美国国家公共电台 NPR In His First Year As Attorney General, Sessions Transforms Justice In Key Ways

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

One year ago today, President Trump¹ promised that a new era was beginning at the Justice Department.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It is with great pride - very great pride - that I say these words to you right now, Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

(APPLAUSE)

INSKEEP: In a year, Sessions has transformed the institution's approach to civil rights and immigration, all while an investigation² continues into Russia's role in the 2016 election. NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has covered the whole year. She's on the line.

Good morning, Carrie.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE³: Hi, Steve.

INSKEEP: How different does the department feel to you when you walk through the halls or get people on the phone?

JOHNSON: It does feel different. Of course, the department has had some morale⁴ problems, in part because President Trump has been attacking both the Justice Department and the FBI for many, many months as a laughingstock and possibly politically biased⁵. Also, Steve, there are at least six major jobs requiring Senate confirmation⁶ still open at the Justice Department one year in - more than one year in. And there's not a quick sense that those jobs are going to be filled.

INSKEEP: Well, you mentioned the president's attacks on his own Justice Department. Let's focus on Jeff Sessions here. At his confirmation hearing, he assured senators he would be independent - he would make independent judgments⁷. He later then did, over the president's objections, recuse himself from the Russia investigation - said he shouldn't be making decisions about it. But what about more recently?

JOHNSON: You know, the first words out of his mouth at his confirmation hearing - Jeff Sessions - were that he would be independent of the president. He's actually tried to have it a bit both ways, especially when it comes to criticism of the people inside his department. Sessions has offered some words of praise for his deputies, including Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. But he also throws critics like the president a bone, saying that he's aware there are sharp criticisms of the department; sunlight is the best disinfectant; and he's not going to ignore problems or bury his hand in the sand when he encounters them.

INSKEEP: Just to understand this - I mean, the president appoints the attorney general. The president is the boss. But is the job such that the attorney general should always be taking the president's orders?

JOHNSON: Well, in matters of policy, the president has a big say. In matters of law enforcement, the practice since Watergate is that the president should have no say. And that's the bright line.

INSKEEP: OK. Well, let's talk about policy as well - policy in law enforcement here. Jeff Sessions has made a number of announcements. He's got clear priorities. And I'm thinking of one in particular - the federal approach to marijuana, which has been legalized in many states but is, of course, illegal at the federal level. Sessions changed the guidance for federal prosecutors⁸ and law enforcement officials. But we were told at the time it was not clear how much would actually change in terms of prosecutions⁹ on the ground. Can you think of an issue, Carrie Johnson, in which Jeff Sessions' different approach has actually resulted in something different on the ground?

JOHNSON: Very much so. Attorney General Sessions, in the Senate, had very strong feelings about immigration. And he's already had a major impact on immigration policy. He set benchmarks for immigration judges, trying to get them to move cases along faster. He's moving to strip people of citizenship¹⁰ if they lied during the vetting¹¹ process. And of course his Justice Department determined¹² that Deferred¹³ Action for Childhood Arrivals program was unconstitutional and could not be defended in court, which is part of the reason we're in the situation we're in now with respect...

INSKEEP: Oh. That was the justification¹⁴ for President Trump saying he would end it in March...

JOHNSON: Exactly.

INSKEEP: ...Unless Congress were to intervene in some way. And that's the thing that's still being debated.

JOHNSON: That's right.

INSKEEP: And he has, you're saying, caused stricter enforcement or stricter punishments, if that's precisely¹⁵ the word - stricter outcomes for people who are found to be in the country illegally.

JOHNSON: Yeah. And there's another big area where he's done a lot, which is with respect to civil rights, particularly police investigations¹⁶ - only charging individual officers, not investigating entire police departments anymore.

INSKEEP: NPR's Carrie Johnson - always a pleasure. Thank you.

JOHNSON: My pleasure.

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 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。

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 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

5 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

6 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

7 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

8 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。

9 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

10 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

11 vetting   

n.数据检查[核对，核实]v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的现在分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• Scripts had to be submitted to Ministry of Information officials for vetting. 必须把脚本提交给信息部官员审查。 来自互联网
• Their purpose in clicking deeper into a site is one of vetting. 他们深入点击网站的目的是一种诊疗。 来自互联网

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

13 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

14 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

15 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

16 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。