-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Rep. George Santos is in custody1 after facing a federal criminal charge
Congressman3 George Santos is in custody in a New York courthouse. He's charged with making false statements to Congress, money laundering4, wire fraud and theft of public funds.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
With a crime report of sorts - New York Congressman George Santos has been arrested. He's charged with 13 counts of criminal wrongdoing, including an alleged5 scheme to defraud6 donors7 to his political campaign and also allegations that he tried to cheat New York state's unemployment relief system during the pandemic. NPR's Brian Mann is at the federal courthouse in Islip, N.Y., which is where Mr. Santos turned himself in this morning.
Brian, good morning.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE8: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: Give me some details of these allegations, please.
MANN: Well, first, there's this scheme, according to the feds, where George Santos allegedly cheated campaign donors, telling them that money that they sent to his campaign would be spent on television ads and other efforts to get him elected. Instead, according to the government, he spent that money on luxury designer clothes, making car payments, cash payments to himself and to other friends. Here's what U.S. attorney Breon Peace said. He said, taken together, the allegations and the indictment9 charged Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception10 to ascend11 to the halls of Congress and enrich himself.
INSKEEP: I appreciate hearing these details because when people first began talking about criminal charges against George Santos, it was fair to ask why. He obviously had deceived voters in New York City and on Long Island about his background. But, of course, making up stories is not necessarily a crime. But you're saying it's not strictly12 about lying. It's about getting money out of people for purposes other than what he said.
MANN: That's right. And if these allegations hold up in court - obviously he's innocent until proven guilty - he routed money that was supposed to go to his political career into his own pocket. Those are the charges that he faces here.
INSKEEP: Now, what is this other scheme that you describe, an allegation that he tried to fraudulently receive unemployment benefits back in 2020?
MANN: Yeah, that's right. What the government says is that in 2020, during the pandemic, when George Santos was employed, earning $120,000 a year and also running in his first campaign - remember he also ran for public office back in 2020 - they say he, at that time, applied13 for unemployment benefits. And that fraud charge will also be tested in court.
INSKEEP: What is Santos saying?
MANN: Well, it's interesting, Steve. You know, he's been defiant14 throughout this and has been constantly pushing back against the press and against his critics. But in the last couple of days, he's gone absolutely silent - nothing on Twitter, nothing on social media about these charges. We've reached out to him and to his attorney, and they have not gotten back to us. And so a guy who's been very pugilistic and kind of, you know, punching at his opponents throughout this - not a word from him now that these charges have been filed.
INSKEEP: I guess we should mention there's not a lot of doubt about some of the lies that he told fabrications that he made. What's his - what's the background of these charges?
MANN: Yeah. You know, it's interesting, Steve. He really did push the boundaries of political deception. You're right. Politicians often lie. They embellish15. That's what George Santos says he did. You know, but he made up stories about his family being in the Holocaust16. He invented an entire professional career for himself. He invented an education background that he did not possess. He claimed to be a competitive volleyball player who led his college team to a championship. It really was very difficult to find anything in his background that really held up under scrutiny17. As you say, much of that's not criminal. There are allegations now, though, that he did cross the line repeatedly - 13 charges here that he's now going to have to fight in court.
INSKEEP: You know, ordinarily, a newly elected freshman18 member of Congress is not that important. And I don't mean that to be dismissive. It's just that you have to stay in Congress a while to become powerful or important normally. But this guy is important because the Republican majority that he's part of is so narrow.
MANN: That's right. He was a key vote getting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy his speaker's gavel. He's been a staunch ally of Speaker McCarthy. Kevin McCarthy was asked about this yesterday. He says he will not demand that Santos step down or resign. He pointed19 to other politicians, including Democrats20, who faced criminal charges in the past but remained in office, kept casting votes while their trial played out. So that appears to be what's going to happen, that while Congressman Santos faces these charges in court, he's going to continue to serve.
INSKEEP: Brian, thanks so much.
MANN: Thank you.
INSKEEP: That's NPR's Brian Mann.
1 custody | |
n.监护,照看,羁押,拘留 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 transcript | |
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 Congressman | |
n.(美)国会议员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 laundering | |
n.洗涤(衣等),洗烫(衣等);洗(钱)v.洗(衣服等),洗烫(衣服等)( launder的现在分词 );洗(黑钱)(把非法收入改头换面,变为貌似合法的收入) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 alleged | |
a.被指控的,嫌疑的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 defraud | |
vt.欺骗,欺诈 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 donors | |
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 );献血者;捐血者;器官捐献者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 byline | |
n.署名;v.署名 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 indictment | |
n.起诉;诉状 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 deception | |
n.欺骗,欺诈;骗局,诡计 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 ascend | |
vi.渐渐上升,升高;vt.攀登,登上 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 strictly | |
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 applied | |
adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 defiant | |
adj.无礼的,挑战的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 embellish | |
v.装饰,布置;给…添加细节,润饰 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 holocaust | |
n.大破坏;大屠杀 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 scrutiny | |
n.详细检查,仔细观察 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 freshman | |
n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 democrats | |
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|