2007年VOA标准英语-Former Top Cheney Aide Goes On Trial Next Week

By Jim Malone
Washington, DC
19 January 2007
 
watch Lewis Libby report

Opening arguments are anticipated next week in Washington in the criminal trial of Lewis Libby, a former top aide to Vice¹ President Dick Cheney.  Libby is charged with misleading a grand jury and FBI agents in the course of an investigation² about disclosure of a former covert³ CIA officer's identity.  VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has a preview of the trial.

 
Lewis "Scooter" Libby
At one time, Lewis Libby was one of the most influential⁴ men in Washington.  Libby advised President Bush and served as chief of staff for Vice President Cheney.

But prosecutors⁶ say Libby lied to and misled investigators⁷ about his conversations with journalists about Valerie Plame, a former covert CIA officer whose identity was revealed in a Washington newspaper column.

 
Valerie Plame
Plame is married to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson.  Wilson had accused the Bush administration of twisting intelligence on Iraq to justify⁸ the U.S-led invasion in 2003.

Special prosecutor⁵ Patrick Fitzgerald alleges⁹ that Libby was part of a White House effort to retaliate¹⁰ against former Ambassador Wilson by leaking his wife's covert CIA status to reporters. Libby denies the allegations and says he was too busy to remember who initially¹¹ told him about Valerie Plame's CIA connection.

Jonathan Turley is a law professor at George Washington University. "The government is going to have to prove that Libby knew that he was leaving out critical facts when he spoke¹² before the grand jury and with investigators,” said Turley.  “Libby's argument is simple: He simply forgot, that his memory is not that good.  So it becomes a test of credibility who the jury will believe. Libby will almost certainly have to take the [witness] stand.  In a case like this, if you do not take the stand, the jury tends to resolve doubts against you."

Among those expected to testify during the trial are several well-known Washington journalists who regularly used Libby and other high ranking government officials as sources.

In addition, Vice President Cheney is expected to testify for Libby's defense¹³, marking the first time a sitting vice president will testify in a criminal trial.

Mr. Cheney praised Libby in a recent television interview. "He is one of the most honest men I have ever met."

Law professor Jonathan Turley says the Libby trial will also serve as a reminder¹⁴ of how the United States went to war in Iraq. "Ultimately, the trial really does not turn on who leaked what.  It really turns on what Libby did in response to the scandal.  But it is going to remind people about the overselling of the Iraq war.  It is going to remind people that what they were told originally was not true."

Former State Department official Richard Armitage has acknowledged he was the original source of the leak in the Plame case, but so far prosecutor Fitzgerald has not brought any further charges in connection with the leaking of her name to journalists.

The Libby trial is expected to last several weeks.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

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 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

4 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

5 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。

6 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

7 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》

8 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

9 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

10 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

11 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

12 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。

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。