美国国家公共电台 NPR--How are Republicans reacting to Trump's claims that he'll be arrested?

How are Republicans reacting to Trump¹'s claims that he'll be arrested?

Transcript²

GOP lawmakers generally are defending former President Donald Trump, who said he was going to be arrested Tuesday. Republicans claim a probe by the Manhattan DA's office is politically motivated.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

What do you do when the leader of your political party faces a criminal investigation³?

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Well, Republicans who control the House are supporting Donald Trump once again. The lawmakers are meeting in Florida, where they had planned to talk over legislative⁴ priorities. But the ex-president seized attention by predicting his own indictment⁵ in New York today. He hasn't been indicted⁶. But here's what we know about the case. People close to Trump paid an adult film star to cover up her story of an affair. That led to an investigation by Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, into falsifying business records.

INSKEEP: NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh has been listening to Republicans as they respond to this in Orlando, Fla. Hey there, Deirdre.

DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE⁷: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: I hope the spring weather is good down there.

WALSH: It's pretty nice.

INSKEEP: That's good. How are Republicans defending Trump?

WALSH: They're really standing⁸ with him. And they're all largely attacking the New York prosecutor⁹. Centrist Republicans, hard line Republicans are all hammering the same message. They say Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation is politically motivated. And they say it's an abuse of power. House Speaker McCarthy kicked off the press conference down here for this retreat, fielding numerous questions about Trump's claim that he could get arrested. And also, he was asked about the former president's call for supporters to protest. McCarthy repeatedly slammed Bragg. He keeps saying he's playing politics with an investigation. But the speaker did break with Trump, saying he did not think people should protest.

INSKEEP: We should note House Republicans now have power. They have the power to investigate. They have the power of oversight¹⁰. Are they using that at all when it comes to the former president?

WALSH: They are. They are using it to launch their own investigation of that New York prosecutor, Alvin Bragg.

INSKEEP: Wait. Not investigating Trump, investigating the prosecutor who's investigating Trump. Is that correct?

WALSH: That's correct.

INSKEEP: OK. Go on.

WALSH: Three committee chair - House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, House Oversight Chairman Jim Comer and House Administration Committee Bryan Steil - sent a joint¹¹ letter yesterday demanding Bragg turn over documents, appear in person before their panels. Jordan told reporters yesterday they all want details about Bragg's probe.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JIM JORDAN: It's obvious that this is a sham¹². And something that we want to know - were federal funds involved? Did this stem from - it sure looks like it grew out of the special counsel investigation because those are the legislative concerns we have as Congress.

WALSH: In their letter, they raised questions about whether any federal money that the DA's office received was involved in this particular probe. Bragg, for his part, has not indicated any timeline for when his investigation may be completed. He's just saying he's going to continue to follow the facts.

INSKEEP: I guess it's a familiar story that the political conversation is all about Donald Trump, as it has often been in the past, and less about what Congress might do, what legislation might pass. Do House Republican leaders have anything they want to do themselves?

WALSH: They do. I mean, they are talking about hearings on the banking¹³ crisis, passing bills dealing¹⁴ with border security. They have a parents' bill of rights they're talking about that's coming up on the floor soon. But Donald Trump still looms¹⁵ really large over the Republican Party. And this controversy¹⁶ has just really stepped all over their message down here. It just shows he continues to be the dominant¹⁷ player.

Lawmakers are denouncing the prosecutor and echoing Trump's message about political bias¹⁸. But they're not really commenting on the former president's behavior. They're just sort of dismissing the whole thing as, oh, this is all about politics. But privately¹⁹, I have spoken with several Republicans down here in Orlando who represent swing districts. Some of them are ready to move on and potentially get behind another top Republican on the ticket in 2024, someone like the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis. But he hasn't announced he's running for president. And I will say, lawmakers are really reluctant to get crosswise with the Republican base because Donald Trump is still really popular with their voters.

INSKEEP: NPR's Deirdre Walsh, thanks so much.

WALSH: Thank you.

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 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 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

5 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。

6 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

7 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。

8 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。

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 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

13 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

17 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

18 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

19 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。