穆勒拒绝特朗普的“猎杀女巫”主张

Mueller Rejects Trump¹’s Claims of 'Witch Hunt'

Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller appeared before the U.S. Congress Wednesday to answer lawmakers’ questions about his investigation² into Russian election interference.

During the day-long hearing, Mueller’s answers included little beyond the findings included in his 448-page report. He said few words and repeatedly asked lawmakers to look to his report for the information they sought. CNN television estimated that Mueller chose not to answer questions from lawmakers at least 206 times.

The United States Department of Justice appointed Mueller to lead the investigation two years ago. The investigators⁵ found there were many contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia. But, it said, “…the evidence was not sufficient to support criminal charges.”

The investigators also uncovered numerous attempts to interfere³ with law enforcement, a crime known as obstruction⁶ of justice.

On Wednesday, Mueller dismissed President Donald Trump’s claim that he had been exonerated⁸ from obstruction of justice.

He also described Russia’s election interference as one of the most serious “challenges” to the United States’ democracy. He said the issue “deserves the attention of every American.”

And, he rejected the president’s statements that his investigation had been a “witch hunt.”

Early Wednesday, Mueller appeared before the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. He answered one lawmaker’s question on possible obstruction of justice by saying, “the president was not exculpated¹⁰ for the acts that he allegedly committed.” Exculpate⁹ means to show that someone is not guilty or at fault.

Mueller also stated that a president could be charged with a crime after leaving office.

Representative Ted⁴ Lieu, a Democrat¹¹ from California asked Mueller if he did not formally charge Trump because of a legal opinion that a sitting president cannot be charged with a federal crime. Mueller answered, “That is correct.”

The former special counsel, however, used his opening statement at the second hearing Wednesday to correct that answer. He said, “We did not reach a determination as to whether the President committed a crime.” The second hearing was before the House Intelligence Committee.

Mueller criticized Trump’s support of WikiLeaks, which released emails stolen from the campaign of Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent in 2016. He said the support was “problematic” and gave hope to what he called “illegal activity.”

When asked why the investigation did not ask for Trump to answer questions in person, Mueller said, “we had little success in pushing to get the interview of the President.” He said his team did not want to extend the investigation. He and his team also believed that Trump would fight their request. Instead, the president provided written answers to the investigation, which Mueller agreed were “inadequate¹² and incomplete.”

Wednesday’s testimony¹³ was only the second time that Mueller publicly discussed his office’s two-year investigation.

After the hearings ended, Trump spoke¹⁴ with reporters. He again described the Mueller investigation as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt.” He also said the White House had had a “very good day.”

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

beyond - adv. in addition

exonerate⁷ - v. to prove that someone is not guilty of a crime

exculpate - v. to prove that someone is not guilty of doing something wrong

allegedly - adv. said to have happened but not yet proven

inadequate - adj. not enough

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 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。

3 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。

4 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

5 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》

6 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

7 exonerate   

v.免除责任，确定无罪

参考例句：

• Nothing can exonerate her from that.任何解释都难辞其咎。
• There is no reason to exonerate him from the ordinary duties of a citizen.没有理由免除他做公民应尽的义务。

8 exonerated   

v.使免罪，免除( exonerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police report exonerated Lewis from all charges of corruption. 警方的报告免除了对刘易斯贪污的所有指控。
• An investigation exonerated the school from any blame. 一项调查证明该学校没有任何过失。 来自辞典例句

9 exculpate   

v.开脱，使无罪

参考例句：

• He exculpate himself from stealing the money.他自行辩白没有偷钱。
• He exculpate himself from a charge of theft.他辩白自己无盗窃嫌疑。

10 exculpated   

v.开脱，使无罪( exculpate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has been exculpated from the charge. 他已被申明无罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was exculpated by the testimony of several witnesses. 几名目击者的证词证明他无罪。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

13 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。

14 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。