美国国家公共电台 NPR--Justice Department racks up some important victories in Jan. 6 cases

Justice Department racks up some important victories in Jan. 6 cases

Transcript¹

Prosecutors² won convictions of four Oath Keepers on seditious conspiracy³ charges, while a separate jury convicted the rioter who put his feet on then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The Justice Department is racking up some important court victories related to its January 6 investigation⁴. On Monday, a federal jury in Washington, D.C., convicted four members of the far-right Oath Keepers of seditious conspiracy for their role in the Capitol attack. And a separate jury convicted a man whose picture went viral during the riot. NPR's justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has been spending a lot of time at the courthouse, and she's here now to talk through these developments. Good morning, Carrie.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: So let's start with the Oath Keepers case. How big a deal are these convictions?

JOHNSON: This is a big deal. History is unfolding every day in the courthouse as the Justice Department tries to hold the people responsible for January 6 to account and demonstrate that the legal system can work for all its flaws and challenges.

FADEL: And remind us what seditious conspiracy is, what it means in connection to the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

JOHNSON: It involves an attempt to overthrow⁶ the government by using force. And it's one of the more serious charges the Justice Department can bring. Historically, it's pretty hard to win these cases, but a jury in D.C. just convicted several more Oath Keepers leaders and associates. And Attorney General Merrick Garland addressed the verdict yesterday.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MERRICK GARLAND: All four defendants⁷ were found guilty of seditious conspiracy, as well as conspiracy to obstruct⁸ the certification of the Electoral College vote and to prevent members of Congress from discharging their duties.

JOHNSON: Now, when the defendants are sentenced later this year, they could face many years in prison. But the judge has allowed them to remain free for now on 24-hour home confinement⁹. And these are the second batch¹⁰ of Oath Keepers to be convicted. The group's founder¹¹, Stewart Rhodes, was found guilty last November.

FADEL: Now, not too long before those convictions, there was another verdict in that federal courthouse just down the street from the Capitol building. Tell us more about that case.

JOHNSON: Sure. One of the lasting¹² images from January 6 was the photo of an Arkansas man with his feet up on a desk in Nancy Pelosi's office.

FADEL: Yeah.

JOHNSON: His name is Richard Barnett. And he testified in the trial, but the jury didn't buy his account. They took only about two hours to find him guilty of eight charges that include obstruction¹³ of an official proceeding¹⁴ and carrying a dangerous weapon. Barnett's lawyer says they didn't get a fair trial because D.C. is so heavily Democratic. But that argument hasn't gotten much momentum¹⁵ in the courts, at least not yet, partly because January 6 made headlines not just here in D.C. but across the country and the world.

FADEL: Now, we've got the Oath Keepers, this rioter who put his feet up on Nancy Pelosi's desk, but there's also another big case moving through the court related to the attack on the Capitol. What's happening there?

JOHNSON: This is the trial of Enrique Tarrio and several members of another far-right group, the Proud Boys. They're all charged with sedition¹⁶, as well. That case is moving in stops and starts. The jury's heard from Capitol Police inspector¹⁷ and a filmmaker who's spent a lot of time with Tarrio. Two other defendants in that case are pretty noteworthy. One's Joe Biggs, who used to work for the conspiracy-peddling site Infowars and played a role in recent congressional hearings.

And the other is Dominic Pezzola. People might remember him because he allegedly busted¹⁸ out windows in the Capitol on January 6 and allowed hundreds of other people to pour into the building. Prosecutors say the Proud Boys took aim at the heart of democracy and that they allegedly conspired¹⁹ to use other people in the crowd as a weapon to target Congress. Of course, the defendants say there was no plan to assault the Capitol. And they say that prosecutors are using Tarrio as a scapegoat²⁰ because he's a lot easier to charge than the former president, Donald Trump²¹.

FADEL: Speaking of Donald Trump, what is the latest on the investigation into him? What more do we know?

JOHNSON: The Justice Department's been tightlipped, but there's been a lot of action before the grand jury. The special counsel's investigating that, of course, and also the documents discovered at Trump's resort Mar-a-Lago and documents discovered at the current president, Joe Biden's, home, as well.

FADEL: NPR's justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. Thanks so much, Carrie.

JOHNSON: Happy to be here.

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 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。

3 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

4 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。

5 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。

6 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

7 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 obstruct   

v.阻隔，阻塞(道路、通道等)；n.阻碍物，障碍物

参考例句：

• He became still more dissatisfied with it and secretly did everything in his power to obstruct it.他对此更不满意，尽在暗里使绊子。
• The fallen trees obstruct the road.倒下的树将路堵住了。

9 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

10 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

11 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

12 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

13 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。

14 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

15 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

16 sedition   

n.煽动叛乱

参考例句：

• Government officials charged him with sedition.政府官员指控他煽动人们造反。
• His denial of sedition was a denial of violence.他对煽动叛乱的否定又是对暴力的否定。

17 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

18 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

19 conspired   

密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They conspired to bring about the meeting of the two people. 他们共同促成了两人的会面。
• Bad weather and car trouble conspired to ruin our vacation. 恶劣的气候连同汽车故障断送了我们的假日。

20 scapegoat   

n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊

参考例句：

• He has been made a scapegoat for the company's failures.他成了公司倒闭的替罪羊。
• They ask me to join the party so that I'll be their scapegoat when trouble comes.他们想叫我入伙，出了乱子，好让我替他们垫背。

21 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。