美国国家公共电台 NPR Jury Finds Paul Manafort Guilty In Federal Tax And Bank Fraud Trial

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

All morning, we're bringing you the latest on two major court cases connected to President Donald Trump¹. The president's former lawyer pleaded guilty to eight charges yesterday. They included illegal payments to keep two women from talking about affairs they claim to have had with Trump. Within minutes of that plea, a jury convicted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on eight tax and fraud charges. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on 10 other counts. The president responded to the cases on Twitter this morning, accusing Cohen of making up stories for a plea deal and calling Manafort a brave man. NPR's national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson is with us to talk through the Manafort verdict and what comes next from that. Good morning, Carrie.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE²: Hey, Rachel.

MARTIN: So the jury in this case deliberated for nearly four days, but they couldn't come to a consensus³ on all these charges. What happened?

JOHNSON: So this was a heavy case. Remember, 27 witnesses, 388 exhibits, lots of testimony⁴ about tax returns and foreign bank accounts in Cyprus. It's not a huge surprise this jury couldn't decide 10 of the charges. Mostly, they couldn't decide on the bank fraud counts. But they did convict on all the charges against Paul Manafort that involve filing false tax returns. They convicted on one count of failing to file a foreign bank account report and two counts of bank fraud. That's no small thing. This guy was the chairman of President Trump's campaign during a crucial period in 2016. He's now been convicted of multiple felonies.

MARTIN: So what about those parts, those counts that the jury couldn't reach a consensus on?

JOHNSON: The judge says prosecutors⁵ have until August 29 to tell the judge whether they want a new trial on those 10 counts or to just let it slide. There is reason to believe they may let it slide. Paul Manafort is 69 years old and he's sentenced on those eight convictions already that could send him to prison for the rest of his life. And Manafort faces another trial related to his foreign lobbying work and alleged⁶ money laundering⁷ in Washington, D.C., next month. Manafort's lawyer says when it comes to these Virginia convictions, he's evaluating all his options now.

MARTIN: You were inside the courtroom for the verdict. What was the atmosphere like?

JOHNSON: Yeah. Lots of U.S. marshals and court security officers showed up to monitor the doors. Paul Manafort stood up. He blinked slowly several times as those first three guilty verdicts were read. Otherwise, he didn't show much emotion. And, you know, Paul Manafort was very careful in the course of this trial. He, on several days, did not wear socks because the jail was giving him white socks to wear with his dark shoes, and he didn't like it. So the notion that this guy is now facing seven to 10 years in prison when he's so proud is really quite something. The jurors were excused. Before they left, they looked very tired. They'd been at this case for 16 long days. When it was all over, the government lawyers shook hands with all the defense⁸ lawyers, kind of like a baseball game, but a really somber⁹ one.

MARTIN: So at the same time, President Trump keeps calling the overall Russia probe a witch hunt. Last night in West Virginia, he took the opportunity to praise Paul Manafort. He said he's sad about what's happened to him. He said Paul Manafort is a good man. And he also said, where's the collusion? This special counsel investigation¹⁰ was supposed to be about Russian collusion - where's the collusion? I mean, he was right. This wasn't - they didn't find any evidence of collusion in this.

JOHNSON: This case was not supposed to be about links to Russia. In fact, the judge in this case prohibited the government and the defense from really going deeply into Russia or even using the word oligarch in the course of this trial. But it's hard to call this proceeding¹¹ a witch hunt when Paul Manafort has been convicted on eight felony charges and faces more in D.C. next month. You know, this case could still end in a political way with a pardon from President Trump. I know that people on Capitol Hill were concerned about that yesterday. And there's reason to believe it may happen. One of the people in Manafort's corner is a longtime lawyer named Richard Hibey, a trusted adviser¹² to Manafort for years. Hibey showed up during this trial. Interestingly enough, he has a reputation for being able to get pardons for some of his high-profile clients. Back in the Iran-Contra scandal, he represented a higher-up in the CIA who eventually, two weeks after his conviction, was pardoned by then-President George H.W. Bush. So it is still possible. It's also possible Paul Manafort, after all this, could wind up cooperating with the government.

MARTIN: NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson unpacking¹³ the Paul Manafort conviction. Thanks so much.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

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 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。

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

5 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。

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

7 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》

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

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 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

12 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

13 unpacking   

n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）

参考例句：

• Joe sat on the bed while Martin was unpacking. 马丁打开箱子取东西的时候，乔坐在床上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They are unpacking a trunk. 他们正在打开衣箱。 来自《简明英汉词典》