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How To Write A Resignation Letter In The Middle Of A Scandal

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Donald Trump¹ released a statement today saying his campaign chairman had resigned. Trump thanked Paul Manafort for his great work, called him a true professional, but did not say why Manafort was leaving. Yesterday, the Associated Press revealed that Manafort's lobbying firm had secretly done work for pro-Kremlin Ukrainian officials. Manafort has not released a statement or resignation letter. But if he does, there's a good chance that it won't say everything. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports resignation letters are often works of fiction, though not always.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE²: Juda Engelmayer has seen his share of corporate³ scandals.

JUDA ENGELMAYER: Failures, lawsuits⁴, arrests, financial breakdowns⁵, tainted⁶ food.

NOGUCHI: All things he's handled as head of Crisis Communications for 5W Public Relations. It's no fun, he says, dethroning a Titan over a big mistake.

ENGELMAYER: Counseling a client who's done something wrong and trying to, A, convince them that they've done something wrong, B, telling them to come out and say it to the public that's loved and adored them for a long time - not easy to do.

NOGUCHI: Engelmayer says there are shareholders⁷ and potential lawsuits to consider. So, often, the less said, the better, especially when there's a pending⁸ investigation⁹ or emotions are running very high. And that's also why so many end up saying, I want to spend time with my family.

ENGELMAYER: It's code for, I'm not going to be around. It's code for, because of what's happening, not only am I leaving this company, but I'm most likely not going to be employed by another company for a long time. You're not going to see me. You're not going to see my face come up or my name come up for a while.

NOGUCHI: In one classic example, Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling cited personal reasons for his abrupt¹⁰ resignation months before the company filed bankruptcy¹¹. He was later convicted on 19 counts of fraud and other crimes.

The point of resigning amid scandal is to get out of the way, to try to stop the chatter¹². Many just end up prolonging the pain by neither resigning nor apologizing straight up.

Think of Bill Clinton's parsing¹³ of words about his affair with Monica Lewinsky or, earlier this year, when Alabama Governor Robert Bentley issued a perplexing statement after an affair with an aide was revealed.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ROBERT BENTLEY: I love many members of my staff - in fact, all the members of my staff. Do I love more than I do others - than I do - you know, some more than others? Absolutely.

NOGUCHI: So is there anyone who can apologize and handle an ousting¹⁴ with aplomb¹⁵? Andrew Mason gets props¹⁶ for his resignation style. Mason founded Groupon and took it public. But by March 2013, it faced cascading¹⁷ problems in its accounting¹⁸, declining revenue and stock price.

ANDREW MASON: I got fired, and I went home and I sat on my couch, and I wrote the letter.

NOGUCHI: The letter opened with, I'd like to spend more time with my family - just kidding. I was fired today. Mason, now CEO of a walking-tour company called Detour¹⁹, says he cringes at most resignation letters.

MASON: They often go to such great lengths to convince you that they weren't fired or that the company will be beleaguered²⁰ and in the middle of an extremely-high level of crisis. And they don't even mention that. And it just struck me as so insincere, so I just didn't want to be that.

NOGUCHI: People embraced his unflinching approach - talking about missed financial expectations, his own accountability and joking about shipping²¹ off to a fat farm. Based on the response, Mason thought others might follow.

MASON: For a while, I was hoping that my resignation letter might catalyze²² a change in tone or approach, a broader change in approach, and it hasn't at all.

NOGUCHI: He says he might have felt more pressure to be more opaque²³ if he'd been thinking about a new job or raising money for a new venture, but Mason says he wasn't.

MASON: To lie about that would give me a sense of shame. And it was just the wrong way to end it, and I wanted to go out on a note that allowed me to be proud, regardless of how people might perceive it.

NOGUCHI: After writing the letter, Mason says, he got off his couch and checked into a fat farm. Yuki Noguchi, 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 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。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 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

5 breakdowns   

n.分解( breakdown的名词复数 )；衰竭；（车辆或机器的）损坏；统计分析

参考例句：

• Her old car was unreliable, so the trip was plagued by breakdowns. 她的旧车老不听使唤，一路上总是出故障。 来自辞典例句
• How do we prevent these continual breakdowns? 我们如何防止这些一再出现的故障？ 来自辞典例句

6 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

8 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。

9 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。

10 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

11 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

12 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

13 parsing   

n.分[剖]析，分解v.从语法上描述或分析（词句等）( parse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A parsing program, or parser, is also called a recognizer. 分析过程又称作识别程序。 来自辞典例句
• This chapter describes a technique for parsing using the bottom-up method. 本章介绍一种使用自底向上方法的分析技术。 来自辞典例句

14 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

15 aplomb   

n.沉着，镇静

参考例句：

• Carried off the difficult situation with aplomb.镇静地应付了困难的局面。
• She performs the duties of a princess with great aplomb.她泰然自若地履行王妃的职责。

16 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

17 cascading   

流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流

参考例句：

• First of all, cascading menus are to be avoided at all costs. 首先，无论如何都要避免使用级联菜单。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Her sounds began cascading gently. 他的声音开始缓缓地低落下来。

18 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

19 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

20 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

22 catalyze   

v.催化

参考例句：

• They are highly specific for the reactions that they catalyze.它们对被它们催化的反应有很强的专一性。
• They are highly specific for the reactions that they catalyze.它们对被它们催化的反应有很强的专一性。

23 opaque   

adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的

参考例句：

• The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
• Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。