FBI Director James Comey may be damaged goods in political terms. But he is not going anywhere — even if Hillary Clinton is elected president.
在政治上,美國聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局(FBI)局長詹姆斯•科米(James Comey)或許已是“損壞的貨物”(damaged goods),但他不會離職,即便希拉里•克林頓(Hillary Clinton)當選為總統(tǒng)。
Since notifying Congress that FBI agents were investigating newly discovered emails that could be relevant to its probe into Mrs Clinton’s private server, Mr Comey has been assailed by both Democrats and Republicans. He has been buffeted by a tempest in the bureau’s ranks, as some agents leaked to reporters their demand for more aggressive action. And he has even been rebuked by President Barack Obama.
自從他向國會報告FBI特工正在調(diào)查新發(fā)現(xiàn)的、可能與希拉里使用私人服務(wù)器一案有關(guān)的電子郵件,科米就同時遭到了民主黨人和共和黨人的抨擊。他在FBI內(nèi)部也飽受詬病,一些特工向媒體記者透露,他們主張采取更強硬的行動。他甚至受到了美國總統(tǒng)巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)的指責。
“It’s been a pretty tough week for the FBI,” says David Gomez, who spent 28 years with the bureau before retiring five years ago.
“對FBI來說,這是相當艱難的一周,”戴維•戈麥斯(David Gomez)表示,他在FBI工作了28年,于5年前退休。
No matter who wins Tuesday’s presidential election, Mr Comey faces twin challenges in the coming months. He must repair his own standing, which has been badly dented by political skirmishing over his handling of the email investigation, and restore the bureau’s non-partisan standing.
無論周二的總統(tǒng)大選中誰會獲勝,科米在未來數(shù)月都將面臨雙重挑戰(zhàn):他必須挽回個人聲譽,他處理希拉里電郵門的做法引發(fā)的政治爭論已使自己的聲譽嚴重受損;同時他必須恢復FBI超越黨派的形象。
“The FBI director’s personal reputation is not what it was a year ago,” says Benjamin Wittes, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Comey fan. “A lot of people who had confidence in him last week do not have confidence today.”
“這位FBI局長的個人聲譽不比一年前了,”科米的粉絲、布魯金斯學會(Brookings Institution)高級研究員本杰明•威特斯(Benjamin Wittes)稱,“很多上周還信任他的人如今已經(jīng)對他失去信心了。”
Both presidential candidates have had tough words for the director, who is said to be committed to completing his 10-year term, which lasts until 2023. Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, said in July that Mr Comey’s decision to recommend no prosecution of Mrs Clinton over her emails was evidence of a “rigged” system.
兩位總統(tǒng)候選人都對科米說過難聽的話。據(jù)悉科米決心完成10年任期,干到2023年。共和黨總統(tǒng)候選人唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)7月時表示,科米做出關(guān)于建議不就郵件門起訴希拉里的決定,就是制度受到“操縱”的證據(jù)。
But the FBI director’s challenge would be especially acute in a Clinton administration. He could find himself serving under a president whose White House bid he nearly derailed.
但是,如果希拉里當選總統(tǒng),科米面臨的挑戰(zhàn)將尤其艱難。他會發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在一位入主白宮之路差點被他毀掉的總統(tǒng)手下工作。
The new president will inherit an FBI that is embroiled in politics to an unusual degree. Disclosing confidential details of an investigation is considered a firing offence in the FBI. Yet since Mr Comey’s letter to Congress became public last week, normally tight-lipped FBI agents have been the source of press reports detailing alleged misdeeds by the Clintons, wounding the Democratic candidate.
新總統(tǒng)將接管的FBI以不尋常的程度卷入了政治事務(wù)。在FBI,泄露一項調(diào)查的機密信息被視為違規(guī)行為,可能因此被解雇。不過,自從科米致國會的信函在上周公開以后,通常守口如瓶的FBI特工們不斷向媒體爆料,透露克林頓夫婦疑似存在不當行為的信息,相關(guān)報道打擊了民主黨總統(tǒng)候選人希拉里。
One Fox News report, quoting FBI sources, said an indictment was likely to result from an investigation of the Clinton Foundation. Fox later retracted the report.
??怂剐侣?Fox News)的一則報道援引FBI內(nèi)部人士提供的消息稱,對克林頓基金會的一項調(diào)查可能會引發(fā)起訴。??怂闺S后撤回了這則報道。
On Friday, John Conyers and Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrats on the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees, wrote to the Department of Justice inspector general requesting an investigation of “unauthorised and inaccurate leaks from within the FBI”.
