美国国家公共电台 NPR New York District Attorney On The Defense Over Handling Of Weinstein Allegations

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

This week, The New Yorker released an audio recording¹ of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. He's heard trying to lure² a model into his hotel room. She doesn't want to go. The tape was recorded by the New York police as part of a sting operation, but the investigation³ ended after the Manhattan district attorney decided⁴ not to prosecute⁵. Now the DA is under scrutiny⁶ himself. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE⁷: If only because of the venue⁸, the Manhattan district attorney is among the nation's most high-profile prosecutors⁹. The job has attracted legal legends such as Thomas Dewey, Frank Hogan and Robert Morgenthau, who have tended to stay in the job for years, says New York political consultant¹⁰ Jerry Skurnik.

JERRY SKURNIK: When you get elected district attorney in Manhattan, it's sort of like a job until you decide to retire.

ZARROLI: Until recently, it seemed that 63-year-old Cyrus Vance Jr. might enjoy the same long tenure¹¹. The son of Jimmy Carter's secretary of state, Vance went to law school and then became an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. He worked in private practice in Seattle, then came back to New York. In 2009, he was elected to succeed Morgenthau. Skurnik says he hasn't cut a high profile.

SKURNIK: He hasn't been as prominent partially¹² because the city's crime rate has gone down.

ZARROLI: But he has presided over some major prosecutions¹³ such as the sexual assault case against former IMF chairman Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Jim Cohen is a professor at Fordham Law School.

JIM COHEN: He is in general viewed with great respect. He's considered to be a straight shooter. But recent news events may ultimately end up changing that.

ZARROLI: This week's New Yorker story said that after Weinstein was taped sexually harassing¹⁴ the Italian model, some prosecutors wanted to pursue a case against him. But Vance overruled them, arguing there wasn't enough evidence. He spoke¹⁵ to reporters this week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CYRUS VANCE JR.: I understand that folks are outraged¹⁶ by his behavior. I understand that there are many other allegations that have surfaced. But in our case, we really did what I think the law obligates us to do.

ZARROLI: The Weinstein case followed a report by ProPublica, WNYC and The New Yorker involving the Trump¹⁷ family. The DA's office had investigated Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. for fraud over the sale of units at the Trump SoHo. But as in the Weinstein case, Vance decided not to prosecute. The report said a Trump attorney had made a $25,000 contribution to Vance's campaign and then after the case was dropped gave an even bigger one, $32,000. Cohen says the donations raise serious questions about Vance's judgment¹⁸.

COHEN: It was improper¹⁹ for him to accept it in the first place. He responded by returning those donations and then apparently²⁰ accepted them again after the fact.

ZARROLI: Vance later returned the second contribution he received as well. Unluckily for Vance, the controversies²¹ have arisen at a time when he is running for a third term. Luckily for him, he has no Republican opponent and is almost certain to win. But Skurnik says the controversies have hurt his reputation.

SKURNIK: His name recognition's probably gone up, but mostly this new name recognition is not positive.

ZARROLI: Manhattan district attorneys have typically faced token opposition²² when they ran for re-election, and that's been true of Vance. But the Weinstein and Trump SoHo cases mean the political landscape could look a lot different if Vance runs for office next time. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE BAD PLUS' "SEVEN MINUTE MIND")

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

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 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

6 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。

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 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

9 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。

10 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

11 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

12 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

13 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

14 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

17 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。

18 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

19 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

20 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

21 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

22 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。