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What do Mueller’s inquiries for Trump tell us about his probe?
穆勒调查到底告诉了我们什么?
IN A TOWN NOTORIOUS FOR LEAKING,
在那个因泄密而臭名昭著的圈子里，
special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has been a striking exception to the rule.
特别检察官罗伯特·穆勒的团队堪称是例外中的例外。
Since launching its investigation last May into Russian meddling in the 2016 election,
自去年（2017年）5月启动对俄罗斯干预美国2016年大选的调查以来，
the team of federal prosecutors has been tightlipped,
穆勒的这一联邦检察官团队的口风一直很紧，
tipping its hand only when unveiling an indictment or announcing a guilty plea.
只有在公布起诉或宣布（某涉案人）认罪时才会稍稍松口。
While the source of the April 30 leak has not been revealed,
尽管4月30日的泄密事件的源头尚未被披露，
that made the more than four dozen questions Mueller’s office would like to ask President Trump especially revealing.
但这一事件还是让穆勒办公室想要问特朗普总统的四十多个问题显得特别有启发性。
The questions, which probe everything from the firings of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and FBI Director James Comey
这些问题，从解雇前国家安全顾问迈克尔·弗林和联邦调查局局长詹姆斯·科米
to potential campaign coordination with Russia,
到为了竞选疑与俄罗斯有合作无所不包，
represent the clearest indication yet about the focus and scope of the investigation as well as the perils it may pose to the President.
不仅是表明这次调查的重点和范围的迄今为止最明确的线索，也显示了这次调查可能给总统带来怎样的危险。
Prosecutors say the wording of the questions makes it clear
检察官们表示，问题清单的措辞清楚地表明，
that the special counsel is particularly interested in whether Trump obstructed justice.
特别检察官尤其关心的是特朗普是否存在妨碍司法公正的行为。
“Before there was a very rational expectation that there was a lot of focus on the obstruction issue,”
“且不说大家是否能理性地预料到我们会把大量的注意力放在这个问题上，”
says Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who was removed by the Trump Administration last year after he refused to resign from his post.
去年因为拒绝辞职被特朗普政府解雇了的前纽约南区联邦检察官普里特·巴拉拉说到，
“If these are the questions they intend to put to the President directly, then it erases all doubt.”
“如果这些问题就是他们打算问总统的问题，那所有的疑点就都消散了。”
Mueller may never get the chance to ask them.
穆勒可能永远都不会有机会问这些问题。
Trump has said he would “love to” talk with Mueller under oath,
因为特朗普曾表示，虽然他很“乐意” 开诚布公地跟穆勒谈，
but outside advisers and some of his own lawyers have advised him not to,
但外部顾问和他自己的一些律师都建议他不要这样做，
with one warning ominously that it could be a “perjury trap.”
其中一位还警告他，这可能是一个“伪证陷阱”。
Giving misleading answers under oath was one of the reasons former President Bill Clinton was impeached.
毕竟，前总统比尔·克林顿被弹劾的原因之一就是他在宣誓后作出了误导性的回答。
Trump responded to the leaked questions by claiming they vindicated him,
面对调查问题被泄，特朗普回应说那些问题恰好证明了他的清白，
tweeting that there were no questions about collusion (there are, in fact, 13)
他在推特上说到，那些问题中并没有关于共谋的问题(事实上，有13个)，
and that it’s “very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened.”
而且，“对于子虚乌有的罪行，阻碍司法公正是很难的。”
(Obstruction charges do not require that an underlying crime be proved.)
(阻碍司法公正的指控是不需要证明罪行属实的。)
While the tweets show Trump’s current mind-set,
虽然这些推文揭示的是特朗普当前的心态，
many of the questions are focused on what Trump was thinking
但被泄的问题很多都集中在了川普
when he took action at important moments during his presidency, like firing Comey.
在他任期内的重要时刻，比如解雇科米时的心理活动上。
That’s because intent is a key element of any obstruction charges—
这是因为任何阻碍司法公正指控中，意图都是一个关键的因素——
which is why prosecutors say an interview with Trump is essential.
这也是检察官们为什么说采访特朗普是整个调查必不可少的一个环节的原因。
“One of the easiest ways to get to someone’s state of mind, to determine guilt or innocence, is to question them directly,” Bharara says.
“要了解一个人的思维活动，判断TA是否有罪，最简单的办法就是直接询问，”巴拉拉说到。
If the questions provide a road map for the Mueller inquiry,
如果这些问题能为穆勒的调查提供方向，
the interrogation might still go diferently if the President ever decides to sit down with the special counsel.
要是总统真的决定和特别检察官（穆勒）坐下来面谈，审讯的情况可能还是会变得不一样。
“These strike me as a proxy, even though they’re very specific, for areas they might want to explore,” Bharara says.
“这些问题还是让我觉得只是表象，尽管已经很具体了，他们真正想问的问题可能还在这些问题的背后，”巴拉拉说:
“I don’t think these are precisely the questions that are gonna be asked.”
“我不认为这些问题就是将要被问到的问题。”
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
