美国国家公共电台 NPR--The felony tax fraud trial of the Trump Organization is winding down

The felony tax fraud trial of the Trump¹ Organization is winding² down

Transcript³

Closing arguments are underway in the Trump Organization's tax fraud trial in New York. Defense⁴ attorneys claim a former senior executive committed crimes to benefit himself.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A federal appeals court has ruled that former President Trump is not entitled to a special master independent review of documents that the Justice Department seized from his Mar-a-Lago resort. That ruling removes the hurdle⁵ that Justice said was delaying its criminal investigation⁶ into the handling of top-secret government information it says that it recovered from Trump's residence.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Meanwhile, prosecutors⁷ are expected to make their closing arguments this morning in the felony tax fraud trial of the Trump Organization. Defense lawyers had their turn yesterday.

MARTIN: And that's what we're going to discuss with NPR's Ilya Marritz. He's been watching the Trump Organization trial over the course of the past month. He joins us now from New York. Good morning, Ilya.

ILYA MARRITZ, BYLINE⁸: Good morning.

MARTIN: We're saying again that this is the first time this has happened. A former president's business was charged with crimes in court. What moments have stood out for you as you watched all this?

MARRITZ: It's just really unusual circumstances. The evidence shown to the jury included checks signed by Donald Trump and a lease agreement he signed, both from the time before he became president. If I had to pick a moment, though, it would probably be the testimony⁹ of the star witness, former Trump Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.

MARTIN: Yeah, this is the executive who pleaded guilty to tax crimes last summer, right?

MARRITZ: Yes. And he made a plea deal with prosecutors in August that, in exchange for a lighter¹⁰ sentence, he would testify truthfully at this trial of the Trump Organization. And for hours in the witness box, Allen Weisselberg explained how, as CFO in the company, he found all these ways to cheat on his personal taxes, paying himself in undeclared benefits like cars and an apartment. His demeanor¹¹ was sober. He showed very little emotion. And then it was the defense's turn to cross-examine him. And right off the bat, Weisselberg was asked about whether he betrayed the Trump family's trust. And he said yes. And his voice broke. He sounded like he might cry as he described his embarrassment¹². Well, yesterday, the defense reminded the jury of this standout emotional moment because they believe it supports the idea that Weisselberg cheated on his taxes on his own initiative to benefit himself. He wasn't thinking of the company.

MARTIN: So what does that mean for prosecutors? How have they been responding to that?

MARRITZ: Right. So they began their summation¹³ late yesterday, and they ridiculed¹⁴ the idea that Weisselberg betrayed the Trump family. And they pointed¹⁵ out yet another unusual thing about the case, which is that Weisselberg, who ostensibly has turned on his codefendant to make a deal with prosecutors, is in fact still employed by the Trump Organization. There was a birthday party for Weisselberg in Trump Tower on the day he pleaded guilty in August. So that's not exactly showing your disappointment with someone who betrayed you. And prosecutors reminded jurors that there's a lot of documentary evidence showing that quite a few company executives were improperly¹⁶ paid as freelancers¹⁷. That saved the Trump Corporation on Medicare taxes, and it allowed these executives to take tax deductions¹⁸ that are really only intended for truly self-employed people - win-win. So if the defense's story is that there was one executive going way out of line, prosecutors want the jury to see a culture of rampant¹⁹ cheating.

MARTIN: OK, so what do we look for next here?

MARRITZ: Right. Prosecutors will finish their summations²⁰ this morning. We expect the judge to give jury instructions on Monday. That will be key to helping²¹ jurors understand what exactly constitutes criminal liability when the accused is not a person, but a business. And then it will be up to 12 Manhattanites whether Donald Trump becomes the first ex-president to see his business convicted of a crime.

MARTIN: NPR's Ilya Marritz, thank you.

MARRITZ: You're welcome.

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 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

3 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。

4 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。

5 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

11 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

12 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

13 summation   

n.总和；最后辩论

参考例句：

• The exhibition was a summation of his life's work.这次展览汇集了他一生中典型的作品。
• The defense attorney phrased his summation at last.最后，辩护律师作了辩论总结。

14 ridiculed   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Biosphere 2 was ultimately ridiculed as a research debade, as exfravagant pseudoscience. 生物圈2号最终被讥讽为科研上的大失败，代价是昂贵的伪科学。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ridiculed his insatiable greed. 她嘲笑他的贪得无厌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

16 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

17 freelancers   

n.自由作家，自由记者( freelancer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A lot of proof-reading is put out to freelancers. 校对工作有很多是请外人做的。 来自辞典例句
• Its benefits plan for freelancers is highly competitive in the industry. 在本行业内它的福利方案是很有竞争力的。 来自互联网

18 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。

19 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

20 summations   

n.总和( summation的名词复数 )；加在一起；总结；概括

参考例句：

• The summations of forces in this and that directions must be zero. 在这个和那个方向上的合力必定为零。 来自辞典例句
• Summations are almost invariably indicated ellipses instead of the more prevalent sigma notation. 在表示“连加”的式子中，几乎一成不变地使用省略号来代替更为流行的“∑”符号。 来自辞典例句

21 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。