美国国家公共电台 NPR--Rep.-elect George Santos of New York is being investigated for lying about his past

Rep.-elect George Santos of New York is being investigated for lying about his past

Transcript¹

A Republican district attorney in New York has opened a probe into George Santos, who has admitted misleading the public about much of his official biography.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

If a politician lies, does it amount to a crime? George Santos, a newly elected lawmaker from Long Island, faces that question. He admits he did not work where he claimed or study where he claimed or have the faith that he claimed. He initially² denied a New York Times report about all this, but now says he exaggerated a bit. He spoke³ with Fox News.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT")

GEORGE SANTOS: I'm not a fraud. I'm not a fake. I didn't materialize from thin air. I made some mistakes.

INSKEEP: A Republican prosecutor⁴ in New York has now opened a probe of Santos' deceptions⁵. NPR's Brian Mann is following this story and joins us now. Brian, what were some of the exaggerations?

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE⁶: Well, it's a long and kind of baffling list of deceptions, Steve. He claimed he graduated from Baruch College, now admits that's not true; claimed he worked for major Wall Street banks - also not true. He claimed four of his employees died in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Miami - not true; claimed to own valuable real estate - that's not true. And a big one - he claimed his family escaped the Holocaust⁷. That's not true. And he claimed to be a proud Jewish American but now acknowledges being Catholic, though he still says he has some Jewish ancestors. That, again, is a claim a group called the Republican Jewish Coalition⁸ calls deceptive⁹.

INSKEEP: What does the prosecutor say about this?

MANN: Well, the Office of Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly - this is a Republican - she released a statement describing Santos' lies as nothing short of stunning¹⁰. Donnelly has promised to investigate and says - and I'm quoting here - "if a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute¹¹ it."

INSKEEP: However, if lying, by itself, was a crime, an awful lot more people would be in jail, including maybe some members of Congress. What would the crime be here?

MANN: Yeah, well, as you point out, the Constitution does have rules about who can be sworn in, Steve, as a member of Congress. Dishonesty alone is not a deal breaker, but there are campaign laws. And the question now is whether Santos did anything criminal. A lot of attention focused - $700,000 loan that Santos gave to his own campaign. He now admits living in poverty much of his life and being unable to pay his bills. So the question is, where did all that money come from? I spoke about this with Richard Briffault, an expert on campaign law at Columbia University.

RICHARD BRIFFAULT: So it would be serious if instead - if this was not truly a loan, but this was somehow disguised campaign contributions from other people. That's a crime to knowingly and willfully misreport the sources of your funds, as well as to lie to the federal government.

MANN: Now, Santos has said in interviews that he broke no laws. He says this was his own money he loaned to his campaign. But his financial history now faces close scrutiny¹², and Democrats¹³ are calling on the Federal Election Commission to also investigate.

INSKEEP: So lying about the money would be the crime. But there are other lies to get our brains around here, Brian, one of which he says is not a lie. He says, well, he just didn't speak all that clearly about his religion.

MANN: Yeah, this piece is sparking a lot of outrage¹⁴. The Republican Jewish Coalition now says Santos directly misled them about his heritage. They say Santos is no longer welcome at any of their functions. Some Republican leaders are acknowledging this as pretty explosive. The head of the Nassau County Republican committee, a guy named Joseph Cairo Jr., released a statement saying - and I'm quoting here, Steve - "the damage that Santos' lies have caused to many people, especially those who've been impacted by the Holocaust, are profound." In interviews, Santos now says he always described himself as Jew-ish. That's his phrase - sort of, I guess, a claim to be sort of Jewish. But that explanation is not going over well.

INSKEEP: What are other Republican-ish leaders saying about this scandal?

MANN: Well, they're mostly silent at this point. Some have called for investigation¹⁵ by the House Ethics¹⁶ Committee, but none are saying that Santos shouldn't be sworn in. Santos' win on Long Island, remember, helped Republicans capture a narrow majority in the House. And Congressman¹⁷ Kevin McCarthy had praised Santos' victory, but now he's mostly gone silent. It's worth noting here that Santos promised to back McCarthy for House speaker. McCarthy's still scrambling¹⁸ to round up enough GOP support to win that post. So despite this controversy¹⁹, Santos could wind up being a really key vote next week, helping²⁰ decide the House leadership.

INSKEEP: He could be a decisive vote. Brian, thanks.

MANN: Thank you.

INSKEEP: NPR's Brian Mann.

1 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。

2 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。

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 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。

5 deceptions   

欺骗( deception的名词复数 )； 骗术，诡计

参考例句：

• Nobody saw through Mary's deceptions. 无人看透玛丽的诡计。
• There was for him only one trustworthy road through deceptions and mirages. 对他来说只有一条可靠的路能避开幻想和错觉。

6 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。

7 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

10 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

11 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

12 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。

13 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》

14 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

15 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。

16 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

17 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。

18 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

20 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。