2007年VOA标准英语-White House Backs Attorney General Despite Cont

By Deborah Tate
Washington
15 May 2007

The White House says President Bush still has confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, despite controversy¹ over his handling of the firing of federal prosecutors² and of the reauthorization of a clandestine³ surveillance program. New details emerged Tuesday about Gonzales' role in recertifying the wiretap program over Justice Department objections when he was White House counsel. VOA's Deborah Tate reports.

Alberto Gonzales

The new details about Gonzales' actions came from former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Comey said he had refused to recertify the clandestine program because then-Attorney General John Ashcroft had questioned its legality just before falling ill with pancreatitis in March 2004.

Comey, who was acting⁴ attorney general during Ashcroft's illness, said Gonzales and former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card responded by trying to pressure Ashcroft to sign the recertification from his hospital bed. "I was very upset, I was angry. I thought I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man who did not have the powers of the attorney general because they had been transferred to me," he said.

But Comey said Ashcroft refused to sign the document and noted⁵ that Comey was the acting attorney general.

A day later, the wiretap program was reauthorized without the Justice Department's approval.

Although previously⁶ reported, it was Comey's first public testimony⁷ about the incident.

At the White House, spokesman Tony Snow declined to comment on the testimony. Instead, he praised the wiretap program and said it had come under rigorous review.

"The terrorist surveillance program was something that was always reviewed by the Department of Justice, either 45 or 90 day periods, and furthermore, was reviewed by the inspectors⁸ general at the Department of Justice and the National Security Agency. In addition, there was a review by the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] court. The terrorist surveillance program saved lives, period," he said.

The wiretap program was set up after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, and allowed the National Security Agency to monitor, without court warrants, phone calls and e-mails between suspected terrorists overseas and people in the United States.

In addition to testifying about Gonzales' role in recertifying the surveillance program, Comey also testified about the firings of U.S. attorneys. He praised many of the eight attorneys who were dismissed in a controversy that has led to bipartisan calls for Attorney General Gonzales' resignation.

The Senate panel is investigating whether the attorneys were dismissed to influence the prosecution⁹ of corruption¹⁰ cases with the aim of helping¹¹ Republicans - as some Democratic critics have alleged¹³. Gonzales and other Bush administration officials say the dismissals were justified¹⁴, if mishandled.

On Monday, the current deputy attorney general, Paul McNulty, became the highest-ranking Justice Department official to announce he would resign since the controversy erupted in January.

At a speech at the National Press Club Tuesday, Gonzales said McNulty was ultimately responsible for recommending the attorney firings. "At the end of the day, the recommendations reflected the views of the deputy attorney general, who signed off on the names," he said.

Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat¹², said Gonzales, who testified before the committee last month, is trying to shift blame for the controversy. "Mr. Gonzales said in this hearing room that he accepts responsibility for the firings. Well, he should live up to his words and not point a finger today at Mr. McNulty," he said.

The top Republican on the committee, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, was even tougher. "I think the resignation of Mr. McNulty is another significant step in evidence that the department really cannot function with the continued leadership or lack of leadership of Attorney General Gonzales," he said.

Gonzales reiterated¹⁵ that whether he remains¹⁶ as attorney general is up to President Bush.

White House spokesman Tony Snow says the president continues to have confidence in his attorney general.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

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 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 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。

8 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

10 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。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

13 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

14 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

15 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。