美国国家公共电台 NPR--Trump's legal team considers strategies to defend the former president in court

Trump¹'s legal team considers strategies to defend the former president in court

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to defense³ attorney Sarah Krissoff about former President Donald Trump's legal strategy in the classified documents case. He pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges in the case.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

While lawmakers assess their political strategies, Trump's legal team will be settling on legal strategies to defend the former president in court. Sarah Krissoff used to be a federal prosecutor⁴. She's now a defense attorney, and she's with us now. Good morning.

SARAH KRISSOFF: Good morning.

FADEL: So knowing what we know from the indictment⁵, if you were defending in this case, what would be the thing you'd seize on to try and persuade a jury?

KRISSOFF: So there's a few things really. I think the defense team here really needs to look at the application of the crime fraud exception to Evan Corcoran. That's a big part of this case here, and it's a significant thing that the Department of Justice invoke⁶ that exception. And so I think if they can challenge that ruling, you know, they may be able to knock out some of this case. It will be an uphill road, but they can certainly - I think that is one of the more promising⁷ areas to defend this case.

FADEL: OK, so the crime fraud exception. Obviously, a lot of the indictment, the stronger evidence, is coming from Trump's own lawyer's notes, M. Evan Corcoran. And in the indictment, it says he pressured Corcoran to thwart⁸ investigators⁹, even suggested lying to them. So you're saying looking at this, maybe keeping it out of court?

KRISSOFF: That's right. I think they can sort of - they can look at challenging that underlying¹⁰ ruling by the judge, allowing that evidence to be used here. And I think, frankly¹¹, that argument has some sort of public appeal as well. It matches the rhetoric¹² we're hearing from Trump's camp about, you know, selective prosecution¹³ and the inappropriateness of this type of prosecution. So I think it has some appeal to protect those communications with Trump's lawyer, although there is set forth¹⁴ in the law a very clear exception to allow for those types of materials in certain instances to be utilized¹⁵ in an investigation¹⁶. But I think it has both legal and rhetorical appeal, frankly.

FADEL: How difficult is this case going to be to be a defense attorney? And I mean, Donald Trump's a former president. He dominates the news. He's, for many people, a love-him-or-hate-him type of person. Is it possible to find an impartial¹⁷ jury in such a polarizing case?

KRISSOFF: I do think it's possible. You know, we do have a history of putting people on trial who are notorious. This is not the first time it has happened. This might be the most notorious defendant¹⁸, but not the first. And so I think with the proper questioning of the jury - it's going to take a lot of work to make sure that the jurors are folks that have an open mind, that they're going to evaluate the case based on the evidence before them and not anything they've heard before from the press, from their friends. But I think it is possible to seat a jury that can do that.

FADEL: Now, Trump was represented in court yesterday by Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche after two other attorneys quit the case this week. There were reports of him scrambling¹⁹ to find a Florida lawyer before his appearance. Is this kind of defense lawyer shuffle²⁰ common?

KRISSOFF: You know, well, Trump himself has a long history of moving through lawyers and discarding lawyers. That - getting a team together to represent him here I think is going to be a challenge. He needs to get folks who are, you know, experienced in the espionage²¹ cases, experienced in public corruption²² cases, and also familiar with the court in the Southern District of Florida. So he - and, you know, his field is somewhat limited at this point because he's already utilized a lot of lawyers. And frankly, there's a lot of lawyers who probably aren't interested in taking the case.

FADEL: Sarah Krissoff is a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor. Thank you so much for your time and your insights.

KRISSOFF: Thank you for having me.

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 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 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。

4 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

5 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

6 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。

7 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

8 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

11 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

12 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

13 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。

14 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

15 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 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。

17 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

18 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

19 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 shuffle   

n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走

参考例句：

• I wish you'd remember to shuffle before you deal.我希望在你发牌前记得洗牌。
• Don't shuffle your feet along.别拖着脚步走。

21 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

22 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。