美国国家公共电台 NPR Lawyer Sues Trump, Saying He'd Rather Not

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Since President Trump¹ took office, he's been named as a defendant² in more than a hundred lawsuits⁴. Most of them involve immigration or civil rights issues. There is one that stands apart. Here's NPR's Peter Overby.

PETER OVERBY, BYLINE⁵: There are lots of big, impressive law offices in D.C. The one-room setup of Jeffrey Lovitky isn't among them.

This is the law firm?

JEFFREY LOVITKY: (Laughter).

OVERBY: It's small.

He's got just enough space for a desk, a credenza, three bookcases and two chairs. I asked him about his lawsuit³ against President Trump.

You know, what's the point?

LOVITKY: Well - so we're in a situation now that is unprecedented⁶.

OVERBY: Unprecedented because Donald Trump is president...

LOVITKY: The man who's making the most critical decisions that will affect our country for years to come.

OVERBY: ...While Trump also holds on to ownership of his international business empire.

LOVITKY: And we need to know as much about his financial situation as we can.

OVERBY: As a candidate, Trump had to disclose his personal finances. That includes personal liabilities. Oddly, though, Trump's disclosure also lists some of his corporate⁷ liabilities. You can't tell which is which.

LOVITKY: It's very possible it was just an error. It may have been very well-intentioned even.

OVERBY: But whatever the cause, the report is confusing. And that's why Lovitky filed suit.

LOVITKY: That's all it means. It means insisting on compliance⁸.

OVERBY: Lovitky hopes his case might establish that ordinary Americans can act to enforce the federal ethics⁹ law. Lovitky makes his living going after federal agencies on contract disputes and health care issues. He's never sued a president before. For this case, he couldn't find a plaintiff.

LOVITKY: I think people are afraid to put their name out there on a lawsuit against the president. There is a sense that Donald Trump can be very difficult on people who oppose him.

OVERBY: So now he's the plaintiff.

LOVITKY: It is intimidating¹⁰. I am intimidated¹¹. I mean, I would rather not be doing this.

OVERBY: He said it's his duty.

LOVITKY: You go back to the basic premise¹² - what is each individual's civic¹³ responsibility? What do you owe?

OVERBY: Lovitky filed his lawsuit in federal district court here in Washington. No date has been set for the White House to respond.

Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUJO'S "MEDICAL FLY")

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 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。

3 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

4 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

7 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

8 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

9 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

10 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

11 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

13 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。