2006年VOA标准英语-Powerful Washington Lobbyist to Cooperate

By Jim Malone
Washington
03 January 2006

A once powerful Washington lobbyist pleaded guilty to criminal corruption¹ charges Tuesday as part of an agreement to cooperate with federal prosecutors² investigating alleged³ influence peddling⁴ in the U.S. Congress.

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Jack⁵ Abramoff (right) with his lawyer (2004 file photo)  
  

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty to charges of conspiracy⁶, tax evasion⁷ and mail fraud in connection with his efforts to influence members of Congress.

Abramoff appeared before a federal judge in Washington and acknowledged that he engaged in a criminal conspiracy involving the corruption of public officials.  He expressed sorrow and regret and asked for forgiveness.

Abramoff also faces separate fraud charges in connection with his attempts to a buy a cruise ship line in Florida.

As part of his plea bargain agreement with prosecutors, Abramoff will now cooperate in a wide ranging Justice Department investigation⁸ looking at his efforts to influence as many as 20 members of Congress and congressional staffers, including former Republican House leader Tom Delay of Texas.

"Government officials and government action are not for sale," said U.S. Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher.  "The Justice Department will aggressively investigate and prosecute⁹ these types of cases, which have a devastating¹⁰ impact on the public's trust of government.  We will not shy away from that responsibility no matter where the trail leads."

Democratic political consultant¹¹ Michael Feldman says the fact that Jack Abramoff is now cooperating with prosecutors is making some lawmakers nervous.

"The very fact that he has reached a deal means that he has some information to offer and my guess is that there are members of Congress and senior staff who are very uneasy as a result," said Mr. Feldman.

Part of the case against Jack Abramoff involves allegations that he defrauded¹² Indian tribes in several states of millions of dollars and that he sought to buy influence with several members of Congress by giving them lavish¹³ gifts and campaign contributions in violation¹⁴ of the law.

Most of the Abramoff gifts were directed to Republican members of Congress, but some Democrats¹⁵ accepted contributions as well.  In recent weeks, several lawmakers have returned contributions from Abramoff.

Abramoff also raised money for President Bush's re-election campaign last year, but White House spokesman Scott McClellan could not say whether the president had ever met the once-powerful lobbyist.

"The wrongdoing that he apparently¹⁶ now is acknowledging he is involved in is outrageous¹⁷ and if he broke laws, he needs to be held to account and he needs to be punished," he said.

The political fallout from the Abramoff case could be significant.

University of Virginia expert Larry Sabato says the main reason for that is that Jack Abramoff tried to spread his influence around to so many members of Congress.

"Not all of them are guilty," he explained.  "Not all of them even knew who he was.  But there are bound to be more than a few who are deeply involved and in trouble."

Political analyst¹⁸ Stuart Rothenberg expects opposition¹⁹ Democrats to focus on the Abramoff influence peddling scandal as they try to make gains in congressional elections in November.

"We do not know and it is up to the Democrats over the next nine or 10 months to connect the dots from individual scandal, member to member to member, and then make that a party wide scandal," he said.  "And we do not know if they are going to be able to do it."

Abramoff could be sentenced to as much as 30 years in prison for his guilty pleas.  But that sentence could be reduced, depending on his level of cooperation with prosecutors.

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 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。

3 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

4 peddling   

忙于琐事的，无关紧要的

参考例句：

• He worked as a door-to-door salesman peddling cloths and brushes. 他的工作是上门推销抹布和刷子。
• "If he doesn't like peddling, why doesn't he practice law? "要是他不高兴卖柴火，干吗不当律师呢？

5 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

6 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

7 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

8 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。

9 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

11 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

12 defrauded   

v.诈取，骗取( defraud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He defrauded his employers of thousands of dollars. 他诈取了他的雇主一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He defrauded them of their money. 他骗走了他们的钱。 来自辞典例句

13 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

14 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

15 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

17 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

18 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

19 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。