美国国家公共电台 NPR Donald Trump's Businesses Pose New Conflict Of Interest Questions

Donald Trump¹'s Businesses Pose New Conflict Of Interest Questions 

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And never before has someone been elected president owning the kind of complex network of businesses that Donald Trump operates. Trump has promised to turn his company over to his three grown children to run once he's sworn in. But, as NPR's Jim Zarroli reports, he's refused to do what other presidents have done to insulate himself from conflicts of interest.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE³: This is Donald Trump's new hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, not far from the White House. It's built in a grand old federal post office building. And Trump had to negotiate with the General Services Administration to build it. The lease allows Trump to renegotiate the terms under certain conditions. And former Federal Election Commission head Trevor Potter says that represents a big conflict of interest for the president-elect.

TREVOR POTTER: You're going to have a situation where the president appoints the head of GSA. And then the president's most visible asset in Washington is potentially subject to negotiation⁴ with that person over the terms of the lease and any changes in the lease.

ZARROLI: Potter says he's surprised there wasn't more attention focused during the campaign on the many potential problems that Trump's businesses might create. The president-elect has borrowed from foreign banks his administration will regulate. He does business in countries that are vital U.S. allies. And he has lots of pending⁵ lawsuits⁶ working their way through federal court.

POTTER: The number of problems is actually sort of mind-boggling.

ZARROLI: Though they're not required to, presidents have usually dealt with conflicts like these by putting their assets in a blind trust run by someone independent. Jimmy Carter did that with his peanut business. George W. Bush resigned as managing general partner of the Texas Rangers⁷ before becoming president.

Trump's situation is much more complex. Rather than divesting⁸ himself of his businesses, he says he'll turn them over to three of his grown children to run. Here he was at a debate last January.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DONALD TRUMP: I have Ivanka and Eric and Don sitting there. Run the company, kids. Have a good time. I'm going to do it for America.

ZARROLI: Trump promises he won't interfere⁹ with the decisions his kids make or even talk to them about business. Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, finds that hard to swallow.

ROBERT WEISSMAN: The idea that there's some independence there is laughable. There's zero reason to expect they wouldn't talk about those issues, given everything we know about how they relate and how those businesses are run.

ZARROLI: Weissman says even if Trump never talks to his children about company decisions, he built the company himself. So he's all too aware of what kinds of businesses he operates. And that can influence the decisions he makes as president. Would he, for instance, want one of his regulatory agencies to fine a big German bank that he owes money to? And just as important, Trevor Potter says, other countries could end up giving the Trump Organization special treatment in an effort to influence him.

POTTER: If his daughter or his son-in-law turns up in a foreign capital to negotiate a business deal on behalf of the Trump business, that foreign government is going to certainly think they're doing business with the family of the president of the United States, which indeed they will be.

ZARROLI: And because the Trump businesses are privately¹⁰ held, they don't have to release much information to the public about their operations. So there's going to be no real way to tell what Trump's companies are doing and how their goals may intersect or conflict with his administration's policies. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, Washington.

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 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 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。

4 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

5 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

6 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

7 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

8 divesting   

v.剥夺( divest的现在分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服

参考例句：

• Methods: The indication, methods and outcome of87 patients undergone laparoscopic ovarian cyst divesting surgery were analyzed. 方法对87例卵巢囊肿进行腹腔镜下剥出手术，严格把握操作要领。 来自互联网
• Conclusion The patients performed laparoscopic ovarian cyst divesting surgery had less complication and recovered soon. 结论腹腔镜下卵巢囊肿剥出术创伤小，术后恢复快并发症少，集诊断与治疗为一体，临床应用价值比较肯定。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。