美国国家公共电台 NPR Timeline Of Trump And Russia In Mid-2016: A Series Of Coincidences Or Something More?

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Here's one way to make sense of confusing events in 2016. Put them in a timeline. Today, we know many behind-the-scenes developments, like Donald Trump¹ Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer. NPR's Tamara Keith lined up those events with what happened in public.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE²: In March of last year, the Russian military intelligence service known as the GRU began rifling through the email accounts and networks of the Democratic Party and other political officials. That's according to the U.S. intelligence community's declassified³ assessment⁴ of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

That same month, a Russian political commentator⁶ known variously as Putin's brain and Putin's Rasputin made it clear in a video in English, posted on YouTube, that Russia was officially rooting for Trump.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ALEXANDER DUGIN: Go ahead, Mr. Trump. In Trump we trust.

KEITH: While praising Trump as a non-elitist American who wouldn't make mistakes like invading Iraq, Alexander Dugin had harsh words for Hillary Clinton and the Democratic primary process.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DUGIN: So there is nothing more stupid and fake than the American vote-counting system. It is a disgrace and not a democracy. The majority votes for Sanders but Clinton wins, bribing⁷ the electors.

KEITH: A month later, candidate Trump started talking about a system rigged against himself and Bernie Sanders.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: He wins. And then - you listen to the pundits⁸ - but he can't win. You know why? Because it's a rigged system, folks.

KEITH: As the primary process wound to a close, Donald Trump Jr. received the now-notorious email. It came on June 3 from a man linked to a Russian real estate developer the Trumps⁹ had partnered with on the 2013 Miss Universe pageant¹⁰ in Moscow. He offered to connect the Trump campaign with people who could supply official Russian documents that would incriminate Hillary Clinton. The offer was said to be part of, quote, "Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."

He was traveling, but it only took Trump Jr. 20 minutes to respond, if it's what you say, I love it, especially later in the summer. On June 7, they set a date for Trump campaign officials to meet with someone described in the emails as a Russian government lawyer - and it turns out, several other people connected to Russia. That very day was the end of the 2016 Republican presidential primaries.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: You've given me the honor to lead the Republican Party to victory this fall.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: We're going to do it. We're going to do it, folks. We're going to do it.

KEITH: In his speech to supporters that night, Trump teased an attack on Clinton.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

TRUMP: I am going to give a major speech, on probably Monday of next week, and we're going to be discussing all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons. I think you're going to find it very informative¹¹ and very, very interesting.

(CHEERING)

KEITH: When asked whether this had anything to do with what was promised in the email chain, a spokesman for President Trump's outside legal team said the candidate was not aware of and did not attend the meeting.

Two days later, on June 9, the meeting happened at Trump Tower - with Donald Trump Jr., the campaign chairman at the time, Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, now a top White House adviser¹² - all in attendance. In defending the meeting, Trump Jr. told Sean Hannity on Fox News that the Russians didn't deliver the goods.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "HANNITY")

DONALD TRUMP JR.: It was literally¹³ just a waste of 20 minutes, which was a shame.

KEITH: Candidate Trump's major speech about Hillary Clinton didn't materialize that Monday. The Pulse nightclub shooting happened over the weekend and briefly¹⁴ changed the focus of the campaign. Something else happened that weekend that seemed sort of insignificant¹⁵ at the time. In an interview with the British ITV, Julian Assange, the founder¹⁶ of WikiLeaks, gave a preview of what was to come.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "PESTON ON SUNDAY")

JULIAN ASSANGE: We have upcoming leaks in relation to Hillary Clinton, which is great. We actually have a - WikiLeaks has a very big year.

ROBERT PESTON: So - but some of the ones that have not yet come into the public domain¹⁷, you are planning to put out?

ASSANGE: Yeah, we have emails related to Hillary Clinton which are pending¹⁸ publication. That is correct.

KEITH: Assange and WikiLeaks have long had an ideological¹⁹ affinity²⁰ and close ties with Russia. The U.S. intelligence assessment says the Russian intelligence agency GRU delivered to WikiLeaks a trove²¹ of DNC emails, and those taken from Democratic officials like Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

On June 22, Trump finally delivered a speech going after Clinton and her family's foundation. But it was just a greatest-hits version of previous attacks he'd made against her.

