VOA标准英语2008年-Bush Blocks Congressional Inquiry on CIA Leak C

Asserting executive privilege, President Bush has refused to comply with a congressional request for documents relating to the leak of the identity of former CIA operative Valerie Wilson. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, a House committee delayed a vote on citing the U.S. attorney general with contempt in connection with the matter.
　
President Bush, 16 Jul 2008

Attorney General Michael Mukasey communicated the White House position in a letter to the House Oversight¹ and Government Reform Committee chaired by Democrat² Henry Waxman.

The panel had issued a subpoena³ to compel the Bush administration to give Congress the transcript⁴ of an FBI interview with Vice⁵ President Dick Cheney, along with other documents.

Majority Democrats⁶ have continued to investigate the affair, which involved leaking of the CIA identity of Valerie Plame Wilson, wife of former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson, to the media. Joseph Wilson was a key critic of Bush administration justifications⁷ for the Iraq war.

Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis Libby, was convicted of perjury⁸, obstruction⁹ of justice and giving false statements to federal investigators¹⁰ in the case, in which he and a State Department official were involved in leaking Wilson's identity.

Libby acknowledged to investigators at one point that it was possible Cheney had ordered the identity of the former covert¹¹ agent revealed. Libby's two-and-a-half-year jail sentence was commuted¹² by President Bush.
　
Congressman¹³ Henry Waxman (file photo)

Congressman Waxman called the White House assertion of executive privilege ludicrous, and while delaying a panel vote on the contempt citation¹⁴ for Mukasey, said this:

"As the committee considers its next steps, I hope the president and vice president will also consider theirs," said Congressman Waxman. "Congress and the American public are entitled to know what role the president and the vice president played in the despicable outing of Ms. Wilson.

Ranking panel Republican Tom Davis protested to Waxman as other Democrats made statements, and asserted that Republicans needed more time to assess the attorney general's letter.

The two men had this exchange:

DAVIS: "You have obviously spent some time getting your staff wound up on the politics of this and I would like to move ahead to the bills that were on notice to do this morning."

WAXMAN: "All members were informed that on the agenda this morning was to vote for contempt of the attorney general of the United States, and that is a serious matter and members are concerned about it."

Angry Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich urged Waxman to proceed with the contempt vote, asserting the White House is merely trying to shield the vice president from further scrutiny¹⁵:

"There is no, either historic or legitimate¹⁶ legal position that this administration has to assert executive privilege at this time, and it is being done solely¹⁷ to try to stop this committee from moving forward, and this committee should not, should not accede¹⁸ to this contemptuous device by the president and his attorney general," said Congressman Kucinich.

Attorney General Mukasey said the executive privilege claim is not an attempt to conceal¹⁹ information from Congress, but an effort to protect the separation of powers and what he called the integrity of future Justice Department investigations²⁰ of the White House.

Waxman rejected Mukasey's assertion that the FBI interview with Vice President Cheney has anything to do with internal White House deliberations. The White House action, added Waxman, has darkened the cloud over the vice president and left important questions unanswered.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 subpoena   

n.（法律）传票；v.传讯

参考例句：

• He was brought up to court with a subpoena.他接到传讯，来到法庭上。
• Select committees have the power to subpoena witnesses.特别委员会有权传唤证人。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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》

7 justifications   

正当的理由，辩解的理由( justification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If he a vulgar person, she does not have justifications for him. 如果他是个低级趣味的人，她早就不会理他了。
• It depends on their effect on competition and possible justifications. 这则取决于它们对于竞争的影响和可能存在的正当抗辩理由。

8 perjury   

n.伪证；伪证罪

参考例句：

• You'll be punished if you procure the witness to commit perjury.如果你诱使证人作伪证，你要受罚的。
• She appeared in court on a perjury charge.她因被指控做了伪证而出庭受审。

9 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。

10 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》

11 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。

12 commuted   

通勤( commute的过去式和过去分词 )； 减（刑）； 代偿

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment. 他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• The death sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment. 死刑可能減为无期徒刑。

13 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

14 citation   

n.引用，引证，引用文；传票

参考例句：

• He had to sign the proposition for the citation.他只好在受奖申请书上签了字。
• The court could issue a citation and fine Ms. Robbins.法庭可能会发传票，对罗宾斯女士处以罚款。

15 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

16 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

17 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

18 accede   

v.应允，同意

参考例句：

• They are ready to accede to our request for further information.我们要是还需要资料，他们乐于随时提供。
• In a word,he will not accede to your proposal in the meeting.总而言之，他不会在会中赞成你的提议。

19 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

20 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。