美国国家公共电台 NPR The Court Challenge Begins: Is Trump Taking Unconstitutional Emoluments?

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

A group challenging Donald Trump¹'s dual² roles as president and businessman will have its day in court tomorrow. A federal judge in Manhattan hears preliminary arguments. It's 1 of 3 lawsuits³ that accuse the president of violating the Constitution. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

PETER OVERBY, BYLINE⁵: It was January 20 when President Trump took the oath of office.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Preserve, protect and defend...

JOHN ROBERTS: The Constitution of the United States.

TRUMP: ...The Constitution of the United States.

OVERBY: Three days later, a group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics⁶ in Washington, or CREW, sued him for violating the Foreign Emoluments⁸ Clause of the Constitution.

NOAH BOOKBINDER: This is a pretty big deal.

OVERBY: Noah Bookbinder is CREW's executive director.

BOOKBINDER: It's the first time that a court is going to be hearing arguments about the Emoluments Clause, what an emolument⁷ is, what the president actually is prohibited from doing under the Constitution.

OVERBY: Emoluments were a quiet little corner of constitutional law right up until President Trump took office while holding onto his sprawling⁹ business empire. The big question tomorrow is legal standing¹⁰. Do CREW and its co-plaintiffs have legal interests that justify¹¹ taking Trump to court? They say they do. The plaintiffs include several hotels and restaurants in New York City, an association of restaurants and restaurant workers and an events booker in Washington, D.C. They say they've lost business to Trump establishments, a claim that the Justice Department argues against. If the plaintiffs win on the standing question...

BOOKBINDER: The next phase of the case would be discovery.

OVERBY: Bookbinder says they'd want the Trump organization to turn over documents.

BOOKBINDER: Business records for the Trump companies and other relevant documents, potentially including tax returns that'll tell us what foreign government payments and what state government payments the president's companies may be receiving in violation¹² of the Constitution.

OVERBY: Then there's the definition of emolument. CREW asserts a broad one and cites dictionaries in use at the time the Constitution was drafted. DOJ uses a narrower definition, just as Trump's lawyer Sheri Dillon did last January.

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SHERI DILLON: No one would have thought when the Constitution was written that paying your hotel bill was an emolument. Instead, it would have been thought of as a value-for-value exchange, not a gift, not a title and not an emolument.

OVERBY: These questions seem to be wide open. There aren't many legal precedents¹³.

SAIKRISHNA PRAKASH: I definitely have the view that no one has standing to bring an Emoluments Clause challenge.

OVERBY: Sai Prakash teaches constitutional law at the University of Virginia Law School. He says emoluments are for Congress to consider. His view of the lawsuit⁴...

PRAKASH: Well, I think it's become a vehicle for some people's frustrations¹⁵ with the president's continuing to, you know, have active businesses while serving as president.

OVERBY: Jennifer Taub is a law professor at Vermont Law School. Last winter, she helped organize a campaign calling on Trump to disclose his tax returns. She said that if this case fails, it would set a terrible precedent¹⁴.

JENNIFER TAUB: We cannot have a representative democracy if the president takes office with the purpose of personal gain and, you know, essentially¹⁶ influence peddling¹⁷.

OVERBY: More immediately, failure would be a bad omen¹⁸ for those other two emolument suits - one filed by Democrats¹⁹ in Congress, the other by the attorneys general in Maryland and the District of Columbia. They're still working their way through the legal pipeline²⁰. Peter Overby, NPR News.

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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 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

3 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

4 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

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 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

7 emolument   

n.报酬，薪水

参考例句：

• The emolument of this profession is not satisfactory.此行业的报酬不令人满意。
• Emolument management occupies a significant part in HR.薪酬管理在人力资源管理活动中占据重要的地位。

8 emoluments   

n.报酬，薪水( emolument的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The emoluments of this profession is not satisfactory. 此行业的报酬不令人满意。 来自辞典例句
• Emoluments connected with this position include free education for the children. 与这职务有关的酬劳包括为子女提供免费教育。 来自互联网

9 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

10 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。

11 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

12 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

13 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。

14 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

15 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

16 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

17 peddling   

忙于琐事的，无关紧要的

参考例句：

• He worked as a door-to-door salesman peddling cloths and brushes. 他的工作是上门推销抹布和刷子。
• "If he doesn't like peddling, why doesn't he practice law? "要是他不高兴卖柴火，干吗不当律师呢？

18 omen   

n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示

参考例句：

• The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。
• Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了？

19 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。