时代周刊 总统议程最有力的执行者 杰夫·塞申斯(8)（在线收听）

In 2013, Bannon tried to convince Sessions to run for President; he demurred.

2013年，班农试图说服塞申斯竞选总统；塞申斯表示反对。

But Sessions was pleasantly surprised when Trump began campaigning on his old themes.

但当特朗普开始围绕他的老主题竞选时，塞申斯感到颇为惊喜。

Sessions' aide Stephen Miller went to work for Trump's campaign, helping shape his policy platform on immigration, trade and other issues.

塞申斯的助手斯蒂芬·米勒后来加入了特朗普的竞选团队，为打造他在移民、贸易和其他问题上的政策平台出谋划策。

Just before Super Tuesday, Sessions became the first and only Senator to endorse Trump in the primary, dealing a blow to then rival Ted Cruz.

就在超级星期二之前，塞辛斯成了第一个也是唯一一个在初选中支持特朗普的参议员，这对当时的竞争对手泰德·克鲁兹而言无疑是一个打击。

Accepting the endorsement at a massive rally in Madison, Trump called Sessions "a great man."

特朗普在麦迪逊的一个大型集会上感谢了塞申斯的支持，称塞申斯是“伟人”。

Sessions became a close and trusted adviser to the campaign.

后来，塞申斯成了亲密可信的竞选活动顾问。

He was thrilled that Trump had become the pitchman for his positions.

他对特朗普成了代表自己立场的代言人感到兴奋。

"Here he comes on all of it, boom boom boom," Sessions told me.

赛辛斯告诉我：“他还是来了，来了，来了，来了。”

"Nobody else was saying that."

“没人会这么说。”

AS THE SUN SET outside the plane window, Sessions began to wax philosophical about the rule of law.

太阳在飞机窗外落下时，塞申斯就法治问题陷入了哲学般的沉思。

"The Attorney General's job," he said, "is to tell the executive what he can and can't do legally."

“司法部长的工作，”他说，“是告诉执法者在法律层面什么能做，什么不能做。”

Tenting his fingers beneath his chin, Sessions said he stands by his recusal from the Russia investigation:

塞申斯用手托着下巴说，他支持自己负责的俄罗斯调查一案的结果：

"I think I did the right thing. I don't think the Attorney General can ask everybody else in the department to follow the rules if the Attorney General doesn't follow them."

:“我认为我的做法是正确的。如果司法部长自己都不遵守规定，他就不能要求部门里的其他人也遵守规定。”

Trump appears to see it diferently; he has reportedly griped that Sessions has failed to "protect" him.

特朗普似乎有不同的看法；据报道，他抱怨说，塞申斯未能“保护好”他。

"He does get frustrated," Sessions concedes.

“他确实觉得很失望，”塞申斯承认。

"He's trying to run this country, and he's got to spend his time dealing with certain issues."

“他要努力治理这个国家，也必须花时间处理某些问题。”

Like so many Republicans, Sessions has accommodated himself to Trump in ways that seem to contravene his principles.

和许多共和党人一样，塞申斯也努力地让自己去适应特朗普，有的时候甚至都表现得有些违背自己的原则了。

The day after I interviewed him, Sessions—acting on a recommendation from the inspector general and FBI disciplinary officials— fired the FBI's McCabe two days before he was set to retire.

在我采访他后的第二天，塞申斯就——在检察长和FBI纪检官员的建议下——把离退休只有两天的联邦调查局前副局长麦凯布开除了。

McCabe decried the act as politically motivated retaliation, an impression Trump bolstered with a set of gloating morning-after tweets.

麦凯布谴责此举是出于政治动机的报复，特朗普在图特上发布了一系列幸灾乐祸的推文，进一步强化了这种印象。

It was subsequently reported that McCabe had previously investigated Sessions over his Russian contacts.

后来有报道说，麦凯布先前曾对塞申斯在俄罗斯的关系网进行过调查。

Still, when it comes to the Russia investigation, Sessions has held the line against Trump's interference.

不过，在俄罗斯调查一事上，塞申斯坚持反对特朗普的干预。

Shortly before our trip, he had dinner at a Washington restaurant with Solicitor General Noel Francisco and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the official overseeing the Mueller probe.

在我们这次会面前不久，塞申斯刚与总检察长诺埃尔·弗朗西斯科，负责监督米勒案调查的副检察长罗德·罗森斯坦在华盛顿的一家餐厅一起用过餐。

The tiniest of symbolic protests, it nonetheless reportedly sent Trump into a rage.

据报道，这次已经是最轻微的象征性抗议行为了，但还是引起了特朗普的勃然大怒。

Sessions declined to comment on the dinner conversation,

塞申斯拒绝就会餐谈话发表评论，

but he did say he ordered the fried chicken—a house specialty—and a banana split that was too big to finish.

但他还是透露了他点了炸鸡——那家餐厅的特色菜——和一份大得吃不完的香蕉船。

Sessions' ultimate loyalty, he told me, is not to any man but to a principle.

他的衷心，塞申斯告诉我，最后是属于原则而不是属于任何一个个人的。

"Congress passes a law, judges follow the law, and nobody's above the law, including the judges, and including the President," he said.

“国会通过法律，法官遵循法律，任何人都不能凌驾于法律之上，包括法官和总统，”他说。

Yet every person of conviction makes a bargain by going to work for Trump:

然而，每一个有信念的人在为特朗普工作的时候都要讨价还价：

to wield the levers of power, to make changes you believe are for the better, you will have to make certain compromises.

要操纵权利的杠杆，要做出你认为更好的改变，你就必须做出某些妥协。

As many others can attest—and as Sessions may soon discover—following Trump can lead you astray.

其他许多人也都能证明——塞申斯可能不久也会发现——追随特朗普可能会让你误入歧途。