美国国家公共电台 NPR--A judge appoints a special master to review materials seized from Mar-a-Lago

A judge appoints a special master to review materials seized from Mar-a-Lago

Transcript¹

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Brandon Van Grack, a former prosecutor², as a judge in Florida appoints a special master in the case of classified documents seized from Donald Trump³'s home.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A federal judge says, no, she will not reconsider a ruling that sided with former President Trump. Judge Aileen Cannon⁴ appointed a special master to look over government documents recovered from Trump's residence. She declined to accept the government's assertion that the many papers marked classified are classified. Instead, an arbiter⁵ who was proposed by Trump will decide on the status of the documents and report back to the judge who was appointed by Trump. Let's get some analysis from Brandon Van Grack, a former Justice Department prosecutor. Welcome back.

BRANDON VAN GRACK: Thank you. Good morning.

INSKEEP: There are many ways to read this ruling by the judge, but one is just this - I'm not going to accept whatever the government says to me about these documents. Let's get an independent review, which sounds reasonable. Is it?

VAN GRACK: It does sound reasonable, which is, by the way, the reason I think the Justice Department ultimately will have a limited appeal of this decision. But it raises - especially with respect to these 100 classified documents - concerns about the separation of powers between the judicial⁶ branch and the executive branch, and I think has real implications in terms of the Justice Department and FBI's ability to protect national security information.

INSKEEP: When you say separation of powers, you're - are you asserting that the Justice Department - rather, that the United States government, the administration, I should say, should be able to assert what is classified and what is not, and the judge should not be weighing in on this?

VAN GRACK: That is part of it. And the judge challenges the Department of Justice's and FBI's representation about what these documents are. But even more fundamental than that, this process right now before the court is not determining the merits of the case or even the merits of this search warrant. The only issue before the judge is, does the Department of Justice - can the Department of Justice and the FBI have access to this information for their investigation⁷? And the judge has now ordered for this classified information - that it must be provided to these third parties, to the former president's attorneys, and to a special master.

But what that means is that the judge is saying that in order for the government, the executive branch, to get its documents back - the executive branch, the president, has absolute authority over classified information. It derives⁸ from the president's authority as commander in chief. The Supreme⁹ Court has said as much. And so this order says, in order for the government to get that information back, a third party, this other party, gets to weigh in on that. And I think the Department of Justice is going to have real concerns about that infringing¹⁰ on the executive branch and the president's national security.

INSKEEP: Does this ruling mean there's a period where Trump's lawyers can look at the classified information, but the United States government cannot look at the classified information?

VAN GRACK: Well, the government will still have it, but this order unmistakably says that these 100 documents, these classified documents, which - some of which are so highly classified that the Department of Justice's own national security attorneys didn't even have the requisite¹¹ clearances¹² - that those documents would be provided to the former president's attorneys for review.

INSKEEP: There will be a delay here. The judge says the special master has until November 30. I want to pause to note the political effect of that. Trump supporters have asserted that this search has all been all about the November election. It will now be punted till after the November election, so we can set the politics aside. What are the legal effects of a delay until November 30?

VAN GRACK: Well, I would go even beyond the legal effects to the national security effects, 'cause November 30 is not the actual date. That's when the judge has ordered the special master to conclude his review. But ultimately, the judge has ordered that whatever the special master determines can be appealed to her. I don't know if that means sort of she can start anew and on her own determine ultimately or challenge the decisions of the special master. And ultimately, that decision can then be appealed to an appellate court. And so it's not November 30. It is well into 2023, which means the government's - the Justice Department's ability to determine who had access to this information, unauthorized access, and also do they have everything? There are 48 folders¹³ that - empty folders that had classified banners, and the Department of Justice in its filing indicates it doesn't know what was in those folders, and the ability to determine that is now delayed and impaired¹⁴ into 2023.

INSKEEP: Brandon Van Grack is a former federal prosecutor. Thanks so much.

VAN GRACK: My pleasure.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

5 arbiter   

n.仲裁人，公断人

参考例句：

• Andrew was the arbiter of the disagreement.安德鲁是那场纠纷的仲裁人。
• Experiment is the final arbiter in science.实验是科学的最后仲裁者。

6 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

7 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。

8 derives   

v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• English derives in the main from the common Germanic stock. 英语主要源于日耳曼语系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derives his income from freelance work. 他以自由职业获取收入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 infringing   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的现在分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• The material can be copied without infringing copyright. 这份材料可以复制，不会侵犯版权。
• The media is accused of infringing on people's privacy. 人们指责媒体侵犯了大家的隐私。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 requisite   

adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the requisite qualifications for the job.他不具备这工作所需的资格。
• Food and air are requisite for life.食物和空气是生命的必需品。

12 clearances   

清除( clearance的名词复数 )； 许可； （录用或准许接触机密以前的）审查许可； 净空

参考例句：

• But I can't get to him without clearances. 但是没有证明我就没法见到他。
• The bridge and the top of the bus was only ten clearances. 桥与公共汽车车顶之间的间隙只有十厘米。

13 folders   

n.文件夹( folder的名词复数 )；纸夹；（某些计算机系统中的）文件夹；页面叠

参考例句：

• Encrypt and compress individual files and folders. The program is compact, efficient and user friendly. 加密和压缩的个人档案和folders.the计划是紧凑，高效和用户友好。 来自互联网
• By insertion of photocopies,all folders can be maintained complete with little extra effort. 插入它的复制本，不费多大力量就能使所有文件夹保持完整。 来自辞典例句

14 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》