美国国家公共电台 NPR--Trump Organiazation's ex-CFO is on the stand for another day at tax fraud trial

Trump¹ Organiazation's ex-CFO is on the stand for another day at tax fraud trial

Transcript²

Allen Weisselberg, Donald Trump's former chief financial officer, takes the stand in a Manhattan courtroom for a second day in the criminal tax trial of the former president's company.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

One day after Donald Trump declared another run for president, one of his longtime aides began testimony³ in a trial. He's the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Allen Weisselberg already pleaded guilty to felony tax charges. And now a Manhattan jury is hearing his testimony to decide whether the Trump Corporation is also guilty of criminal fraud.

INSKEEP: NPR's Andrea Bernstein has been covering the trial. Andrea, good morning.

ANDREA BERNSTEIN, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

INSKEEP: OK. What is the case that Weisselberg is discussing on the stand?

BERNSTEIN: This is the trial over whether the company broke criminal laws by paying Weisselberg and other top executives with untaxed benefits. Here's the way it worked. So Weisselberg collected a salary and paid taxes on his W-2 form. But on top of that, he also got a set package of luxury items that he didn't pay taxes on - a Mercedes-Benz for him and his wife, furniture, electronics, private school tuition for Weisselberg's grandchildren. And the company tracked those payments in a spreadsheet, backed the amount of his compensations and did not report them to the government.

Donald Trump, the man, is not criminally charged. And his company's lawyers say Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg. What's at issue here is whether Trump's company also benefited from this scheme to cheat taxpayers⁵. And prosecutors⁷ need to prove that Weisselberg just wasn't like a bank teller⁸ stuffing money in his pockets, but as a high managerial agent acting⁹ on behalf of the company as well.

INSKEEP: Well, what has he said so far on the stand?

BERNSTEIN: He spoke¹⁰ from the witness stand in a clear, kind of growly voice, really like the accountant from Central Casting. We heard him go over checks and payments made for his two-bedroom luxury condo with a terrace overlooking the Hudson and related expenses, like cable and parking. The prosecutor⁶ asked him directly who authorized¹¹ the payments. And he said the rent was authorized by Donald Trump. Weisselberg also noted¹² that beginning in 2012, Trump personally paid checks for Weisselberg's grandchildren's tuition. And he admitted when that happened, he knew that taxes were owed but not being paid.

INSKEEP: Well, I'm trying to figure this out. If prosecutors want to show this wasn't just one guy on the take but it was a system, what is the benefit to the Trump Organization, the larger company of this scheme, if any?

BERNSTEIN: So Weisselberg was asked directly. Why didn't he just get a raise from the company? And he explained if he got $200,000 in unpaid¹³ benefits, he would have needed twice the salary - or $400,000 - to cover his taxes. The prosecutor asked him, did the Trump Corporation save the extra money when he got what you call the gross-up amount, if they had to pay him that? And Weisselberg said, yes. You could say that. If the company had to give me all this in cash, they would have had to pay me more. One more thing. This method of compensation ended in 2017 when Trump became president. And Weisselberg did get a raise in his salary then.

INSKEEP: Just to be clear, is Weisselberg still on Trump's payroll¹⁴?

BERNSTEIN: Yeah. He testified to this. After he was criminally charged, he still went to work, changed his title. After he pleaded guilty, he went on a paid leave. So he's still getting $640,000, maybe a bonus, from the company he's testifying against.

INSKEEP: The former president declared that he's running for a third time for president just this week. People wonder, does that change the status at all of the various investigations¹⁵ or even this trial?

BERNSTEIN: In a word, no. When Trump became president, he was able to delay some legal matters by claiming presidential immunity¹⁶. But now, though he's a candidate, he's still an ordinary citizen. In fact, in the New York civil case, which is another case in New York, the issue of political motivation has already come up before a judge. And the judge has said what matters are the facts and the law.

INSKEEP: NPR's Andrea Bernstein. Thanks.

BERNSTEIN: 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 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

6 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。

7 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。

8 teller   

n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员

参考例句：

• The bank started her as a teller.银行起用她当出纳员。
• The teller tried to remain aloof and calm.出纳员力图保持冷漠和镇静。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 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。

11 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

14 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

15 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。

16 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。