美国国家公共电台 NPR--Former Trump Organization CFO to appear in New York court on alleged tax fraud

Former Trump¹ Organization CFO to appear in New York court on alleged² tax fraud

Transcript³

Lawyers for the Trump Organization and its former chief financial officer on Friday will ask a New York state judge to dismiss a sweeping⁴ criminal indictment⁵ filed against them last year.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Former President Donald Trump's company and his longtime chief financial officer are in criminal court in New York today to answer charges of a long-running fraud scheme. The appearance caps a busy week on the Trump legal front. On Monday, the FBI searched the former president's home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. And on Wednesday, Trump was questioned under oath by the New York attorney general's office and pleaded the Fifth Amendment⁶ hundreds of times. Joining us to discuss all this is NPR's Andrea Bernstein. So let's start with that New York criminal case and what it's all about.

ANDREA BERNSTEIN, BYLINE⁷: So good morning. In the swirl⁸ of all of these investigations¹⁰, the Justice Department, New York attorney general and the January 6 Committee, it's easy to forget that there's a case in criminal court in New York right now called People of the State of New York v. the Trump Corporation. The former president's company and its longtime chief financial officer are charged with multiple felonies for allegedly perpetrating a 15-year fraud scheme that they say ran through Trump's entire presidency¹¹. This is the case where the Trump Organization allegedly avoided taxes by compensating¹² the CFO, Allen Weisselberg, with big-ticket items, like luxury apartment, cars and private school tuition for his grandchildren, to avoid paying taxes. Trump's company and Weisselberg have pleaded not guilty.

MART?NEZ: OK, so what's supposed to happen today?

BERNSTEIN: This is the first court hearing in this case in almost a year, and it's officially on for the judge to say whether he's dismissing the case and to set a trial date. He doesn't have to do those things. But he's indicated if he doesn't dismiss the case, he wants to move quickly to trial, perhaps as early as this fall. And during a trial, the public could get a good, long look at Donald Trump's business practices. I should say it's been a rather dramatic year since the last time this case was in court back in September of '21. The newly elected Manhattan DA, Alvin Bragg, suspended a grand jury investigation⁹ into Donald Trump himself. That prompted the lead prosecutors¹³ in the case to resign. And one of them wrote in a letter of resignation that eventually became public, quote, "I believe Donald Trump is guilty of numerous felony violations¹⁴ of the penal¹⁵ law."

MART?NEZ: OK. Another case in New York brought by state Attorney General Letitia James - where does that stand?

BERNSTEIN: This is a separate civil investigation into whether Trump lied about his property values. Based on evidence and documents that the New York attorney general has already put in the public record, that alleged fraud could have had serious and wide-ranging financial consequences for state tax authorities, the business partners and for investors¹⁶.

MART?NEZ: How far along is that investigation?

BERNSTEIN: So people who have worked on this kind of case tell me we could see action very soon. It was well-developed as far back as January. And there's a reason the AG worked so hard to get the Trump deposition¹⁷. Even though he didn't say anything and invoked¹⁸ the Fifth Amendment, in New York, the attorney general can use a refusal to answer as, quote, "an adverse¹⁹ inference," meaning the penalties could be more severe. They could run to seeking to dissolve Trump's business or asking him to pay a staggering financial penalty.

MART?NEZ: All right. One more - really quick. What do we make of this, even as the former president is considering running again?

BERNSTEIN: There are a lot of investigations. And Trump and his supporters have used lots of ink and spent a lot of airtime talking about how all these investigations are unprecedented²⁰. And that's true. There hasn't been a post-presidency like this one. But there hasn't been a presidency like Donald Trump's, where his own biggest supporters said to him that his actions could be breaking the law.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Andrea Bernstein. Thanks a lot.

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 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 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。

4 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

5 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

6 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

7 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。

8 swirl   

v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形

参考例句：

• The car raced roughly along in a swirl of pink dust.汽车在一股粉红色尘土的漩涡中颠簸着快速前进。
• You could lie up there,watching the flakes swirl past.你可以躺在那儿，看着雪花飘飘。

9 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。

10 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。

11 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

12 compensating   

补偿，补助，修正

参考例句：

• I am able to set up compensating networks of nerve connections. 我能建立起补偿性的神经联系网。
• It is desirable that compensating cables be run in earthed conduit. 补偿导线最好在地下管道中穿过。

13 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。

14 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

15 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

16 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

17 deposition   

n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物

参考例句：

• It was this issue which led to the deposition of the king.正是这件事导致了国王被废黜。
• This leads to calcium deposition in the blood-vessels.这导致钙在血管中沉积。

18 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

20 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。