beyond this earlier statement that basically bashed the complaint as a whole and said - and didn't really confirm or deny what happened or what this complaint is alleging⁸.

I did ask a White House adviser⁹, Kellyanne Conway, about it, and she said she didn't know about the NSC process. But she argued that what's important is that the president has now made these notes about the call public, basically saying that should be the focus.

But at least one prominent Republican is saying he didn't see anything - he wouldn't see anything wrong with his action. Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House, said that he could understand why the White House might have wanted to store these details in a more secure fashion. He's pointing out how much technology has advanced.

KING: Changing times, he's saying. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe. Thanks so much, Ayesha.

RASCOE: Thank you.

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 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。

3 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。

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 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。

6 compartment   

n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间

参考例句：

• We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴，整个客车隔间由我们独享。
• The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。

7 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

8 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

9 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。