新闻周刊:萨特是特朗普的弃子还是幌子?(2)（在线收听）

In the two years since the Trump-Russia scandal exploded into the headlines,

在特朗普“通俄门”丑闻爆到新闻头条后的两年里，

few have been the subject of more curiosity and speculation than Sater.

没有谁能比萨特更能引起人们的好奇和猜测。

There were endless press reports about his background: He was an ex-con, purportedly with links to the Mafia,

关于萨特背景的新闻报道层出不穷：他有过犯罪前科，据称和黑手党有联系，

who had worked with Trump on failed real estate deals in Florida and Manhattan.

他以前还参与过特朗普在佛罗里达和曼哈顿房地产交易，交易以失败告终。

Rumors surfaced that his former real estate company, Bayrock,

谣言称，萨特之前的房地产公司贝罗克集团，

was a money laundering vehicle for corrupt business and political figures in Russia and Ukraine (something he denies).

是俄罗斯和乌克兰商界和政界大人物的洗钱工具（对此萨特予以否认）。

He also picked a peculiar moment, the middle of Trump's presidential campaign,

萨特还选择了特朗普总统竞选中期这个特殊时刻，

to try to revive the Moscow deal, bragging about his clout with Putin, one of Washington's most potent adversaries.

来重启莫斯科协议，他吹嘘自己对普京的影响力，而俄罗斯总统普京正是美国政府最强有力的竞争对手。

And the only public defense hinted at in court documents over the years seemed to be an improbable story

唯一的公开辩护多年来在法庭文件中有所暗示，

about how he'd wound up helping America track down Osama bin Laden, among other adventures in espionage.

内容是他是如何帮助美国追踪奥萨马·本·拉登，和他间谍活动的其他冒险经历相比，这听起来尤其像一个天方夜谭。

So who is Felix Sater?

那么菲利克斯·萨特到底是谁？

Is he connected to the mob?

他和犯罪团伙有关联吗？

Is he a spy?

他是间谍吗？

Trump's man in Moscow?

是特朗普安插在莫斯科的人吗？

Or is he a key figure in Mueller's investigation,

亦或是他检察官穆勒的调查中的关键人物？

the man who will ultimately bring down the president and finally answer the questions swirling around Russia gate?

他会是那个最终打倒总统，并最终回答“通俄门”相关问题的人吗？

Pundits have speculated about all of the above.

权威专家们对上述问题都有所猜测。

But over three meetings and more than eight hours of conversation, Sater offered new details about his life,

但是在三次会见和长达八小时以上的谈话中，萨特又提供了关于其生活的新细节，

from rumors about his Mafia connections to his encounter with Russian hackers in St. Petersburg.

内容涵盖他和黑手党有关联的谣言以及在圣彼得堡遇到俄罗斯黑客的事。

And his story—the way he tells it, at least—is stranger than I had ever imagined.

萨特的故事——至少是讲故事的方式——比我想象的要离奇。

"I'm tired of reading all this," sater says.

“我已经看腻了这些故事，”萨特说道。

It's early May, and we're sitting at a coffee shop inside the Mandarin Oriental, a tony hotel in Washington.D.C.

现在是5月初，我们正坐在文华东方酒店内的一家咖啡店里，文华东方酒店是位于华盛顿特区的上等旅馆。

Sater had traveled there to testify before the House Intelligence Committee.

萨特曾到过那里，为在美国众议院情报委员会前作证。

The 52-year-old, wearing a blue blazer with an American flag pin affixed to the lapel,

52岁的萨特身穿蓝色短上衣，翻领上别着美国国旗图案的胸针，

explains how much of what's been written about him is false.

解释道关于他的那些文章有多少是假的。

It's why he's been spending a lot of time with journalists.

这就是为什么他花了大量时间会见记者。

His campaign for "personal redemption," as he calls it, began earlier this year with a lengthy article on BuzzFeed,

他所谓的“个人救赎”运动，始于今年早些时候，开端是BuzzFeed上的一篇冗长的文章，

followed by a couple of TV interviews and now our coffee talk.

随后是一系列电视采访节目，现在则是我们的咖啡访谈。

And he wants his reputation back.

他这是想挽回他的名声。

The most interesting thing about Sater is what that reputation consists of.

关于萨特最有意思的事情就是其名声的组成部分。

In 1972, his family emigrated from Moscow.

1972年，他随家人从莫斯科移民。

They were among the first wave of Jews allowed to leave the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

萨特一家是冷战期间首批获准离开前苏联的犹太人。

For a year, they lived in Israel before moving to Coney Island,

他们一家在以色列住了一年后，就搬去了科尼岛，

a neighborhood in Brooklyn where many Russian immigrants wound up.

科尼岛是布鲁克林的一个社区，很多来自俄罗斯的移民都选择布鲁克林作为最终的落脚地。

Sater was 6 years old when he arrived in the states.

来到美国的那一年，萨特6岁。