美国国家公共电台 NPR Rachel Brand, Third In Command At The Justice Department, Is Leaving Her Post

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Rachel Brand, the No. 3 person at the Justice Department, will be leaving her post. Her departure is notable because she would be in line to replace Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who's supervising the special counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

NPR's justice correspondent Carrie Johnson joins us now with more. Hi, Carrie.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE¹: Hi, Ari.

SHAPIRO: Rachel's been in this job nine months. Why is she leaving already?

JOHNSON: Well, in short, she got an offer she couldn't refuse. Five people close to Rachel Brand tell me she's gotten an offer to become the top lawyer at Walmart, a Fortune 50 company and a really big deal. I'm told she wasn't looking. They came to her. Of course, Rachel Brand is a former Supreme² Court clerk, worked for Justice Anthony Kennedy. She helped pick judges in the George W. Bush administration, then served on an intelligence oversight³ board. She's in her early 40s, Ari. She seems to be going places and wanting to go.

SHAPIRO: Wanting to go - this doesn't, then, have to do with the Russia probe and the Mueller investigation⁴ and all of that stuff?

JOHNSON: I talked with her friends, and they say there's no public sign that something happened inside the Justice Department or the White House that she was escaping. But we know the Justice Department has been feeling the heat under the president now for months. And it could get hotter if, as expected, the special counsel for Russia, Robert Mueller, puts in a formal request to interview Donald Trump⁵ at some point. Then push may come to shove.

SHAPIRO: How does Rachel Brand's departure impact that Russia probe?

JOHNSON: Well, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the No. 2 at Justice, is supervising the Mueller team. And he is still in place. He's approving the Mueller budget. And he gets advance notice of big steps like indictments⁶ or subpoenas⁷ or guilty pleas. Trump, we know, has been very unhappy with Rod Rosenstein, but the White House has denied there's a plan to remove him. If that changes, Brand's departure, Rachel Brand's departure, means that responsibility will fall on Solicitor⁸ General Noel Francisco unless and until somebody else is confirmed.

SHAPIRO: Today is the anniversary of Jeff Sessions being sworn in as attorney general. Now the No. 3 Department of Justice official is on her way out. And you've reported there's still a lot of big jobs open at Justice.

JOHNSON: Yeah. One year in, there's no one in charge of the criminal division, the national security division, the tax division, the environment division and of, course, the civil rights division. Now they're going to need to find a No. 3, an associate attorney general.

And, Ari, that could be kind of tricky⁹ because there are lots of - going to be lots of questions in any confirmation¹⁰ hearing moving forward about whether or not this person will fully¹¹ support the special counsel, will protect the independence of the Justice Department, which Donald Trump has been tweeting about for months and months now, and whether that person will quit rather than fire Robert Mueller. And so it could be kind of a tricky confirmation battle for whoever gets chosen to fill this job.

SHAPIRO: As you said, there has been a lot of speculation¹² about the future of Rod Rosenstein, who oversees¹³ the special counsel probe. Rachel Brand, the next in command, was always thought of as an established Republican figure with a long history at the Justice Department. Can you tell us about the solicitor general, who would be next in line if Rod Rosenstein recuses himself or is fired?

JOHNSON: Noel Francisco is also a familiar person in Washington and in conservative circles. He is a former law partner of the White House counsel, Don McGahn, and one of a number of lawyers from that same law firm, Jones Day, that have joined this administration. Of course, back in 1973 during that Saturday Night Massacre¹⁴ that we talked about, Robert Bork was the one to ultimately fire the special prosecutor¹⁵, Archibald Cox. So we'll all be watching to see what happens next.

SHAPIRO: So everybody is certainly watching. But Rachel Brand's departure is not the trigger for some kind of series of dominoes that people might be afraid of.

JOHNSON: Not at this point, although there's no public sign she's leaving because of the Russia investigation. Her friends do tell me she wants to go places. And it's a tough time to be in this administration.

SHAPIRO: NPR's justice correspondent Carrie Johnson, thanks so much.

JOHNSON: You're welcome.

1 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。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

4 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。

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 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

7 subpoenas   

n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句
• Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网

8 solicitor   

n.初级律师，事务律师

参考例句：

• The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
• The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

9 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

10 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。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 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。

13 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

14 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

15 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。