That brings us to July 2016, a pivotal month in the campaign. We now know it's also when the FBI began investigating possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. In Cleveland on July 21, one year ago this coming weekend...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: This is the legacy²² of Hillary Clinton - death, destruction, terrorism and weakness.

(APPLAUSE)

KEITH: President Trump closed out the GOP convention. The next morning, WikiLeaks posted nearly 20,000 emails hacked²⁴ from the DNC. The emails contain damaging information that confirmed the narrative²⁵ that Democratic leaders preferred Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. The revelations roiled²⁶ the Democratic convention that began just three days later. Trump tweeted about the DNC hack²³ repeatedly, including this. The new joke in town is that Russia leaked the disastrous²⁷ DNC emails, which should never have been written - stupid - because Putin likes me.

On July 27, a reporter asked Trump if he would call on Putin to stay out of the election. Why should I tell Putin what to do, he answered.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: Let me tell you. It's not even about Russia, or China or whoever it is that's doing the hacking²⁸. It was about the things that were said in those emails. They were terrible things.

KEITH: Rather than condemn²⁹ the hacking at his press conference, Trump seemingly encouraged Russia to keep going.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

TRUMP: Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily³⁰ by our press. Let's see if that happens. That'll be next.

KEITH: After that, a reporter pressed Trump on whether he had any qualms³¹ about asking a foreign government to interfere⁵, to hack.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

TRUMP: Nope, gives me no pause. If they have them, they have them. We might as well find...

KEITH: The 30,000 personal emails deleted from Clinton's private server never have surfaced publicly. But in early October, WikiLeaks began posting internal Clinton campaign emails. And they were rewarded mightily with a constant stream of negative stories about Clinton. Part of what investigators³² are trying to determine is whether all these things are connected or just dots on a timeline in a busy and strange election year.

Tamara Keith, 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 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 declassified   

adj.解密的v.对（机密文件等）销密( declassify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thousands of classified documents have now been declassified. 数以千计的保密文件现在被解密了。
• The software used for Siemens S7-300 encryption logic block declassified. 此软件用于对西门子S7-300加密逻辑块解密。

4 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

5 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。

6 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

7 bribing   

贿赂

参考例句：

• He tried to escape by bribing the guard. 他企图贿赂警卫而逃走。
• Always a new way of bribing unknown and maybe nonexistent forces. 总是用诸如此类的新方法来讨好那不知名的、甚或根本不存在的魔力。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

8 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

9 trumps   

abbr.trumpets 喇叭；小号；喇叭形状的东西；喇叭筒v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去式 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造

参考例句：

• On the day of the match the team turned up trumps. 比赛那天该队出乎意料地获得胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Every time John is late getting home he trumps up some new excuse. 每次约翰晚回家都会编造个新借口。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 pageant   

n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧

参考例句：

• Our pageant represented scenes from history.我们的露天历史剧上演一幕幕的历史事件。
• The inauguration ceremony of the new President was a splendid pageant.新主席的就职典礼的开始是极其壮观的。

11 informative   

adj.提供资料的，增进知识的

参考例句：

• The adverts are not very informative.这些广告并没有包含太多有用信息。
• This intriguing book is both thoughtful and informative.这本引人入胜的书既有思想性又富知识性。

12 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

13 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

14 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

15 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

16 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

17 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

18 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。

19 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

20 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

• I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
• It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。

21 trove   

n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西

参考例句：

• He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。
• The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

22 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

23 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

24 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

25 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

26 roiled   

v.搅混（液体）( roil的过去式和过去分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气

参考例句：

• American society is being roiled by the controversy over homosexual marriage. 当今美国社会正被有关同性恋婚姻的争论搞得不得安宁。 来自互联网
• In the past few months, instability has roiled Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas. 在过去的几个月里，西藏和藏人居住区不稳定。 来自互联网

27 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

28 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

29 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

30 mightily   

ad.强烈地；非常地

参考例句：

• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet. 他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。
• This seemed mightily to relieve him. 干完这件事后，他似乎轻松了许多。

31 qualms   

n.不安；内疚

参考例句：

• He felt no qualms about borrowing money from friends.他没有对于从朋友那里借钱感到不安。
• He has no qualms about lying.他撒谎毫不内疚。

32 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》