上周五,美國眾議院司法委員會和眾議院監(jiān)管與政府改革委員會中最資深的民主黨議員約翰•科尼爾斯(John Conyers)和埃里耶•卡明斯(Elijah Cummings)致信司法部督察長,要求對“FBI內(nèi)部未經(jīng)授權(quán)和不準確的泄漏消息行為”發(fā)起調(diào)查。
The letter came hours after former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told Fox that he had learnt of Mr Comey’s October 28 congressional notification days earlier. Mr Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, said he had been tipped off by his contacts among retired agents.
就在他們發(fā)出此信的幾個小時前,紐約市長魯?shù)婪?bull;朱利安尼(Rudolph Giuliani)告訴福克斯,科米在10月28日知會國會的事,他前幾天就知道了。曾任聯(lián)邦檢察官的朱利安尼表示,他在退役特工中的熟人向他報了信。
“There’s a revolution going on inside the FBI and it’s now at a boiling point,” Mr Giuliani said on Fox.
“FBI內(nèi)部掀起了一場革命,現(xiàn)在已達到了沸點,”朱利亞尼在??怂股媳硎?。
Law enforcement professionals, like members of the US military, generally tilt Republican in their politics. And there is widespread antipathy among FBI agents toward the Clintons and their charitable foundation, which Mr Trump describes as a “pay-for-play” operation blurring the former secretary of state’s public and private roles.
美國執(zhí)法部門的專業(yè)人士,比如軍方的成員,通常傾向于支持共和黨人。而且FBI特工普遍對克林頓夫婦和他們的慈善基金會頗為反感。該基金會被特朗普形容為一家“收錢辦事”的機構(gòu),模糊了前國務(wù)卿希拉里的公共和私人角色的界限。
Inside the bureau, many agents regard the Clintons as akin to an organised crime family, said one former agent. “They’re always in the grey area,” this retired agent said. But others disputed reports that the FBI is almost uniformly pro-Trump.
一位前特工說,在FBI內(nèi)部,許多特工都認為克林頓夫婦像是一個有組織犯罪的家庭。“他們總是處于灰色地帶,”這位退休特工說。但其他特工并不認同有關(guān)FBI人員幾乎清一色支持特朗普的報道。
“That’s not true,” said Mr Gomez, who once headed the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Washington State. “In Seattle, the agent population is split about 50/50. There are plenty of Clinton supporters in the office and plenty of Trump supporters.”
“這不是真的,”曾領(lǐng)導華盛頓州聯(lián)合反恐特遣部隊的戈麥斯說。“在西雅圖,特工當中支持兩人的比例大約是一半對一半。辦公室里有很多人支持希拉里,也有很多人支持特朗普。”
Former FBI Director Louis Freeh once wrote that he spent most of his eight years running the bureau investigating his boss, President Bill Clinton. Freeh presided over probes into the Whitewater real estate deal and the president’s sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
FBI前局長路易斯•弗里(Louis Freeh)曾寫道,在執(zhí)掌FBI的8年里,他大部分時間在調(diào)查自己的老板、時任總統(tǒng)的比爾•克林頓(Bill Clinton)。有關(guān)白水(Whitewater)房地產(chǎn)交易的調(diào)查以及對總統(tǒng)與白宮實習生莫妮卡•萊溫斯基(Monica Lewinsky)性關(guān)系的調(diào)查都是弗里負責的。
If a second President Clinton takes office in January, the nation could witness another tense relationship. Ron Hosko, who retired in 2014 after a 30-year FBI career, says several field offices are scrutinising various elements of the Clinton Foundation’s activities. And Mr Comey ultimately will have to evaluate their efforts.
如果第二位克林頓總統(tǒng)在明年1月就職,美國人民可能再次目睹總統(tǒng)與FBI關(guān)系緊張。在FBI干了30年的羅恩•霍斯科(Ron Hosko)表示,F(xiàn)BI的幾個部門正從各個方面調(diào)查克林頓基金會的活動??泼鬃罱K必須評估他們的調(diào)查結(jié)果。
“He recognises he has work to do — Clinton Foundation work,” said Mr Hosko, who retired in 2014 as assistant director of the criminal investigative division. “Next Wednesday, they ought to be off to the races.”
“他認識到自己有工作要做——有關(guān)克林頓基金會的工作,”2014年從FBI刑事調(diào)查部副主任職位上退休的霍斯科說,“下周三,他們就應該要開干了。”