美国国家公共电台 NPR Prosecutors Conclude Arguments Against Paul Manafort In Bank And Tax Fraud Trial

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today, defense¹ lawyers get their opportunity in the trial of Paul Manafort. President Trump²'s former campaign chairman is on trial for bank and tax fraud, and prosecutors³ finished their case yesterday as NPR justice reporter Ryan Lucas looked on from the courtroom.

Hey there, Ryan.

RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE⁵: Hello. Good morning.

INSKEEP: How'd the prosecution⁶ finish its case?

LUCAS: Well, on Monday, jurors heard from James Brennan. He's an executive at the Federal Savings⁷ Bank. And this is a bank that loaned Manafort $16 million in late 2016 and early 2017. Now, Brennan was one of the government witnesses who was testifying under an immunity⁸ agreement. He said that he had concerns about Manafort's financials. But at least one of the loans that the bank gave Manafort was pushed through, Brennan said, because the bank's chairman, Steve Calk, wanted it approved.

Now, the jury heard last week from another executive with the same bank about how Calk became chummy with Manafort in 2016 and that Calk wanted a job in the Trump administration. So, in total, the government presented 27 witnesses over 10 days. And then right around 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon, prosecutor⁴ Greg Andres stood up in the courtroom and said, the government rests its case.

INSKEEP: OK. So I'm just thinking about that transaction you just detailed⁹. We have a suggestion that Paul Manafort used his position close to candidate and then President Trump to get a bank loan that he might not otherwise have gotten. That's one of many allegations. What does the prosecution's overall case add up to here?

LUCAS: Well, over the past two weeks, the government has worked to try to show that Manafort made millions of dollars from political consulting work in Ukraine, and then he hid a lot of that income in shell companies and bank accounts overseas, mostly in Cyprus. They say that when that income dried up after the Ukrainian leader that Manafort was working for was overthrown¹⁰ in a popular uprising - when that money stream ran out, the government says that Manafort started lying to U.S. banks to qualify for loans. And he did this, the government says, to maintain this high-rolling lifestyle that he was accustomed to.

Now, prosecutors called to the stand sellers of luxury menswear, owners of landscape companies, luxury car dealers¹¹ to testify to what Manafort spent his money on. They brought in accountants and bookkeepers to testify about his finances and what he told them and, more importantly, perhaps, what he withheld¹² - what information he withheld. There were representatives of the IRS and the Treasury¹³ to talk about money and tax returns. And then the last part of the case was bankers to testify about Manafort's loan applications. And throughout all of this, there was a substantial paper trail to back up the witness testimony¹⁴.

INSKEEP: And, of course, we got to see photos of his wardrobe along the way. What about the defense here? What is the case that can be made for Paul Manafort?

LUCAS: Well, the defense will have its chance to call witnesses if it wants to do so. We'll hear from Manafort's lawyers on that point today. There's also the question of whether Manafort will testify. We don't expect him to, but there's that option. Overall, though, the main crux¹⁵ of Manafort's defense has been that, sure, he may have made mistakes, but it wasn't intentional¹⁶; he wasn't intentionally¹⁷ breaking the law. And they say that any wrongdoing isn't his fault. Instead, they've tried to pin the blame on the government's star witness in this case. That's Manafort's former deputy, Rick Gates.

Now, Gates, you'll remember, was indicted¹⁸ alongside Manafort. He eventually pleaded guilty and became a cooperating witness, and he testified in this case against Manafort. Now, Gates was subjected to a very effective and I would say bruising¹⁹ cross-examination over the course of three days last week, and the aim was to tarnish²⁰ his credibility.

INSKEEP: Which is a useful point to remember - sometimes, you find a defense team that will decide to present no case and essentially²¹ argue that the prosecution didn't make its case.

LUCAS: Right. And the defense has actually put forward motions to have the charges tossed out. This is pretty standard. Manafort's lawyers say that they want to focus in particular on some of the bank fraud charges. They say the government really hasn't proven its case there. We'll hear from the judge on those this morning. And then we still have closing arguments and jury instructions, so still a little ways to go in this.

INSKEEP: Ryan, pleasure talking with you. Thanks very much.

LUCAS: Thank you.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Ryan Lucas.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

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 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。

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 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。

6 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

7 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

8 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

9 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。

10 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

11 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

12 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

14 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。

15 crux   

adj.十字形；难事，关键，最重要点

参考例句：

• The crux of the matter is how to comprehensively treat this trend.问题的关键是如何全面地看待这种趋势。
• The crux of the matter is that attitudes have changed.问题的要害是人们的态度转变了。

16 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

17 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

18 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

19 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

20 tarnish   

n.晦暗，污点；vt.使失去光泽；玷污

参考例句：

• The affair could tarnish the reputation of the prime minister.这一事件可能有损首相的名誉。
• Stainless steel products won't tarnish.不锈钢产品不会失去光泽。

21 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。