2018年经济学人 美国总统特朗普可以凌驾于法律之上吗?(1)（在线收听）

Is he above the law?

他凌驾于法律之上吗？

The slow drip of revelations and convictions will eventually force America to confront a simple question

最终，逐渐披露的罪行将迫使美国面对一个简单的问题

It was the kind of moment that would crown the career of a reality-TV producer.

这是一个真人秀电视制作人事业的巅峰时刻。

While the president of the United States was on his way to a campaign rally, his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was found guilty of eight counts of tax and bank fraud;

当美国总统在参加竞选集会时，他的前竞选经理保罗·马纳福特被判8项银行诈欺与逃税罪；

and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to eight counts of tax evasion, fraud and breaking campaign-finance laws.

其前律师迈克尔·科恩，承认了8项逃税、欺诈和违反竞选筹款法的指控。

Cable-news channels needed so many split screens to cover what was going on that they began to resemble a Rubik’s cube.

有线电视频道掩盖正在发生的事，竟需要如此多的分区显示屏以至于看起来都像魔方了。

Amid the frenzy, however, something important changed this week.

然而，在一片狂热之中，本周有些重要的事情变得不一样了。

For the first time, President Donald Trump faces a formal accusation that he personally broke the law to further his candidacy.

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普第一次面临正式指控，称他为赢得竞选以个人名义触犯了法律。

Mr Manafort’s conviction did not surprise anyone who had followed his trial, or his long career as a political consultant available for hire by dictators and thugs.

马纳福特的定罪并未让任何关注他审判的人感到意外，或者了解他长期作为独裁者和暴徒雇佣的政治顾问的人对此也是意料之中。

Mr Cohen’s plea was more striking, because he was not just Mr Trump’s lawyer; he was the guy who made his problems go away.

相比之下，科恩的托辞更引人注目，因为他不仅是特朗普的律师；还是帮特朗普摆平麻烦的人。

This included making payments during the 2016 campaign to buy the silence of two women who appear to have had affairs with Mr Trump.

这就包括2016年大选期间向和特朗普传出绯闻的两名女性支付了用于“封口”的费用。

(The president has denied the affairs and now says he learned about the payments later.)

（特朗普否认绯闻，现在说也是后来才知道这笔钱的。）

But Mr Cohen told a court under oath that the money was paid “at the direction of a candidate for federal office”.

但是科恩在宣誓后对法庭说，这笔钱是“在一位联邦办公室候选人的指示下”支付的。

In other words, that Mr Trump told Mr Cohen to break the law, then lied to cover it up.

换句话说，是特朗普让科恩打破法律，然后撒谎掩盖事实真相。

Neither Mr Manafort’s conviction nor Mr Cohen’s plea is directly related to the allegations of collusion with Russia that have dogged the Trump campaign,

无论是对马纳福特的定罪，还是科恩的托辞，都与特朗普竞选团队被指与俄罗斯勾结没有直接的关联。

and are being investigated by Robert Mueller, the special counsel.

特别顾问罗伯特·米勒正在调查此事。

Yet neither case would have been brought without his investigation.

而没有穆勒的调查，这两起案件都不会被提起诉讼。

This week’s events mean that Mr Mueller now stands on firmer ground.

本周的事件表明穆勒的立场愈发坚定了。

It will be harder for the president to dismiss him without it looking as though he is obstructing justice.

对总统来说，如果不让他看起来像是在妨碍司法公正，就很难解雇他。

And in such cases, convictions often lead to more convictions as those found guilty look for ways to save themselves.

在这种情况下，定罪往往会导致更多的定罪，因为那些被判有罪的人会寻找拯救自己的方法。

The question now is whether, and how far, Mr Manafort and Mr Cohen will turn against their former boss in return for leniency.

现在的问题是，马纳福特和科恩是否会和他们的前任老板对着干，以换取宽大处理。

As the slow drip of revelations and convictions continues, Americans will have to confront a simple question: is Mr Trump above the law?

随着罪行的逐渐披露，美国人将不得不面对一个简单的问题：特朗普凌驾于法律之上吗？