美国上诉法院裁决前总统是否拥有豁免权

Today, a federal appeals court hears arguments over one of the indictments of former President Trump.

今天，一家联邦上诉法院听取了对前总统特朗普其中一项控告的辩论。

The court considers whether the United States can prosecute an ex-president for acts committed in office.

这家上诉法院在考虑美国是否可以对前总统在任期间的行为提起诉讼。

Lawyers for Trump claim he has immunity.

特朗普的律师团队声称特朗普拥有豁免权。

If the court agreed, that would prevent a trial he is facing for his efforts to overturn his election defeat.

如果上诉法院同意这种说法，那么，这将阻止特朗普因推翻落选结果而将面临的审判。

NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has been following the case. Carrie, good morning.

NPR司法记者嘉莉·约翰逊一直在关注此案。嘉莉，早上好。

Good morning, Steve.

早上好，史蒂夫。

I'm just trying to remember - former President Trump was impeached for his efforts to overturn the election and for the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

我正在努力回忆——前总统特朗普之前就因试图推翻选举结果和1月6日袭击国会大厦事件而被弹劾。

And at the time, some of his defenders in the U.S. Senate said this is not a matter for impeachment.

当时，他在美国参议院的一些辩护人表示，这不是一个弹劾问题。

If he has a problem, if he violated the law, you can prosecute him afterward.

如果他有问题，如果他触犯了法律，可以在卸任总统后起诉他。

How did we get to the point now where his lawyers are saying you can't prosecute him afterward?

现在他的律师怎么又说不能在卸任总统后起诉他?

Yeah. Trump's attorneys are making the argument that to prosecute him now for virtually the same conduct after January 6 would amount to a violation of the principle of double jeopardy.

特朗普的律师团队提出的论点是，在1月6日之后，现在以几乎相同的行为起诉他，等同于违反重复指控原则。

Of course, prosecutors say that's simply wrong.

当然，检察官认为这种说法完全错误。

They point to statements from Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, and others who said at the time of the impeachment that it was up to the justice system to decide what to do with Donald Trump.

他们提到了肯塔基州共和党参议员米奇·麦康奈尔和其他人的声明，他们在弹劾事件发生时表示，应该由司法系统决定如何处理唐纳德·特朗普。

And another key argument Trump is going to be making is that he's immune from prosecution.

特朗普将会提出的另一个关键论点是他拥有免受诉讼的豁免权。

He enjoys blanket immunity because what he did before and after January 6, 2021, were official actions while he was president in the White House.

他在2021年1月6日之前和之后所做的事情都是他在白宫担任总统期间的官方行为，因此享有全面豁免权。

Oh, interesting. I guess that raises the question, first, of whether it's an official action and, second, whether you can prosecute for an official action. What do prosecutors say?

真有意思。我想这提出了一个问题，首先，这是否是官方行为，其次，是否可以对官方行为进行起诉。检察官怎么说?

Prosecutors say these arguments by Trump, were the appeals court to buy them, would be really sweeping and would even undermine the democracy, give presidents a license to commit crimes while in the White House.

检察官表示，特朗普的这些论点，如果上诉法院接受了的话，将会造成非常大的影响，甚至会破坏民主，为总统入住白宫期间犯罪提供许可。

Special Counsel Jack Smith mentioned crimes like accepting bribes for directing government contracts or selling nuclear secrets to a foreign adversary.

特别辩护律师杰克·史密斯提到了几项因指导政府合同或向外国对手出售核机密而收受贿赂等诸如此类的罪行。

Of course, no former president has ever been charged with a federal crime. Donald Trump is the first.

当然，从来没有前总统被指控犯有联邦罪行。而唐纳德·特朗普是第一个。

So this is going to be a landmark case whichever way the appeals court rules.

无论上诉法院如何裁决，这都将是一个具有里程碑意义的案件。

Granting that, is there any history that gives us any guide here?

即便如此，有没有什么历史可以给我们提供一些指导呢?

Yeah. The special counsel points out that Richard Nixon got a pardon from President Ford and that pardons involve some acceptance or acknowledgement of criminal wrongdoing.

有，特别辩护律师指出，理查德·尼克松得到了福特总统的赦免，而那次赦免包括对犯罪行为的某种接受或承认。

The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that presidents have some shield from civil liability, like money damages, but that must relate to something in their work as the president.

最高法院过去裁定，总统可以免于一些如金钱损失的民事责任，但这必须与他们作为总统的工作有关。

And the Justice Department says Trump was acting like a political candidate when he tried to cling to power in 2020 and 2021, not like a president.

司法部表示，特朗普在2020年和2021年试图保住权力时，表现得像一个政治候选人，而非一位总统。