美国国家公共电台 NPR Kavanaugh Could Tip Supreme Court Against Gun Control Laws

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

After getting widely criticized for not coming down hard enough on Russia's Vladimir Putin last week, President Trump¹ read a prepared statement after returning from that summit, clarifying that he did indeed believe Russia interfered³ in the 2016 election. The president, though, has apparently⁴ changed his mind again. Last night, he tweeted that it's all a, quote, "big hoax⁵." This comes days after his own Justice Department released formerly⁶ classified FISA documents related to the FBI's surveillance of one of his former campaign advisers⁷, Carter Page. And this morning, President Trump is piling on with more attacks, again calling the Mueller probe a, quote, "witch hunt." Joining us now is Adam Schiff, ranking Democrat⁸ on the House Intelligence Committee. Congressman⁹, thanks for being here.

ADAM SCHIFF: Great to be with you.

MARTIN: So there are dueling¹⁰ narratives¹¹ here. The president maintains that these newly released documents from the FISA Court vindicate¹² him in the Russia probe. You and other Democrats¹³ see something completely different here. Can you explain?

SCHIFF: Well, it's more than dueling narratives. It's really a difference between fact and fiction. The president is out, as you said this morning, contradicting his contradiction from last week, saying now that he believes Russia didn't intervene. It's all a hoax. So once again, the president unfortunately proving that he is our dissembler in chief.

MARTIN: The crux¹⁴ of the president's criticism, and that of many Republicans, has been to target the so-called Steele dossier. He says, even though the documents show that the FISA Court, when it was deciding whether to grant the FBI the right to surveil Carter Page, that the court relied on this dossier, which has never been corroborated¹⁵. Is there something to that?

SCHIFF: Well, we know that the FISA Court had a great deal of information, some of which is redacted to protect sources and methods in what the FBI just released. But the claim the president is making now, which was, again, a claim made in that false Nunes memorandum¹⁶, is that the court was never informed that this respected former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele was essentially¹⁷ paid for his work by a law firm that had been hired by the DNC or the Clinton campaign. In fact, though, the FISA judges had been informed that, essentially, he was hired to do opposition¹⁸ research. There was a political motivation. And the court had the information it needed to make a judgment¹⁹ about whether there was sufficient cause to prove the warrant. And bear in mind, again, this was approved by four different judges appointed by three different Republican presidents. They all found the FISA application in order.

MARTIN: Do we know, though, what other sources of information were used for the FISA Court to make up their mind?

SCHIFF: Well, I do. Unfortunately, I can't go beyond what has been disclosed in the FISA release.

MARTIN: Suffice to say, though, can you tell us it was beyond the Steele dossier?

SCHIFF: Yes, it was. It was. But the only testimony²⁰ that we have that's public about, you know, what weight did the Christopher Steele work have as opposed to others is a testimony of Andrew McCabe, which has been made public in part. And Andrew McCabe said that, essentially, all the parts of the application were important. And we have learned, I think, as the applications and their renewal²¹ got longer and longer, that the FBI learned more that it was able to continue to submit in support of the application as time went on.

MARTIN: I want to ask you about public perception of all of this. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows 51 percent of Republicans approve of President Trump discrediting²² the intelligence findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. Does it just break this way? Is this just the partisan²³ environment we live in right now?

SCHIFF: It's the partisan environment that the president is really stoking and taking advantage of. And it's a terrible shame. And it really puts the country at risk. Basically, the Russians watch us very carefully. And the message they're getting right now is they can intervene in the midterms as long as it will help Donald Trump. And the president will never call them on it.

MARTIN: Adam Schiff, he is the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, talking with us this morning. We appreciate your time, Congressman. Thanks as always.

SCHIFF: Thank you.

MARTIN: I’m joined now by NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson, who was listening to that conversation. And, Mara, we heard the congressman there say that, you know, he believes that Donald Trump is exploiting partisan divides, insisting that the Mueller probe is a witch hunt and essentially giving the Russians carte blanche to interfere² in the midterm elections again. I mean, in this kind of partisan environment, if Republicans are trying to capitalize on this evidence as evidence that the probe is false, what do Democrats do? I mean, can they - does the Russia issue motivate Democratic voters?

MARA LIASSON, BYLINE²⁴: I think the Democrats talk a lot about Russia in Washington and less about Russia on the campaign trail. I'm sure in a general sense it motivates Democratic voters who are already motivated by intense antipathy²⁵ to Donald Trump. But on the campaign trail, at home, they’re talking about health care. They’re talking about immigration. They’re talking about other things the Democratic voters care about. That being said, Donald Trump’s approval rating in the NBC-Wall Street Journal poll that just came out today is - among Republicans is 88 percent. That’s his highest ever. So in other words, his base approves of what he’s doing. His base is intense and loyal. The question for Trump is, will that transfer to Republican candidates when he’s not on the ballot²⁶? And it comes at a cost. You know, he’s losing independents. He’s gone down seven points with independents since June. And he’s - Democrats are shown as being more and more enthusiastic about this election, much more than Republican voters.

MARTIN: NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Thanks, Mara.

LIASSON: Thank you.

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 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。

3 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

6 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

7 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 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。

10 dueling   

n. 决斗, 抗争(=duelling) 动词duel的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• More light-hearted But somewhat puzzled, Vladimir prepared to meet Eugene on the dueling ground. 弗拉基米尔心里轻松了一些，但仍感到有些困惑，在这种心情下，他准备去决斗场地迎战叶甫盖尼。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• They had been dueling for hours and finally called a draw. 他们一直决斗了数小时，最后打成平局。

11 narratives   

记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分

参考例句：

• Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning. 结婚一向是许多小说的终点，然而也是一个伟大的开始。
• This is one of the narratives that children are fond of. 这是孩子们喜欢的故事之一。

12 vindicate   

v.为…辩护或辩解，辩明；证明…正确

参考例句：

• He tried hard to vindicate his honor.他拼命维护自己的名誉。
• How can you vindicate your behavior to the teacher?你怎样才能向老师证明你的行为是对的呢？

13 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 crux   

adj.十字形；难事，关键，最重要点

参考例句：

• The crux of the matter is how to comprehensively treat this trend.问题的关键是如何全面地看待这种趋势。
• The crux of the matter is that attitudes have changed.问题的要害是人们的态度转变了。

15 corroborated   

v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的过去式 )

参考例句：

• The evidence was corroborated by two independent witnesses. 此证据由两名独立证人提供。
• Experiments have corroborated her predictions. 实验证实了她的预言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

17 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

18 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

19 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

20 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。

21 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

22 discrediting   

使不相信( discredit的现在分词 )； 使怀疑； 败坏…的名声； 拒绝相信

参考例句：

• It has also led to the discrediting of mainstream macroeconomics. 它还使得人们对主流宏观经济学产生了怀疑。

23 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

24 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。

25 antipathy   

n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物

参考例句：

• I feel an antipathy against their behaviour.我对他们的行为很反感。
• Some people have an antipathy to cats.有的人讨厌猫。

26 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。