美国国家公共电台 NPR--FBI searched Biden's vacation home as part of the classified document probe

FBI searched Biden's vacation home as part of the classified document probe

Transcript¹

The FBI searched another home owned by President Biden, and took away some handwritten notes. We take a closer look at what this means for the ongoing² classified documents investigation³.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The FBI has searched President Biden's beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Del. It's all part of an ongoing special counsel investigation into Biden's handling of classified material.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Now, Biden's personal attorneys say no documents with classified markings were found, but the FBI did take some materials and handwritten notes with them.

INSKEEP: NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith is on this story. Tam, good morning.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

INSKEEP: Did the president agree to this search in advance?

KEITH: Yes. The president's team said the search was conducted in coordination⁵ and cooperation with the Justice Department. Here's Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House Counsel's Office.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

IAN SAMS: We're cooperating fully⁶ with the Justice Department and ensuring that they have access to the house, the Rehoboth house, today, the Wilmington house previously⁷, to be able to do a thorough search. And it's because the president is moving quickly to get them access to the information that they need so that they can move forward with a thorough review that's thorough and it's done efficiently⁸.

KEITH: The president and his team clearly want this over with as quickly as possible.

INSKEEP: They naturally would want that, but this story just goes on and on. How does this search add to what we had learned through the search last month of the president's home in Wilmington?

KEITH: Right. So the Wilmington search lasted more than 12 hours, and the FBI left with six items that the president's lawyer said consisted of documents with classified markings and surrounding materials. This one was shorter. It lasted 3 1/2 hours. And there were no documents with markings. But in both cases, the FBI took other materials and handwritten notes. The president's attorney, Bob Bauer, said he believes that these date back to Biden's time as vice⁹ president. And they are being taken for further review.

INSKEEP: What does that mean?

KEITH: You wouldn't expect handwritten notes to have classified markings, but that doesn't mean they aren't of interest to the special counsel investigation. I reached out to Norm Eisen, who was an ethics¹⁰ lawyer in the Obama administration.

NORM EISEN: They will be looking at documents and at handwritten notes, even if they don't bear classification markings, for any classified information that may be contained therein. That can be a very time-consuming process because you literally¹¹ go sentence by sentence and even phrase by phrase to assess.

KEITH: And time-consuming is not the phrase that Biden and his team have been angling for.

INSKEEP: OK. Well, what happens if they look through these notes and do find something that appears to be classified information?

FADEL: Eisen says that there have been plenty of prosecutions¹² for mishandling classified documents. But in those cases, there was intent. And he says he has seen no indication that Biden even knew he had these files in his home, much less that he purposely hid classified materials in his house. And that is one of the differences with the ongoing special counsel investigation into former President Trump's handling of classified documents. He and his legal team actively¹³ resisted returning documents to the National Archives and may have misled the government about what he had in his possession.

INSKEEP: OK, so there are questions. For example, what is on these handwritten notes? But what other questions are still out there for the special counsel?

KEITH: Well - or for the public. We don't know the number of documents involved. We don't know the contents of these documents or whether other sites could be searched. Earlier this week, it was widely reported that the FBI had searched an office that Biden had used previously back in November. That's something that the president's team keeps sidestepping altogether. There's a rule of thumb in politics, in crisis, that you should get out all the information you can as quickly as you can and get the bad headlines out of the way and move on. In this case, that's just not been happening. It's been coming out slowly.

INSKEEP: NPR's Tamara Keith. Thanks so much.

KEITH: You're welcome.

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 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 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。

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 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

9 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。

10 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。

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

12 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

13 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。