2007年VOA标准英语-Analysts: Libby Conviction Could be Problematic

By Jim Malone
Washington
07 March 2007

Lawyers for former White House aide Lewis Libby are preparing their request for a new trial in the wake of Libby's conviction Tuesday.  Libby was found guilty of lying, perjury¹ and obstruction² of justice in connection with the investigation³ into the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity in 2003.  VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington on the political fallout from the Libby verdict.

 
Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby leaves federal court in Washington, 6  March 2007 
Lewis Libby is the highest-ranking former White House official convicted of a felony since the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration.

Libby is Vice⁵ President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff.  He was convicted on four of five counts of either lying to or misleading FBI investigators⁶ and a federal grand jury about his conversations with journalists about Valerie Plame.

Plame is married to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson.  Wilson accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence about Iraq's mass weapons capabilities⁷ in the run-up to the war in 2003.  Wilson says Bush administration officials, including Libby, leaked his wife's CIA status to journalists as part of an effort to discredit⁸ him.

Wilson expressed satisfaction in the wake of the Libby verdict.

"As people who not only love our country, but have served our country for a combination of 45 years, we are grateful to see those basic tenets of democracy still stand firm," he said.

 
Lewis Libby, left, accompanied by his attorneys, prepares to meet reporters outside federal court, 6 March 2007 
Special prosecutor⁹ Patrick Fitzgerald led the four-year investigation into the CIA leak case.  Although no one was ever charged with leaking Plame's identity, Fitzgerald says it was important to prosecute¹⁰ Libby for lying to investigators and the grand jury about his role in the case.

"Any person telling a lie under oath to a grand jury is a serious problem," he said.  "Having someone, a high level official, do that under oath in a national security investigation is something that can never be acceptable."

Libby's attorney, Ted⁴ Wells, says he will ask for a new trial and, if that request is denied, will appeal his conviction.

"We have every confidence that ultimately Mr. Libby will be vindicated," he said.

And Libby still has defenders¹¹ among Republicans in Congress, including Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona.

"I will say that I know Scooter Libby, and I have always considered him a fine man and a dedicated¹² public servant," he said.

Some Libby supporters are now floating the idea of a presidential pardon before President Bush leaves office in January of 2009.

"Anybody in the United States of America who has been convicted can apply for a pardon," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.  "I am not going to characterize, one way or another, what happens in this case when it comes to a pardon, because it is inappropriate."

Democrats¹⁴ have seized on the Libby conviction as a victory for those demanding that the Bush administration be held accountable for what they saw as manipulation of pre-war intelligence on Iraq and a campaign to discredit war critics.

"I think it needs to shift to the White House now, shift to the White House and find out what the president is going to do about this," said Democrat¹³ Harry¹⁵ Reid of Nevada, who is the Senate Majority Leader.  "He said in the past that anyone who is a leaker would be relieved of duty in the White House.  He should follow through on that now, because we have sworn testimony¹⁶ that there were people within the White House, in addition to Libby, who were leaking information."

Political analysts¹⁸ say the Libby conviction could bring new problems for the Bush administration, which is already under pressure to turn around an unpopular war in Iraq.

"This is not a minor¹⁹ White House munchkin," said Larry Sabato, who directs the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.  "It is the former chief of staff to the most powerful vice president of the United States in history."

Even though Lewis Libby was on trial in the CIA leak case, many political and legal analysts saw Vice President Cheney as the central figure in the case.  Cheney was upset with Wilson's allegations about pre-war intelligence on Iraq and instructed Libby to talk to journalists to try and counter Wilson's criticisms.

Prosecutor Fitzgerald told the jury in summing up his case that there was a cloud over the vice president because of the Plame leak.

That is a view shared by William Galston, a political analyst¹⁷ at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

"The special prosecutor has indicated that this is probably going to be the only indictment²⁰ that he will bring in the entire case," he said.  "So, I believe that the vice president is off the hook legally, but he is not off the hook politically."

Galston says the fallout from the Libby case is likely to have more of an impact on Vice President Cheney's standing²¹ with the public, and less of an impact on President Bush.

"I do not think this is going to have a huge impact on the president for one very simple reason, so many other things have gone wrong for this president that I do not think this is going to drive his [poll] ratings down much farther," he said.

Libby will be sentenced in June and could face up to 25 years in prison, though legal analysts expect he will get a much shorter jail term.

1 perjury   

n.伪证；伪证罪

参考例句：

• You'll be punished if you procure the witness to commit perjury.如果你诱使证人作伪证，你要受罚的。
• She appeared in court on a perjury charge.她因被指控做了伪证而出庭受审。

2 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

3 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。

4 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 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》

7 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

9 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

10 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

11 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

13 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。

14 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》

15 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

16 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。

17 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

18 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

19 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

20 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

21 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。