美国国家公共电台 NPR--'Washington Post': Santos is linked to a cousin of a sanctioned Russian oligarch

'Washington Post': Santos is linked to a cousin of a sanctioned Russian oligarch

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Washington Post reporter Isaac Stanley-Becker who helped uncover links between Rep. George Santos of New York, and a businessman with ties to a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

We've learned more about the finances of embattled freshman² Congressman³ George Santos, who lied about much of his life story during his election campaign last year. Reporters at The Washington Post have uncovered close ties between the New York lawmaker and a businessman who is the cousin of a sanctioned Russian oligarch. For more, we're joined now by Isaac Stanley-Becker, political investigations⁴ reporter with The Washington Post. Thanks for being here.

ISAAC STANLEY-BECKER: Good morning.

FADEL: Good morning. So who is this business man, Andrew Intrater? And how is he connected to George Santos? And why does it matter?

STANLEY-BECKER: So as you say, Andrew Intrater is an American businessman and the cousin of a Russian oligarch named Viktor Vekselberg, who has been sanctioned by the U.S. government. Mr. Intrater is key to this story because he's one of Santos' main benefactors⁵ and in ways that our reporting shows goes beyond mere⁶ campaign contributions. What we were able to reveal is that Mr. Santos claimed privately⁷ in 2020 that Mr. Intrater's company was his client. And separately, a different Intrater company made a deposit of hundreds of thousands of dollars into a investment firm based in Florida, where Mr. Santos once worked.

FADEL: Now, Intrater's company also has links to former President Trump⁸, right? What are those?

STANLEY-BECKER: That's right. So both Mr. Intrater and his Russian cousin were caught up in the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller because of the ties that they tried to forge with Michael Cohen, who at the time was Mr. Trump's lawyer and self-described fixer. Mr. Intrater donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump's inaugural⁹ committee, attended the inauguration¹⁰ along with his cousin. And his company, Columbus Nova, began paying Mr. Cohen as part of a contract to locate new deals and investors¹¹ for his company.

FADEL: So bottom line, what does this all mean? Why does it matter if Santos is connected to this businessman and this company?

STANLEY-BECKER: Well, we've learned a lot over the last several weeks about the various lies that Mr. Santos has told about himself in the past. One of the enduring mysteries is his financial background, how he went from receiving a salary of about $55,000 in 2020 to multiple millions of dollars two years later in 2022...

FADEL: Wow.

STANLEY-BECKER: ...Enough to loan his campaign more than $700,000. So my colleagues and I at the Washington Post are hard at work, understanding his background, his benefactors and some of the business ties that he forged on his way to public office.

FADEL: Does it appear that Santos did something illegal here?

STANLEY-BECKER: You know, I think I would leave that question to prosecutors¹². We know that he's under scrutiny¹³ both in New York and in Rio de Janeiro. I will also say that we've sent a long list of questions to the congressman. He has not responded. But he has my email as well as my cellphone number, so he can call at any time to discuss this and clarify.

FADEL: Have any of the companies involved responded?

STANLEY-BECKER: No. Mr. Intrater as well did not respond. You know, I think if someone said that I was their client and I wasn't their client, I would quickly clarify that. We asked Mr. Intrater if it was true, this business relationship, and to weigh in. He has also not responded.

FADEL: Isaac Stanley-Becker, political investigations reporter with The Washington Post, thank you so much for your time.

STANLEY-BECKER: Good to be with you.

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 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

5 benefactors   

n.捐助者，施主( benefactor的名词复数 )；恩人

参考例句：

• I rate him among my benefactors. 我认为他是我的一个恩人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We showed high respect to benefactors. 我们对捐助者表达了崇高的敬意。 来自辞典例句

6 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

8 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。

9 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

10 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

11 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

12 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

13 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。