纽约时报 两名高级官员证实通乌电话确实欠妥(1)（在线收听）

Two Top Officials Testify Trump Call Was Inappropriate; One ‘Couldn’t Believe’ it

两名高级官员证实那通电话确实欠妥；一人甚至表示“简直难以置信”

By Nicholas Fandos and Michael D. Shear

文/尼古拉斯·凡多斯，迈克尔·D·希尔

Two White House national security officials testified before the House’s impeachment inquiry on Tuesday

周二，两名白宫的国家安全官员在众议院的弹劾调查上作证，

that President Trump’s request to Ukraine’s president to investigate Democratic rivals was inappropriate,

表明特朗普总统要求乌克兰总统调查其民主党对手有失妥当，

and one of them said it validated his “worst fear” that American policy toward that country would veer off course.

其中一人还表示，他“最担心”的是美国对乌克兰的政策会偏离正轨，特朗普的举措恰好印证了他的这一担忧。

Hours later, two more witnesses — another former White House national security official and a former top American diplomat —charted a more careful course

几个小时后，另外两名证人——其中一名也是前白宫国家安全官员，另一名为美国前高级外交官——的姿态则更为谨慎，

but said under oath that the president’s requests on a July 25 phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine

但二人均宣誓说，总统在7月25日与乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽伦斯基的通话中提出的要求

were not in line with American national security goals.

有违美国的国家安全目标。

The new accounts came as the House Intelligence Committee opened a packed week of testimony,

感恩节假期即将来临，为此，众议院情报委员会本周的听证安排颇为紧凑，

with nine witnesses scheduled to answer questions in public before the House leaves for Thanksgiving.

将有9名证人公开回答问题。

Democrats used Tuesday’s back-to-back hearings to move the focus of their growing case to the White House

随着本案日益升温，就在周二一个证人接一个证人上台作证之际，民主党人趁势将案件的焦点转向白宫，

and back to the July phone call they see as the centerpiece of an abuse of power by Mr. Trump.

回到了7月份的那通电话上，在他们看来，这通电话就是特朗普滥用职权最典型的代表。

They say he used his office to try to obtain a political advantage from a foreign power.

他们称，特朗普试图利用职务之便，借助外国势力攫取政治利益。

Taking their cues from the White House,

在白宫的指示下，

Republicans moved aggressively to try to undercut the day’s lead witness,

共和党人迅速采取行动，试图妨碍当天的主要证人——

Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, the National Security Council’s Ukraine expert.

国家安全委员会乌克兰问题专家亚历山大·S·文德曼中校作证。

They tried to raise questions about Colonel Vindman’s loyalty to the United States,

他们试图质疑文德曼上校对国家的忠诚，

and sought to portray the concerns expressed by Colonel Vindman and an aide to Vice President Mike Pence

还试图表明，文德曼中校和副总统迈克·彭斯的助手提出的担忧

as merely the opinions of unelected, and even unreliable, bureaucrats second-guessing the president of the United States.

不过是选举失败甚至都靠不住的官僚揣测美国总统的点评。

Colonel Vindman responded by invoking his sense of duty as an American and an officer

对此，文德曼中校援引他作为一名美国人以及作为一名军官的责任感，

to explain why he was so alarmed by Mr. Trump’s request that he reported his concerns to White House lawyers.

解释了他为何对特朗普的要求担忧到向白宫律师汇报的地步。

“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” said Colonel Vindman,

“我简直不敢相信会听到他说出那样的话，”文德曼中校说。

an Iraq war combat veteran who testified in his deep-blue Army dress uniform covered with military ribbons.

身为参加过伊拉克战争的老兵的他当天身着深蓝色军服，身上挂满了勋章。

“It was probably an element of shock — that maybe, in certain regards, my worst fear of how our Ukraine policy could play out was playing out,

“当时，我可能有点太惊愕了——我很担心我们的对乌政策会如何结局，担心这件事可能对我们的国家安全产生重大影响，

and how this was likely to have significant implications for U.S. national security.”

可能，从一定程度来说，是我对这个问题最深切的担忧在作祟吧。”

Sitting beside him during the morning’s hearing, Jennifer Williams, a diplomat serving on Mr. Pence’s national security staff,

上午的听证会上，坐在他旁边的彭斯国家安全团队外交官珍妮弗·威廉姆斯

reiterated that she found Mr. Trump’s phone call with Mr. Zelensky “unusual and inappropriate.”

也重申了自己的意见，表明特朗普与泽伦斯基的通话“非同寻常，也不合适”。

She said she was struck that Mr. Trump was pressing a foreign leader about a personal domestic political issue,

她说，尽管她当时并没有表示出任何担忧，说话也比较谨慎，

though she did not report any concerns at the time and spoke in more reserved terms.

特朗普因为个人在国内的政治问题向外国领导人施压的做法还是令她大感意外。