美国国家公共电台 NPR--Updates on three New York cases against former President Trump

Updates on three New York cases against former President Trump¹

Transcript²

Andrea Bernstein brings us the latest developments in three of the myriad³ legal cases against former President Trump.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's been a busy week for former President Donald Trump's lawyers, as well as lawyers for his company, in three different New York City courtrooms. A jury is now hearing evidence in a criminal case against the company. A civil case brought by protesters was settled on the eve of trial in the Bronx. And pursuant to a judge's orders, they say Trump's company has to submit to an outside monitor as part of a $250 million civil action brought by the New York attorney general. Joining us to sort through all of this is NPR's Andrea Bernstein.

Good morning.

ANDREA BERNSTEIN, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

INSKEEP: What did the judge order?

BERNSTEIN: The ruling came in a sweeping⁵ lawsuit⁶ brought by Attorney General Letitia James that charges Donald, Ivanka, Eric and Don Jr. with more than a decade's worth of fraudulently valuing its properties, thereby⁷ deceiving lenders and cheating tax authorities. In one memorable⁸ example, Trump's own triplex in Trump's Tower is 11,000 square feet. But he claimed it was 30,000 square feet, making it about $200 million more valuable. The Trumps⁹ deny wrongdoing.

But in a motion last month, the AG said the court should step in and appoint a monitor to make sure the Trumps stop lying about the value of their assets. And Judge Arthur Engoron agreed, giving what he called - given what he called, quote, "the defendant's propensity¹⁰ to engage in persistent¹¹ fraud." That's a big deal. It means an outsider gets to look at the company's books and records and make sure it's telling the truth. The judge also said the Trumps cannot transfer big assets without notifying the court.

INSKEEP: And how are his lawyers responding?

BERNSTEIN: Well, Trump himself filed a countersuit against the New York attorney general in Florida this week. And in court yesterday, Trump Attorney Charles Kise argued the New York attorney general, Democrat¹² Letitia James, had no business bringing a case like this, that the valuations were a matter of complex negotiation¹³ between sophisticated parties and that imposing¹⁴ a monitor, quote, "borders on the nationalization of private enterprise." No word if there will be an appeal, but there have been many brought before.

INSKEEP: OK. We'll wait to see if that appeal comes. But meanwhile, there's this separate criminal trial of Trump's company. How's that going?

BERNSTEIN: So that case is taking place in a building just up the street from the civil courthouse. This one's in the New York criminal courthouse building, and it has seen better days. Think peeling paint off the ceiling, chipped tiles in the bathroom. By contrast, this week in the courtroom, we began to see exhibits of a much more gilded¹⁵ world. Receipts the Manhattan DA has - actual receipts for luxury benefits for top executives, like furniture, carpets, Mercedes leases, apartments, even in one instance, cash were displayed on a large screen in the courtroom. And Trump's former controller, Jeffrey McConney, walked the jury through how he literally¹⁶ deducted¹⁷ the cost of these items from gross salaries. The result was lowered tax payments. And the DA says that's fraud.

INSKEEP: What could be the consequences for that?

BERNSTEIN: So Trump himself isn't charged in this case. His former chief financial officer has pleaded guilty to 15 felonies related to this. Trump's lawyers say it was all on this executive, that he did it for himself. But under New York law, the company is criminally liable if high managerial agents commit crimes. If the company is convicted, it could face $1.6 million in fines and, more significantly, could have trouble entering into some business deals.

INSKEEP: Can you catch us up on one more case here, the settlement in the civil case?

BERNSTEIN: Yes. So a group of protesters were roughed up by Trump security guards outside Trump Tower in 2015, when Trump was running for president for the first time. More than seven years later, as they were picking a jury in the Bronx, where juries tend to be sympathetic to plaintiffs, the case settled for an undisclosed amount.

INSKEEP: Andrea, thanks so much.

BERNSTEIN: Thank you.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Andrea Bernstein.

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 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

4 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。

5 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

6 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

7 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

8 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

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 propensity   

n.倾向；习性

参考例句：

• He has a propensity for drinking too much alcohol.他有酗酒的倾向。
• She hasn't reckoned on his propensity for violence.她不曾料到他有暴力倾向。

11 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

12 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。

13 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

14 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

15 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

16 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。

17 deducted   

v.扣除，减去( deduct的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cost of your uniform will be deducted from your wages. 制服费将从你的工资中扣除。
• The cost of the breakages will be deducted from your pay. 损坏东西的费用将从你的工资中扣除。 来自《简明英汉词典》