密歇根新闻广播 纳萨尔丑闻可能会带来广泛的意想不到的后果

There is, to put it mildly, a lot going on these days, with the biggest story being the ever-mushrooming national sexual harassment¹ scandal.

But there is another sex scandal of a different sort that is already a big deal and which seems almost certain to become much bigger and take on many more dimensions. I'm speaking about the events at Michigan State University, involving former sports medicine Dr. Larry Nassar, who has been credibly² accused of sexually abusing at least 125 women and girls.

Nassar has already pleaded guilty to multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct in two counties, and is going to be sentenced in January, presumably to many years in prison. But what we don't yet fully³ know is what this will do to Michigan State, and – something very few have thought about – how this will affect next year's campaign for governor.

Because affect that race it will, and here's why. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, the front-running candidate for the Republican nomination⁴, is already seeking to use this mess as political capital. Yesterday, he demanded that MSU share a report prepared for it by their outside counsel, former U.S. Attorney Pat Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald isn't just any lawyer, by the way.

Ten years ago, he was the tenacious⁵ former prosecutor⁶ who went after the leaks in the Valerie Plame scandal in the Bush Administration, in which the White House deliberately⁷ leaked information to blow the cover of a CIA agent for political purposes. What may be remembered most about that was his insistence⁸ that reporters testify about their confidential⁹ sources, and that a New York Times reporter who initially¹⁰ refused spent nearly three months in jail.

Schuette has hinted that he may conduct an investigation¹¹ into MSU, and you can look for this mess to be further politicized as time goes by. But here's something you may not have thought of. Former Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer served as temporary Ingham County Prosecutor for six months last year, after the longtime incumbent¹² resigned due to his own horrific sex scandal. The Nassar case first exploded into public view during the time she was in office.

The questions include, what did she know and when did she know it, and what did Gretchen Whitmer do about the Nassar case? Republicans are already whispering that she took no action, and that Schuette has now ridden in like a knight¹³ on a white horse to get the truth out.

Michigan State officials say they don't plan to release the Fitzgerald report to the public. But it's a public school and that's unlikely to fly. And apart from partisan¹⁴ politics, MSU faces a much bigger mess that hasn't even begun to hit: The costs, financial and otherwise, of all the lawsuits¹⁵ filed by those who say they were abused by Nassar.

The scandal at Penn State in which an assistant football coach was convicted of molesting¹⁶ young boys, cost that school a quarter of a billion dollars in settlements and legal fees. But there at least four times as many victims in the MSU case.

What this will do to MSU's finances, reputation, and ability to recruit students and faculty¹⁷ is bound to be horrific. The only thing certain is that it is going to be a multi-dimensional nightmare. And we ain't seen nothing yet.

Jack¹⁸ Lessenberry is Michigan Radio's Senior Political Analyst¹⁹. Views expressed in his essays are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management or the station licensee, The University of Michigan.

1 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

2 credibly   

ad.可信地；可靠地

参考例句：

• I am credibly informed that. 由可靠方面听说。
• An effective management software ensures network to run credibly. 一个高效的网管软件是网络运行的可靠保证。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

5 tenacious   

adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的

参考例句：

• We must learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Lu Xun.我们要学习鲁迅先生韧性的战斗精神。
• We should be tenacious of our rights.我们应坚决维护我们的权利。

6 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。

7 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

8 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

9 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 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。

12 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

13 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

14 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

15 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

16 molesting   

v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• He was accused of sexually molesting a female colleague. 他被指控对一位女同事进行性骚扰。 来自辞典例句
• He was charged with molesting a woman. 他被指控调戏妇女。 来自辞典例句

17 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

18 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

19 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。