Accuser Commits to detail Episode before Senators
原告承诺向参议员们当面作证
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Nicholas Fandos
文/谢丽尔·盖伊·斯托尔伯格,尼古拉斯·范多思
Washington--The woman who has accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers has committed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday,
华盛顿电——控告法官布雷特·卡瓦诺青少年时曾对其实施性侵的被害者已承诺周四当着参议院司法委员会作证,
setting up a potentially explosive confrontation unlike any seen in decades with the future of the Supreme Court at stake.
此举可能引发一场数十年来最具爆炸性的冲突,甚至动摇最高法院的未来。
After days of intense and closely watched legal wrangling,
经过几天紧张而备受关注的法律纠纷,
lawyers for the woman, Christine Blasey Ford, reached final agreement with committee representatives on Sunday for Dr. Blasey to testify.
周日,该女子,也即克里斯蒂娜·布莱西·福特,的律师们终于就布莱西博士出席作证一事同参议院司法委员会的代表们达成了最终协议。
While several details — including whether Republicans will use an outside lawyer to question her — remain unsettled,
尽管有几个细节 - 包括共和党人是否会请外部律师来质询她 - 仍未确定,
a spokesman for the committee said its chairman, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, considers the negotiations over,
该委员会发言人表示,委员会主席、爱荷华州参议员查尔斯·E·格拉斯利还是认为谈判已经结束,
and Dr.Blasey’s lawyers said the hearing would go on no matter how those details are resolved.
布莱西博士的律师们则表示,无论这些细节最终如何落定,听证会都会如期举行。
"Despite actual threats to her safety and her life,
“尽管自己的安全和生命都受到了切实的威胁,
Dr. Ford believes it is important for senators to hear directly from her about the sexual assault committed against her, "
福特博士还是相信,参议员们很有必要听她当面陈述她当初遭受性侵的经历,”
her lawyers, Debra S. Katz, Lisa J. Banks and Michael R. Bromwich, said in a statement Sunday,
她的律师们,黛布拉·S.卡茨,丽萨·J. 班克斯和迈克尔· R. 布罗米奇,在周日的一份声明中如是说到,
adding that while some logistical and other details were not yet settled, "they will not impede the hearing taking place."
他们还补充说一些后勤和其他细节虽然尚未落定,“也并不会影响听证会的举行。”
But not long after the agreement was reached,
然而,协议达成不久,
Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the committee’s top Democrat, wrote to Mr. Grassley,
委员会民主党领袖,加利福尼亚州参议员黛安·范斯坦就写信给委员会主席格拉斯利先生,
requesting "an immediate postponement of any further proceedings related to the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh,"
要求“立即推迟与布雷特·卡瓦诺提名有关的所有进一步审理程序,”
citing a second accusation of misconduct that surfaced against him on Sunday
他还援用了周日出现的指控卡瓦诺行为不当的另一起指控,
and asking that the allegation be referred to the F.B.I.
还请求委员会便将该指控提交给F.B.I.,
If the hearing remains on course, Dr. Blasey will appear Thursday before a committee of 21 senators
听证会若如期举行,布莱西博士将于周四站到21名参议员组成的委员会面前,
for questioning that could carry unmistakable echoes of the 1991 confirmation hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas,
面对势必与1991年的大法官克拉伦斯·托马斯确认听证会遥相呼应的质询,
who was accused of sexual harassment by the law professor Anita F. Hill.
托马斯也曾被法学教授安妮塔·F. 希尔指控性骚扰。
The Thomas hearings riveted the nation, infuriating women across the country and spurring hundreds of them to run for office.
托马斯的听证会吸引了全国人民的目光,激怒了全国各地的女性,也激励了数百人竞选公职。
The hearing with Dr. Blasey, coming at the height of the #MeToo movement, promises to be a similar spectacle.
布莱西博士的听证会,正好赶上#MeToo运动的高峰,故有望成为类似的奇观。
The on-again-off-again talks — with an appointment to the nation’s highest court in the balance — have consumed official Washington,
一次又一次的谈判 - 国家最高法院的任命也因此悬而未决 - 已经消耗了华盛顿多位官员,
and thrown confirmation proceedings for Judge Kavanaugh, who has vigorously denied Dr. Blasey’s allegations, into turmoil.
也让对卡瓦诺法官,他本人矢口否认布莱西博士的指控,提出的确认诉讼陷入了混乱。
Until recently, Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation seemed all but assured; Dr. Blasey’s testimony has the potential to be a fatal blow .
直到最近,卡瓦诺法官的确认听证会似乎一直都毫无把握,然而,布莱西博士的证词则可能对其造成致命的打击。
译文由可可原创,仅供学习交流使用,未经许可请勿转载。