美国国家公共电台 NPR Senators Grill Trump Judicial Nominees On Provocative Blog Posts

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There are more than 130 vacancies¹ on the U.S. federal courts. And now, President Trump² has started to fill some of those jobs. The number is unusually large because in the last years of the Obama administration, Republicans blocked dozens of Obama appointments. Now, the Trump nominees⁴ to fill those same judicial⁵ seats are coming before the Senate Judiciary Committee. And there are some surprising results. Here's NPR's Nina Totenberg.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE⁶: You might call this week's group of nominees the bloviating bloggers. At their confirmation⁷ hearing, 2 of the 3 nominees found themselves trying to explain hundreds of what they admitted were often intemperate⁸ and very political blog posts, posts that range from the radical⁹ rant¹⁰ to those full of conspiracy¹¹ theories and false allegations.

The two bloggers took different approaches in their testimony¹². John Bush, a Kentucky lawyer nominated for the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, said he regretted some of his 400-plus blog posts all under a fake name. And he maintained that the beliefs he expressed there would not carry over to his conduct as a judge.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN BUSH: Blogging is a political activity. It is not appropriate to bring politics to the bench. And if I'm fortunate enough to be confirmed, I will not bring politics to the bench.

TOTENBERG: Among the posts Bush said he now regrets is one that equated¹³ the Supreme¹⁴ Court's 1857 decision upholding slavery with the court's 1973 abortion¹⁵ decision Roe¹⁶ v. Wade¹⁷. Questioned by a skeptical¹⁸ Senator Dianne Feinstein, Bush said this.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BUSH: I would follow Roe v. Wade and all the decisions that have come after that.

DIANNE FEINSTEIN: You're under oath.

BUSH: I am. I understand that.

FEINSTEIN: Correct.

BUSH: My role as a circuit judge is to apply the law of the Supreme Court.

TOTENBERG: Democrat¹⁹ Al Franken asked Bush about a variety of his posts that cited alt-right reports containing conspiracy theories and false information, such as the claim that President Obama was not born in the United States. Franken repeatedly asked Bush how he decided²⁰ which sources to rely on for information, pointing to one source which Franken called a, quote, "white nationalist propaganda organ filled with hate speech."

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

AL FRANKEN: How did you decide that World News Daily is a credible²¹ source?

BUSH: I don't know whether I decided that or not. I just really cannot remember that particular...

FRANKEN: So you were free - you felt free to put posts out that cite sources that you knew were not credible?

BUSH: No, Senator, I'm not saying that.

FRANKEN: What are you saying?

BUSH: I'm saying that as a blogger, I was making political statements.

TOTENBERG: Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana seemed unpersuaded.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN KENNEDY: Mr. Bush, I've read your blogs. I'm not impressed.

TOTENBERG: While Bush adopted an apologetic tone, a second nominee³, Damien Schiff, was far more confrontational²². Schiff, named to the Court of Federal Claims, has a very conservative record, challenging everything from environmental regulations to health and safety rules and gay rights laws.

In one of his many blog posts, Schiff called Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy a judicial prostitute. He said that Kennedy, who often casts the fifth and deciding vote in closely divided cases, is, quote, "selling his vote to four other justices in exchange for the high that comes from aggrandizement²³ of power and influence and the blandishments of the fawning²⁴ media." Schiff only marginally backed away from those words yesterday.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DAMIEN SCHIFF: I'd also like to clarify that the point of that blog post was not to impugn²⁵ or malign²⁶ any person but rather to attack a certain style of judging that is frequently applauded in the media.

TOTENBERG: That seemed to satisfy the committee's Republicans except for Louisiana's Kennedy, who looked disgusted at the end of the hearing but said he'd not decided how he'll vote. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

1 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

5 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

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 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

8 intemperate   

adj.无节制的，放纵的

参考例句：

• Many people felt threatened by Arther's forceful,sometimes intemperate style.很多人都觉得阿瑟的强硬的、有时过激的作风咄咄逼人。
• The style was hurried,the tone intemperate.匆促的笔调，放纵的语气。

9 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

10 rant   

v.咆哮；怒吼；n.大话；粗野的话

参考例句：

• You can rant and rave at the fine,but you'll still have to pay it.你闹也好，骂也好，罚金还是得交。
• If we rant on the net,the world is our audience.如果我们在网络上大声嚷嚷，全世界都是我们的听众。

11 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

12 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。

13 equated   

adj.换算的v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的过去式和过去分词 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• Production costs for the movie equated to around 30% of income. 这部电影的制作成本相当于收益的30%。
• Politics cannot be equated with art. 政治不能同艺术等同起来。

14 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

15 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

16 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

17 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

18 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

19 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

20 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

21 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

22 confrontational   

adj.挑衅的；对抗的

参考例句：

• Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
• You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端，你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网

23 aggrandizement   

n.增大，强化，扩大

参考例句：

• Her sole aim is personal aggrandizement. 她唯一的目的就是扩大个人权势。
• His sole aim is personal aggrandizement. 他唯一的目标就是要扩充个人的权势。 来自辞典例句

24 fawning   

adj.乞怜的，奉承的v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的现在分词 )；巴结；讨好

参考例句：

• The servant worn a fawning smile. 仆人的脸上露出一种谄笑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Then, what submission, what cringing and fawning, what servility, what abject humiliation! 好一个低眉垂首、阿谀逢迎、胁肩谄笑、卑躬屈膝的场面！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

25 impugn   

v.指责，对…表示怀疑

参考例句：

• Nobody can impugn his ability.没有人对他的能力表示怀疑。
• The Secretary's letter questions my veracity and impugns my motives.部长的来信怀疑我的诚实，质疑我的动机。

26 malign   

adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑

参考例句：

• It was easy to see why the cartoonists regularly portrayed him as a malign cherub.难怪漫画家总是把他画成一个邪恶的小天使。
• She likes to malign innocent persons.她爱诋毁那些清白的人。