美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Criminal Cabal'? FBI Fears Political Attacks May Imperil Work Of Field Agents

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

So the FBI is this nation's top law enforcement agency. But it has come under attack from President Trump¹ and his allies. And that has current and former FBI officials worrying about the toll² this might take on the bureau's ability to do its job. Here's more from NPR's Ryan Lucas.

RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE³: For some two months now, the FBI has found itself the target of a consistent campaign. Headlines in the conservative press and pundits⁴ on cable news shows have repeatedly raised questions about its integrity.

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JEANINE PIRRO: There is a cleansing⁵ needed in our FBI and Department of Justice.

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NEWT GINGRICH: I think it's pretty appalling⁶, the level of corruption⁷ we're beginning to see in the FBI.

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TOM FITTON: There was no distinction between the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Department of Justice and the FBI.

LUCAS: That's Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the conservative group Judicial⁸ Watch's president Tom Fitton. Democrats⁹ say the allegations are an attempt to distract from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation¹⁰ into possible coordination¹¹ between the Trump campaign and Russia. But for many current and former FBI officials, the immediate¹² political battles are almost secondary to a bigger worry - will the allegations sap Americans' faith in the FBI?

CHRIS SWECKER: We're very concerned about the credibility of the FBI because we're having to defend it on a daily basis. And we've never had to do that before.

LUCAS: That's Chris Swecker. He spent 24 years at the FBI before retiring as an acting¹³ assistant director. He says there's been controversy¹⁴ in the past.

SWECKER: But never accusations¹⁵ that the FBI had become a political tool for one party or another.

LUCAS: It's difficult to gauge¹⁶ whether the efforts to discredit¹⁷ the FBI have gained traction¹⁸ with average Americans. Anecdotally at least, former agents say they are having to answer uncomfortable questions from family, friends and neighbors who want to know this - what's going on with the FBI?

STEPHANIE DOUGLAS: We all get asked that. Even FBI agents ask that to each other. What's going on with the bureau? What do you know? Who have you talked to? What have you heard?

LUCAS: That's Stephanie Douglas, a former FBI executive assistant director for the National Security Branch. She and other former officials say they worry the political allegations could hamper¹⁹ the work of agents out on the streets, the ones who are working cases on everything from bank robberies and terrorism to white-collar crimes or kidnappings. Again, Douglas.

DOUGLAS: There may be some temporary impact. When people feel like an organization like the FBI becomes political, it can impact the trust that certain people give to the organization.

LUCAS: It isn't just about politics, though. Douglas worries about agents being able to elicit²⁰ the help of witnesses.

DOUGLAS: Will that impact the public's ability to cooperate with an investigation?

LUCAS: The potential is a concern. FBI sources tell me that agents have raised the issue of the public's perception of the bureau at office meetings. Critics point to anti-Trump text messages sent by a senior FBI agent involved in the Hillary Clinton email investigation and the Russia probe. They say that supports their claims that the FBI is tainted²¹ by political bias²². Officials don't defend those texts. But they stress that some 35,000 people work at the FBI. Political opinions span the spectrum²³. Again, Swecker.

SWECKER: Let's face it, we all have political opinions. Agents vote. That's a political act in and of itself. But if you can't leave that at your house when you go to work as an FBI agent, then you need to be in another line of business. And people recognize that.

LUCAS: There's one aspect of the current criticism that sets it apart from past periods of turmoil²⁴. The president himself has repeatedly gone after the FBI. That, former FBI officials say, is shortsighted. Here's Konrad Motyka. He's a retired²⁵ FBI special agent who also served as the head of the FBI Agents Association.

KONRAD MOTYKA: I think it's important for all politicians to remember that, you know, the FBI's a core institution of the United States government. And making its mission more difficult or harming its overall credibility is not in the best interest of the country.

LUCAS: At the same time, the Russia investigation shows no sign of coming to a close. That may mean the FBI will stay in the political crosshairs, too.

Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.

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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 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。

3 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。

4 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

5 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

6 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

9 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》

10 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。

11 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

15 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

16 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

17 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

18 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

19 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

20 elicit   

v.引出,抽出,引起

参考例句：

• It was designed to elicit the best thinking within the government. 机构的设置是为了在政府内部集思广益。
• Don't try to elicit business secrets from me. I won't tell you anything. 你休想从我这里套问出我们的商业机密, 我什么都不会告诉你的。

21 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

23 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

24 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

25 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。