There is little question that Trump’s presidency has crippled the critical relationship
between U.S. intelligence agencies and the congressional committees that oversee them.
和负责监管这些机构的国会委员会之间的重大关系,这一点可以说是毋庸置疑的。
The arrangement hinges on both sides’ operating in good faith and above politics.
这一监管安排有赖于双方真诚合作,超脱于政治之上。
In April, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee published the findings of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
今年4月,众议院情报委员会的共和党人公布了对俄罗斯干预2016年大选的调查结果。
The report implicitly rejected the consensus among U.S. intelligence agencies that Moscow’s efforts were designed to boost Trump.
报告含蓄地反驳了美国情报机构之间的共识——莫斯科的干预是为了提振特朗普的选举成绩。
Democrats on the panel panned the report’s conclusions
该委员会的多位民主党成员严厉指责了报告的结论,
and accused their GOP colleagues of abetting Trump’s effort to discredit investigators, including special counsel Robert Mueller.
还指责他们的共和党同僚怂恿特朗普诋毁调查人员,包括特别检察官罗伯特·穆勒。
The distrust and partisan acrimony will be hard to repair.
二者的不信任和党派纷争将很难修复。
The question is what to do now.
问题是现在该怎么办。
The first thing, says Hayden, is to avoid self-inflicted wounds.
海登说,首先要避免自讨苦吃。
Institutions that are designed to guard the public interest against the passing wiles of politicians
肩负着保护公众利益不受政客一时奸计之害的那些制度
“very often are tempted to break their own norms in pushing back against the norm-busting President,” says Hayden.
“在反击不按常理出牌的总统时经常会忍不住打破自己的原则,”海登说。
That “is a really serious problem,” he argues, because it further erodes public faith in government.
这“个问题非常严重”,他说,因为它会进一步动摇政府的公信力。
Clapper prescribes more candor.
克拉珀的建议更为直率。
After 9/11 and in the years before Trump’s election, the intelligence community was “not being sufficiently transparent and open,” he says.
他说,9/11事件之后以及特朗普当选之前的几年时间里,情报界“不够透明,也不够公开”。
“So, lesson learned. Early communication and more transparency.”
“所以,我们吸取教训了。尽早沟通,提高透明度。”
America’s institutions have been tested before, and each time they have proved resilient.
美国的制度以前也经受过考验,每次也都证明了它们的韧性。
Despite the fears cataloged in their books,
尽管他们的书中列出了很多忧虑,
both Clapper and Hayden expect the pillars of U.S. democracy to survive the attacks by the President.
克拉珀和海登都希望美国民主制度的支柱能够经受住总统的攻击。
One way or another, they will outlast Trump.
不管怎样,那些支柱都将比特朗普更长久。
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