美国国家公共电台 NPR--DOJ ups the pressure on Trump as it looks into his actions to overturn the election

DOJ ups the pressure on Trump¹ as it looks into his actions to overturn the election

Transcript²

NPR's Asma Khalid talks to former federal prosecutor³ Brian Jacobs about reports the Justice Department is looking at former President Trump's actions as part of its Jan. 6 criminal probe.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

The Justice Department appears to be ratcheting up the pressure on former President Donald Trump. According to The Washington Post and others, federal prosecutors⁴ are looking into Trump's actions to overturn the 2020 election results. That includes the DOJ taking a closer look at the so-called fake elector scheme. To talk about what this all means, I'm joined now by former federal prosecutor Brian Jacobs, who served as deputy chief of appeals in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Good morning, Brian.

BRIAN JACOBS: Good morning. Thank you for having me.

KHALID: Thank you. So what do these reports tell us about the direction of the Justice Department's investigation⁵?

JACOBS: Well, the DOJ clearly has been investigating the events of January 6 since January 6 itself. Hundreds of people have been charged with crimes coming out of that - of the events that day. What the recent reports tell us is that the focus of the DOJ's investigation may increasingly be turning to the actions of the former president and his aides, the actions that have been the subject of the January 6 committee hearings.

KHALID: But to be clear, the department has not opened a specific investigation into Trump himself.

JACOBS: There are no reports saying that the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into one particular person or another. But the reports do suggest the focus is increasingly on former President Trump's conduct.

KHALID: Attorney General Merrick Garland gave an interview to NBC that aired earlier this week. And, you know, when he was asked about the possibility of indicting⁶ the former president, he responded this way.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS")

MERRICK GARLAND: We intend to hold everyone - anyone - who was criminally responsible for events surrounding January 6 for any attempt to interfere⁷ with the lawful⁸ transfer of power from one administration to another accountable.

KHALID: But, you know, Brian, in the 200-plus-year history here in the United States, not a single former president has ever been indicted⁹ for criminal conduct. And so I'm curious what you think makes this case different.

JACOBS: What makes this case different, in substantial part, is the character and quality of the evidence that has emerged - so far, at least - from the January 6 committee hearings - and it's available right now for the public to see - regarding what the former president did on January 6 and in the days leading up to it. I think the conduct that's being reported is unprecedented¹⁰. Just as you say, the charges against a former president are unprecedented. Certainly, there have been charges against many current and former public officials throughout the country's history.

KHALID: You know, there is certainly talk that the former president is mulling another presidential run. Could that possibly, you know, protect him from being indicted? Could it factor in to the DOJ investigation?

JACOBS: I think prosecutors in the Department of Justice all know that they are not allowed to select the timing¹¹ of investigative steps or criminal charges for the purpose of effecting any election. There's a general policy of non-interference. At the same time, prosecutors generally follow the evidence and bring cases that are justified¹² by the evidence. If the former president were to announce a run and were to be running for office again, the question is how would that impact a potential criminal case? I think it would certainly weigh on prosecutors. I think it would ratchet up the importance of building a strong case, a solid case, a case that would get past a jury and that would prove guilt¹³ beyond a reasonable doubt. But if that case is there, I don't think that the fact that the former president is - has announced a run for office or is running for office would change the - what the DOJ does.

KHALID: You know, we've got about 30 seconds or so left. And I wanted to hear what your perspective is on how important this case is for the country - the country is certainly deeply divided, and this president remains¹⁴ enormously popular with a subset of Americans - but also what it means for the reputation of the Justice Department.

JACOBS: It is an incredibly important case. We saw with Steve Bannon's conviction that juries can follow the law and convict and put politics aside. And in a case of this magnitude, I think we would expect the same, that the Department of Justice and juries will look at the evidence, assess the evidence, and try to come to a result that is based on the evidence rather than based on politics.

KHALID: All right. Well, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.

JACOBS: Thank you.

KHALID: That's former federal prosecutor Brian Jacobs.

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 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 indicting   

控告，起诉( indict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• But Moreno-Ocampo stressed he was not indicting President Bashir. 但是奥坎波强调，他并不是在起诉巴希尔总统。
• He says that indicting the journalists is just another move at Washington. 尹德民说，起诉这两名记者就是针对华盛顿的另一个行动。

7 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

8 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

9 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。

10 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

11 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

12 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

13 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。