新闻周刊:萨特是特朗普的弃子还是幌子?(2)

In the two years since the Trump¹-Russia scandal exploded into the headlines,

在特朗普“通俄门”丑闻爆到新闻头条后的两年里，

few have been the subject of more curiosity and speculation² than Sater.

没有谁能比萨特更能引起人们的好奇和猜测。

There were endless press reports about his background: He was an ex-con, purportedly³ with links to the Mafia,

关于萨特背景的新闻报道层出不穷：他有过犯罪前科，据称和黑手党有联系，

who had worked with Trump on failed real estate deals in Florida and Manhattan.

他以前还参与过特朗普在佛罗里达和曼哈顿房地产交易，交易以失败告终。

Rumors⁴ surfaced that his former real estate company, Bayrock,

谣言称，萨特之前的房地产公司贝罗克集团，

was a money laundering⁵ vehicle for corrupt⁶ business and political figures in Russia and Ukraine (something he denies).

是俄罗斯和乌克兰商界和政界大人物的洗钱工具（对此萨特予以否认）。

He also picked a peculiar⁷ moment, the middle of Trump's presidential campaign,

萨特还选择了特朗普总统竞选中期这个特殊时刻，

to try to revive the Moscow deal, bragging⁸ about his clout⁹ with Putin, one of Washington's most potent¹⁰ adversaries¹¹.

来重启莫斯科协议，他吹嘘自己对普京的影响力，而俄罗斯总统普京正是美国政府最强有力的竞争对手。

And the only public defense¹² hinted at in court documents over the years seemed to be an improbable story

唯一的公开辩护多年来在法庭文件中有所暗示，

about how he'd wound up helping¹³ America track down Osama bin¹⁴ Laden¹⁵, among other adventures in espionage¹⁶.

内容是他是如何帮助美国追踪奥萨马·本·拉登，和他间谍活动的其他冒险经历相比，这听起来尤其像一个天方夜谭。

So who is Felix Sater?

那么菲利克斯·萨特到底是谁？

Is he connected to the mob?

他和犯罪团伙有关联吗？

Is he a spy?

他是间谍吗？

Trump's man in Moscow?

是特朗普安插在莫斯科的人吗？

Or is he a key figure in Mueller's investigation¹⁷,

亦或是他检察官穆勒的调查中的关键人物？

the man who will ultimately bring down the president and finally answer the questions swirling¹⁸ around Russia gate?

他会是那个最终打倒总统，并最终回答“通俄门”相关问题的人吗？

Pundits¹⁹ have speculated about all of the above.

权威专家们对上述问题都有所猜测。

But over three meetings and more than eight hours of conversation, Sater offered new details about his life,

但是在三次会见和长达八小时以上的谈话中，萨特又提供了关于其生活的新细节，

from rumors about his Mafia connections to his encounter with Russian hackers²⁰ in St. Petersburg.

内容涵盖他和黑手党有关联的谣言以及在圣彼得堡遇到俄罗斯黑客的事。

And his story—the way he tells it, at least—is stranger than I had ever imagined.

萨特的故事——至少是讲故事的方式——比我想象的要离奇。

"I'm tired of reading all this," sater says.

“我已经看腻了这些故事，”萨特说道。

It's early May, and we're sitting at a coffee shop inside the Mandarin²¹ Oriental, a tony hotel in Washington.D.C.

现在是5月初，我们正坐在文华东方酒店内的一家咖啡店里，文华东方酒店是位于华盛顿特区的上等旅馆。

Sater had traveled there to testify before the House Intelligence Committee.

萨特曾到过那里，为在美国众议院情报委员会前作证。

The 52-year-old, wearing a blue blazer with an American flag pin affixed²² to the lapel,

52岁的萨特身穿蓝色短上衣，翻领上别着美国国旗图案的胸针，

explains how much of what's been written about him is false.

解释道关于他的那些文章有多少是假的。

It's why he's been spending a lot of time with journalists.

这就是为什么他花了大量时间会见记者。

His campaign for "personal redemption," as he calls it, began earlier this year with a lengthy²³ article on BuzzFeed,

他所谓的“个人救赎”运动，始于今年早些时候，开端是BuzzFeed上的一篇冗长的文章，

followed by a couple of TV interviews and now our coffee talk.

随后是一系列电视采访节目，现在则是我们的咖啡访谈。

And he wants his reputation back.

他这是想挽回他的名声。

The most interesting thing about Sater is what that reputation consists of.

关于萨特最有意思的事情就是其名声的组成部分。

In 1972, his family emigrated from Moscow.

1972年，他随家人从莫斯科移民。

They were among the first wave of Jews allowed to leave the Soviet²⁴ Union during the Cold War.

萨特一家是冷战期间首批获准离开前苏联的犹太人。

For a year, they lived in Israel before moving to Coney Island,

他们一家在以色列住了一年后，就搬去了科尼岛，

a neighborhood in Brooklyn where many Russian immigrants wound up.

科尼岛是布鲁克林的一个社区，很多来自俄罗斯的移民都选择布鲁克林作为最终的落脚地。

Sater was 6 years old when he arrived in the states.

来到美国的那一年，萨特6岁。

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 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

3 purportedly   

adv.据称

参考例句：

• This is purportedly the oldest tree in the world. 据称这是世界上最古老的一棵树。 来自互联网
• Mayor Oh Se-Hoon launched the campaign last year, purportedly to improve efficiency. 据悉，首尔市市长吴世勋于去年提出了这项旨在提高工作效率的计划。 来自互联网

4 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

7 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

8 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

9 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

10 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

11 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

15 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

16 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

17 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。

18 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

19 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

20 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

21 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

22 affixed   

adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章）

参考例句：

• The label should be firmly affixed to the package. 这张标签应该牢牢地贴在包裹上。
• He affixed the sign to the wall. 他将标记贴到墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

24 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。