时代周刊:特朗普的税收政策威胁到国家安全了吗

Are Trump¹'s taxes a national-security risk?

特朗普的税收政策威胁到国家安全了吗？

One of the fastest ways to be denied a security clearance², intelligence officials will tell you, is to carry a load of debt.

要论放弃安全许可最快的方式，情报官员的答案是，背负沉重的债务算是其一。

And then there's President Donald Trump.

其次便是特朗普总统。

A recent New York Times report alleges³ that Trump has $421 million of debt, most of it coming due over the next four years.

《纽约时报》最近的一篇报道称，特朗普已经欠下了4.21亿美元的债务，其中大部分都将在未来四年内到期。

For a sitting President, such financial exposure is more than embarrassing, former intelligence officials and ethics⁴ lawyers say.

就一位在位总统而论，这样的财务缺口堪称极其丢脸，前情报官员和道德律师表示。

"These are legitimate⁵ counter-intelligence security concerns.

“这些都是合理的反情报安全担忧。

I would be shocked if agencies of the United States government were not doing what they could to monitor the President's connection to foreign governments" to ensure U.S. interests aren't compromised, says Mark Zaid,

我会十分震惊，如果美国政府机构没有尽其所能监控总统与外国政府的联系”，以确保没有损害到美国利益的话，马克·扎伊德说。

a D.C. attorney specializing in national security, who represents federal whistle-blowers.

扎伊德是华盛顿特区专门从事国家安全事务，代表联邦告密者 的一名律师。

It is not clear where Trump will turn when the loans come due; American banks are reportedly unwilling⁶ to loan him money.

贷款到期后特朗普会向何方求助目前尚不清楚；据报道，美国的银行都不愿借钱给他。

But if the dates reported by the Times are accurate,

但如果《纽约时报》报道的日期无误，

"a second term for President Trump would result in increased vulnerability—and thus, potentially, risk,"

“特朗普连任成功的话，美国的财务将变得更加脆弱——可能还会因此陷入更大的风险，”

says Robert Cardillo, former deputy director of the Defense⁷ Intelligence Agency.

美国国防情报局前副局长罗伯特·卡迪罗说。

Such a situation could make Trump an even more attractive target for foreign actors with deep pockets—and their own U.S. policy interests—and add a new dimension to his interactions with countries where he has previously⁸ pitched business ventures.

届时，特朗普将成为财力雄厚的外国势力——以及他们自己的，牵涉美国政策的利益——眼中更为诱人的目标，他与之前他曾投放过商业项目的国家的互动也将增加新的维度。

This would look less like traditional foreign influence and more like "personal financial pressure (that) could adversely⁹ affect U.S. national-security decisions," Cardillo says.

如此一来就不太像传统的外国干涉，而更像是“可能对美国国家安全决策产生不利影响的个人财政压力了，”卡迪罗说。

Trump, who broke a 40-year tradition among presidential candidates by refusing to release his tax returns in the 2016 election and has for years tried to block legal efforts to obtain them, has called the report "totally fake news."

打破了40年来的总统候选人传统，拒绝在2016年大选中公布自己的纳税申报单，多年来还一直试图阻止执法部门获取这些纳税申报单的特朗普称，《纽约时报》的报道是“彻头彻尾的假新闻”。

He has long claimed he can't release his tax information because it's under audit¹⁰;

长期以来，他一直声称他无法公布自己的税务信息，因为审计工作还未完结，

the IRS has said nothing is preventing him from doing so.

国税局表示，妨碍特朗普公开税务信息的阻力并不存在。

Any defensiveness¹¹ only makes Trump more vulnerable, say some experts.

特朗普的任何辩白都只会让他显得更加脆弱，一些专家表示。

"His continued efforts to hide his financial circumstances and lie about (them) would constitute a potential national-security threat,"

“他一再隐瞒自己的财务状况，对(此)谎话连篇，他的这些行为是有可能对国家安全构成威胁的，”

says John Sipher, a retired¹² 28-year veteran of the CIA's National Clandestine¹³ Service.

在中情局国家秘密服务局工作了28年的退休老兵约翰·西弗说。

"The fact that criminal or foreign intelligence groups might become aware of Trump's lies would provide them unacceptable leverage¹⁴."

“罪犯或外国情报组织可能会意识到特朗普在撒谎，他们可能因此拿到美国无法接受的筹码。”

Trump's debt raises red flags, says Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush Administration.

曾在乔治·W·布什政府担任白宫首席伦理律师的理查德·佩因特表示，特朗普的债务已经点亮了危险信号。

"We don't know how bad it is."

“我们只是不知道，情况到底有多糟。”

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 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

3 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

4 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。

5 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

6 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

7 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。

8 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。

9 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

10 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

11 defensiveness   

防御性

参考例句：

• The fear of being sued for malpractice has magnified physicians' defensiveness. 担心因医疗事故而被起诉的恐惧加剧了医生们的防卫心理。
• This outbreak of defensiveness embodies one paradox and several myths. 排外行动的爆发，体现了一个矛盾和几个“神话”。

12 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

13 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

14 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。