美国国家公共电台 NPR--Justice Department asks a federal court to unseal warrant used to search Mar-a-Lago

Justice Department asks a federal court to unseal warrant used to search Mar-a-Lago

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to former federal prosecutor² Renato Mariotti about U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland's request to unseal the warrant for the FBI search of Donald Trump³'s home.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Former President Donald Trump says he will not oppose the release of documents related to the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home. Attorney General Merrick Garland yesterday said the Justice Department had asked a federal court in Florida to unseal them. But he also noted⁴ that the former president could have made them public at any time.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MERRICK GARLAND: Both the warrant and the FBI property receipt were provided on the day of the search to the former president's counsel, who was onsite during the search.

MART?NEZ: Garland spoke⁵ just hours after an attempted attack on an FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio. And he condemned⁶ the violent attacks and threats and rhetoric⁷ that he said are being aimed at DOJ officials and FBI agents.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GARLAND: I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked.

MART?NEZ: For more, we're joined now by former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. Renato, did the Justice Department wait too long to ask for the release of these documents?

RENATO MARIOTTI: I don't think so. In fact, in a typical case, you would expect that there wouldn't be a request at this point in time to have these documents released. You know, in the past, the Justice Department had spoken, for example, in the Clinton investigation⁸, outside the bounds of what you would ordinarily see in an investigation. And that didn't turn out very well. So I think it was wise for the Justice Department to take a very careful course here.

MART?NEZ: The public pressure, do you think that had something to do with this?

MARIOTTI: Well, no question. I think that a lot of it had to do with misinformation that there was in the media. I note that the attorney general went out of his way to correct some inaccuracies that had been floating around in his statement. And I think he heard the outcry from many, including many elected officials. And I think that definitely played a role in this decision.

MART?NEZ: Do you think, though, it will make a difference to critics? I mean, after all, the underlying⁹ affidavits¹¹ with detailed¹² evidence are not part of this request for the court. So do you think what we're going to see when we see it will make that much of a difference?

MARIOTTI: No. And to be very blunt, I mean, I think even if the affidavit¹⁰ was released and Merrick Garland answered every question that they had, I just think that there are ultimately...

MART?NEZ: (Laughter).

MARIOTTI: ...Are critics who are going to criticize this because they're going to, you know, criticize the Justice Department if it is searching a residence of Donald Trump regardless.

MART?NEZ: So considering that, then why do it? I mean, do we go back to just trying to set the record straight?

MARIOTTI: Well, I think there's a couple of reasons. One is that because the Justice Department was saying nothing - and that was usually the course, of course, that the Justice Department takes - I think it was creating a vacuum. And it allowed the former president to fill that vacuum with misinformation. Essentially¹³, he was able to hold back the warrant and the inventory¹⁴ that he did have in his possession and, basically, spin a misleading narrative¹⁵ of the facts. And what this did is it essentially, you know, ended that vacuum by putting out some accurate information and, essentially, I would say, forced the former president's hand. I mean, he has been saying that he wants everything public but deliberately¹⁶ hasn't released the information that he had. And so essentially, the Justice Department called his bluff¹⁷ on that.

MART?NEZ: It's always amazing, though, how saying nothing can sound so loud.

MARIOTTI: Absolutely. I actually think it added a power to the statement that Garland did make. I mean, it's interesting, right? He had a very short statement. It was only about 4 minutes long. But it definitely had a power, even though he didn't say much because there was all this silence. And it was clear that he was taking great care to say as little as possible to protect the integrity of the investigation and to take care of the rights of, in this case, a person who has not been charged.

MART?NEZ: So let's say we go to release these documents, how detailed of a picture will we get about what exactly was seized?

MARIOTTI: Well, you'll get a detailed picture of exactly what was seized because the inventory will have a detailed list. And essentially, the list will be sufficient to identify each of the items that was seized well enough to ensure that if something wasn't returned that there would be some record that the owner of the property could use to try to make a claim against it later. That's kind of the reason that you have an inventory like that, is so that the property holder¹⁸ can say, hey, I didn't get my snowblower back or whatever was seized by the FBI in a typical case. What we won't see, of course, is a lot of the underlying evidence...

MART?NEZ: Yeah.

MARIOTTI: ...That was used to obtain the warrant.

MART?NEZ: What kind of conclusion could a rational observer get from what we might see?

MARIOTTI: Well, I - you know, if reports are accurate that this is regarding highly classified information, including potential nuclear secrets, then I think the information that an observer could get is, first of all, potentially the sheer volume of classified information that was on the president's residence at the time. You may get some detail regarding a very, very high level, vague information regarding what that was about. So that could give you a sense of whether it's the sort of information that he would have had a purpose in having in his residence or keeping after his presidency¹⁹. And I think you'll also, you know, through that list, potentially get a sense of why the Justice Department may have had some reason why they thought they needed to go in and get this information.

MART?NEZ: Yeah. So it sounds like it could be crucial then, these documents, if prosecutors²⁰ want to make a case against the former president.

MARIOTTI: Oh, I think that's absolutely right. And I think, also, it will justify²¹ the search potentially or not. I mean, in other words - you know, there was a tagline that the former president was using right after the search saying, if they did it to me, they could do it to you. Well, I don't have sensitive nuclear secrets in my basement. And...

MART?NEZ: That we know of, Renato, that we know of.

MARIOTTI: There you go. Well, I think if they did, they would not have sent me a subpoena²² and asked politely for the nuclear secrets back. I think the FBI would have, you know, beat down my door quite some time ago.

MART?NEZ: One more thing, quickly. Does the Justice Department have any obligation to offer any kind of legal protection for Donald Trump's rights if he's charged with a crime?

MARIOTTI: Well, no, they do not. I mean, not in this instance. There would be no legal obligation for them to do so.

MART?NEZ: Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. Thanks a lot.

MARIOTTI: Thank you.

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 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

8 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。

9 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

10 affidavit   

n.宣誓书

参考例句：

• I gave an affidavit to the judge about the accident I witnessed.我向法官提交了一份关于我目击的事故的证词。
• The affidavit was formally read to the court.书面证词正式向出席法庭的人宣读了。

11 affidavits   

n.宣誓书，（经陈述者宣誓在法律上可采作证据的）书面陈述( affidavit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The woman offered written affidavits proving that she was the widow of Pancho Villa. 这女人提供书面证书，证明自己是庞科·比亚的遗孀。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The appeal was adjourned for affidavits to be obtained. 为获得宣誓证明书，上诉被推迟。 来自口语例句

12 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

13 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

14 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

15 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

16 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

17 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

18 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

19 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。

20 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。

21 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？

22 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。