美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump's Pick For Attorney General Known For Hard-Line Immigration Stance

Trump¹'s Pick For Attorney General Known For Hard-Line Immigration Stance

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0000:00repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser² to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: 

Now we're going to talk about who Donald Trump wants at the top of the Justice Department, someone who drew protests on Capitol Hill today.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Reject.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Sessions.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Reject.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Sessions.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Reject.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Sessions.

MCEVERS: That's Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, the first Republican senator to back Trump. His tough stance on immigration and 30-year-old allegations of racism³ are sure to draw scrutiny⁴. Here's NPR's Debbie Elliott.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE⁵: Long before Donald Trump was winning primaries or picking up political endorsements⁷, he had a conservative ally in the Deep South. Here he is campaigning in Alabama in August of last year.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DONALD TRUMP: We have a man here who really helped me. And he was the one person a man here who really helped one person I sought his counsel because he's been so spot-on. He's so highly respected. Has anybody ever heard of Senator Jeff Sessions?

ELLIOTT: In a foreshadowing of the endorsement⁶ that would come later, Sessions joined Trump on stage in his hometown Mobile, donning a make America great baseball cap.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEFF SESSIONS: Thank you for the work that you put into the immigration issue. I'm really impressed with your plan.

ELLIOTT: Well before Trump's plan to build a wall, Sessions was a border hawk⁸. From his post as chairman of the Judiciary Committee's immigration panel, he's long been the Senate's leading voice against illegal immigration and expanding guest worker programs. Here he is 10 years ago calling for tougher enforcement.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SESSIONS: Do we want to have a legal system or not? Are we once again creating a facade⁹?

ELLIOTT: The 69-year-old Sessions was first elected to the Senate 20 years ago. He's a former Alabama attorney general and U.S. attorney. In a statement from the transition team, Sessions said he embraces, quote, "Trump's vision for one America and his commitment to equal justice under the law." Civil rights groups question that commitment.

JOANNE LIN: I mean, this is reactionary¹⁰.

ELLIOTT: Joanne Lin is legislative¹¹ council at the ACLU. She calls Sessions the most anti-immigrant voice in Congress.

LIN: This is trying to take us back to a time when our country was anything but equal, anything but fair.

ELLIOTT: His Senate Judiciary colleagues will be looking beyond Sessions' immigration views and confirmation¹² hearings for attorney general. Expect the last time he was there to come up. It was 1986, and President Ronald Reagan had named Sessions to a federal judgeship. But the nomination¹³ was derailed by charges of racial insensitivity. Testimony¹⁴ included allegations he targeted civil rights leaders for prosecution¹⁵ and that he joked he thought the Ku Klux Klan was OK until he found out they smoked pot. At the time, Sessions said he was not the person his detractors were portraying¹⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SESSIONS: I am not a racist¹⁷. I am not insensitive to blacks. I have done my job with integrity, equality and fairness for all.

ELLIOTT: Now Sessions sits on the very panel that rejected his nomination to the federal bench. Former Republican Congressman¹⁸ Jo Bonner of Alabama says senators won't be swayed by what he calls a character assassination¹⁹ from the past.

JO BONNER: That was wrong then and it is equally wrong today. I don't think that will slow his nomination down one iota²⁰.

ELLIOTT: But expect a fight. NAACP president Cornell William Brooks²¹ says the prospect²² of Sessions as the nation's top law enforcement officer is deeply troubling.

CORNELL WILLIAM BROOKS: The president-elect has called for an expansion of stop-and-frisk. And he's nominated a senator with an atrocious record on civil rights. A and B do not spell justice for most Americans.

ELLIOTT: In announcing his nomination for attorney general, President-elect Trump called Sessions a world-class legal mind. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.

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 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

4 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

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 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

7 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网

8 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

9 facade   

n.(建筑物的)正面，临街正面；外表

参考例句：

• The entrance facade consists of a large full height glass door.入口正面有一大型全高度玻璃门。
• If you look carefully,you can see through Bob's facade.如果你仔细观察，你就能看穿鲍勃的外表。

10 reactionary   

n.反动者，反动主义者；adj.反动的，反动主义的，反对改革的

参考例句：

• They forced thousands of peasants into their reactionary armies.他们迫使成千上万的农民参加他们的反动军队。
• The reactionary ruling clique was torn by internal strife.反动统治集团内部勾心斗角，四分五裂。

11 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

12 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

13 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

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 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。

16 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

17 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

18 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

19 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

20 iota   

n.些微，一点儿

参考例句：

• There is not an iota of truth in his story.他的故事没有一点是真的。
• He's never shown an iota of interest in any kind of work.他从来没有对任何工作表现出一点儿兴趣。

21 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。