美国国家公共电台 NPR How States Are Banding Together To Take On Trump

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

There are several federal investigations² into Russian meddling³ in last year's election, but states are playing a role, too. New York, for one, could become a powerful adversary⁴ of the Trump⁵ administration if the president tries to pardon anyone involved. NPR's Jim Zarroli explains why.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE⁶: When President Trump announced a ban on travel for visitors from several predominantly Muslim countries right after his inauguration⁷, a group of attorneys general from mostly blue states quickly got involved. Eric Schneiderman is the attorney general of New York.

ERIC SCHNEIDERMAN: We just started talking to each other Friday afternoon. By Sunday morning, we had 17 states signed on to say this is unconstitutional; we're going into court to stop it. And we went in to courts all over the country and eventually got it struck down.

ZARROLI: This wasn't unusual. States have traditionally acted as counterweights to presidential authority, challenging the way laws are enforced. During the Obama administration, states such as Texas played a big role in overturning parts of the Affordable⁸ Care Act, for example. Schneiderman says Trump's election has galvanized many attorneys general, and they have worked together to oppose White House initiatives on climate change, immigration and voting rights.

SCHNEIDERMAN: There are regular conference calls, staffers talking to each other all the time. We're dividing up work. And there's much more of an attitude that we're all - you know, look; we're all in this together.

ZARROLI: This has been a joint⁹ effort. Though as Trump's home state, New York has perhaps a special role to play. Schneiderman, for example, brought charges against Trump over a real estate course accused of defrauding¹⁰ customers.

SCHNEIDERMAN: I do have more experience with the president than others because I was in litigation with him for years over Trump University. So I didn't think this particular skill set would be so important, but it turned out as of January it was.

ZARROLI: And Trump, for the record, is no fan of Schneiderman's, as this 2015 interview with ABC News suggests.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Anybody that knows - and that's in this city - knows anything about Eric Schneiderman - we know he's a political hack¹¹. I know it very well.

ZARROLI: Trump settled the Trump University case for $25 million. Today New York officials continue to investigate Trump on other matters and are playing a role in the Russia investigation¹. The state is looking into money laundering¹² allegations against Trump campaign officials. And if federal officials decide not to pursue the case, it's conceivable that the states could file charges of their own. Jennifer Rodgers heads the Center for the Advancement¹³ of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School.

JENNIFER RODGERS: If you're talking about New York state, I think the likelihood is pretty good that if a federal crime was committed here, that a state crime will also have been committed because the campaign was based here. So probably lots of their meetings and phone calls and other actions like that will have occurred here.

ZARROLI: And while the president can pardon someone charged with federal crimes, he doesn't have the same power over state charges. New York also has the power to regulate, penalize¹⁴ and even dissolve corporations headquartered in the state, such as the Trump Organization. Robert Abrams is a former New York attorney general.

ROBERT ABRAMS: The attorney general in New York is a very key player with very strong powers, particularly as it relates to corporate¹⁵ action and corporate entities¹⁶.

ZARROLI: New York officials tend to brush aside questions about pardons and state charges as premature¹⁷, but states such as New York, Washington and California have already demonstrated they're not afraid to challenge the White House when they want to. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

1 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。

2 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

3 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

4 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

5 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。

6 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。

7 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

8 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 defrauding   

v.诈取，骗取( defraud的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Second is the actor regards defrauding of the wealth as object. 第二，行为人以骗取钱财为目的。 来自互联网
• Therefore, DELL has the motive and economic purpose of intentionally defrauding the Chinese consumers. 因此，戴尔公司存在故意欺诈中国消费者的动机和经济目的。 来自互联网

11 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

12 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：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

14 penalize   

vt.对…处以刑罚，宣告…有罪；处罚

参考例句：

• It would be unfair to penalize those without a job.失业人员待遇低下是不公平的。
• The association decided not to penalize you for the race.赛马协会决定对你不予处罚。

15 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

16 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

17 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。