美国国家公共电台 NPR The Man Behind The Scenes In Fox News' Discredited Seth Rich Story

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A new lawsuit¹ and reporting from NPR has cast fresh light on a Fox News story about the murder of a young Democratic aide named Seth Rich. His family denounced the story. And ultimately, Fox News retracted² it. There's a key player in how all of that unfolded, and he's been the focus of outrage³. But he told a NPR media correspondent, David Folkenflik, that everyone's got it backwards⁴.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE⁵: Back in May, when Fox News ran a story linking the late Seth Rich to the leak of Democratic Party emails to WikiLeaks, Fox's Sean Hannity described a key player this way.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "HANNITY")

SEAN HANNITY: D.C. police are officially in charge of this case. But former D.C. homicide detective Rod Wheeler, who was hired by a third party to investigate the murder on behalf of the family, says...

FOLKENFLIK: The third party has a name. He's familiar to Fox viewers as a conservative financial analyst⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW)

GREGG JARRETT: Ed Butowsky is...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW)

GERRI WILLIS: More on this Ed Butowsky...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW)

STUART VARNEY: Ed Butowsky...

FOLKENFLIK: He's a 55-year-old former senior vice⁷ president at Morgan Stanley who has his own investment advising firm that's based outside Dallas. At once ingratiating and blustery, Butowsky likes the limelight. Here he is in an online reality show.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE INVESTED LIFE")

ED BUTOWSKY: My name is Ed Butowsky. I am not a native Texan. I grew up in New York. I went to school at the University of Texas and also continued at Wharton.

FOLKENFLIK: Butowsky has pursued high-visibility clients. He was featured in a Sports Illustrated⁸ cover story and an ESPN documentary about professional athletes going broke.

BUTOWSKY: I'm the kind of guy who likes to help people. And if I can help them out, I will.

FOLKENFLIK: Butowsky tells me that's why he got involved in the Seth Rich story - helping⁹ the Rich family resolve the mystery of Seth's death, helping the investigator¹⁰ Rod Wheeler get a paying gig and helping important information about the source of the leaked emails to come to light.

BUTOWSKY: It was like, wait a second. If this is the case, oh, my goodness, then people need to know.

FOLKENFLIK: Butowsky says his interest started when a friend told him last year that WikiLeaks founder¹¹ Julian Assange claimed that Rich, the murdered, 27-year-old Democratic aide, had actually been the source of the leaked emails. U.S. intelligence chiefs had already blamed the Russians for the hacking¹². Even so, Butowsky tracked down the Riches and shared his friend's information.

BUTOWSKY: I had no interest, didn't know anything. I thought - very privately¹³, by the way - I was just helping somebody.

FOLKENFLIK: In January, Butowsky connected with the legendary¹⁴ investigative reporter Seymour Hersh. Hersh told him an FBI source saw a report linking Rich's laptop to WikiLeaks. An FBI spokeswoman denies it has any role in the case. Butowsky told Hersh the report needed to become public.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING¹⁵)

BUTOWSKY: The most important thing is this. Everyone - there's so many people throughout Trump¹⁶'s, you know, four years and maybe eight years - are always going to fall back on the idea that he's not legitimate¹⁷ and the Russians got him elected. This changes all of that.

FOLKENFLIK: This is from a recording Butowsky made of the conversation with Hersh that he shared with others.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BUTOWSKY: I have a great history in getting things in the - getting things out there, where nobody knows that I'm the one who did it.

FOLKENFLIK: That conversation kicked off a flurry of activity. Butowsky says he forwarded the recording to Rich's parents. They agreed he could pick and pay for a private eye, whom he introduced to a Fox News reporter. Butowsky and the investigator briefed Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer at the White House about Rich.

And Butowsky participated in a rolling discussion with the investigator and the Fox reporter, as documented in a later lawsuit filed by the private eye, Rod Wheeler. Butowsky told Wheeler that Trump wanted the story on the air. Butowsky now says he was clearly joking. And Butowsky sounds baffled when I asked him about all this activity.

BUTOWSKY: As I look back, I didn't do anything, if you think about it. What did I do? Nothing.

FOLKENFLIK: Butowsky's accounts in other realms seemingly raise questions as well. Take that appearance on the web reality show.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE INVESTED LIFE")

BUTOWSKY: I went to school at the University of Texas and also continued at Wharton.

FOLKENFLIK: A picture flashes on screen of Butowsky in cap and gown. The University of Texas says it has no records of him graduating, just attending in the early 1980s. And the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School says he attended a noncredit executive education program in 1997. Butowsky tells me he's proud of that Wharton program.

Although his firm handles $244 million, Butowsky has had three federal tax liens¹⁸ against him personally totaling about a half-million dollars, including this year. He says most of this was about a disputed interpretation¹⁹ of the tax code. And as for his role in politics, Butowsky is not a major donor²⁰. And he says he's not a player.

BUTOWSKY: You know, the idea that I'm some political activist²¹ is the strangest thing, as well.

FOLKENFLIK: Yet, at last summer's Republican National Convention, he sat right next to top Republican donors²² Sheldon and Miriam Adelson in their suite²³. Butowsky makes a plea to me - see him as a human being. Appreciate the toll²⁴ the public backlash has taken on his family. I tell him I do. I also ask, what about the toll on the parents of Seth Rich?

I'm asking you to recognize in them the same sense of frustration²⁵ and anguish²⁶ that it sounds like you feel, as people have been...

And here, Butowsky shows no curiosity about the people he says he sought to help.

They feel unfairly maligned²⁷ that their son has been the source of speculation²⁸ that they reject. But also, they have been, you know, online, just viciously characterized.

BUTOWSKY: What have they said to them? Because I have no - I don't have a clue in the world what anyone has said to them or about them.

FOLKENFLIK: To this day, Butowsky says the story that Fox broadcast and retracted is true - every word. David Folkenflik, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF WE LOST THE SEA'S "BOGATYRI")

1 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。

2 retracted   

v.撤回或撤消( retract的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝执行或遵守；缩回；拉回

参考例句：

• He made a false confession which he later retracted. 他作了假供词，后来又翻供。
• A caddy retracted his statement. 一个球童收回了他的话。 来自辞典例句

3 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

4 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

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 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。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

11 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

12 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

13 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。

14 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

15 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。

16 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。

17 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

18 liens   

n.留置权，扣押权( lien的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Car les liens économiques n'ont jamais été aussi forts. 因为经济纽带从来没有如此强大。 来自互联网
• Chapter XI Procedures for Publicizing Notice for Assertion of Maritime Liens. 第十一章船舶优先权催告程序。 来自互联网

19 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

20 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

21 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

22 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：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

24 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

25 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

26 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

27 maligned   

vt.污蔑，诽谤（malign的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• She feels she has been much maligned by the press. 她觉得她遭到了新闻界的恣意诽谤。
• We maligned him dreadfully when you come to think of it. 回头想想，我们狠狠地中伤了他。 来自辞典例句

28 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。