白宫法律顾问曾获知美国税局或有不当做法

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白宫法律顾问曾获知美国税局或有不当做法

天之聪教育 2013-05-22 天之聪教育 372次

白宫法律顾问曾获知美国税局或有不当做法

Obama's Counsel Told Of IRS Audit Findings

       The White House's chief lawyer learned weeks ago that an audit of the Internal Revenue Service likely would show that agency employees inappropriately targeted conservative groups, a senior White House official said Sunday.

        美国白宫一位高级官员周日说，白宫首席律师数周前就已得知，一份有关美国国税局(Internal Revenue Service)的审计报告可能显示其员工有针对保守团体的不当做法。

        That disclosure has prompted a debate over whether the president should have been notified at that time.

        这一消息的披露引发争论：是否应在那时通知美国总统？

        In the week of April 22, the Office of the White House Counsel and its head, Kathryn Ruemmler, were told by Treasury Department attorneys that an inspector general's report was nearing completion, the White House official said.

        这位白宫官员说，白宫法律顾问处(Office of the White House Counsel)及该处负责人雷穆勒(Kathryn Ruemmler)在4月22日那一周被美国财政部律师告知，财政部税务管理监察长的报告接近完成。

        In that conversation, Ms. Ruemmler learned that 'a small number of line IRS employees had improperly scrutinized certain . . . organizations by using words like 'tea party' and 'patriot,'' the official said.

        这位官员说，雷穆勒在那场谈话中得知，美国国税局少数员工曾利用“茶党”和“爱国者”等字眼针对某些组织展开不当审查。

        President Barack Obama said last week he learned about the controversy at the same time as the public, on May 10, when an IRS official revealed it to a conference of lawyers. The president's statement drew criticism, focusing attention on his management style and whether he has kept himself sufficiently informed about the agencies under his authority.

        美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)上周说，自己与公众一样，也是在5月10日美国国税局某官员将此事披露给与会律师后得知这一争议性事件的。奥巴马的这番话引发外界批评，其中批评的焦点是其管理方式以及他是否及时、充分了解其管辖下的政府部门。

        Others, including veterans of previous scandals, said the counsel -- whose role is to advise the president on all legal matters concerning his job and the White House -- was right to avoid telling Mr. Obama about the audit's early findings. Doing so could have caused a new storm by creating the appearance of meddling in an independent investigation that hadn't yet concluded, former officials said.

        包括以前经历过丑闻事件的离任官员在内的其他人士说，白宫法律顾问处没有将审计报告的初步结果告诉奥巴马，这是正确做法。该顾问处的职责是向美国总统就与其总统职责及白宫相关的一切法律事务提供咨询建议。前政府官员说，如果告诉了总统，可能会给总统扣上一顶干涉尚未得出结论的独立调查的帽子，从而导致一场新风波。

        The White House, which declined to make Ms. Ruemmler available for comment Sunday, wouldn't say whether she shared the information with anyone else in the senior administration staff.

        白宫周日拒绝安排雷穆勒发表评论，也不愿透露她是否曾将此事告知美国政府其他高官。

        The new detail doesn't help answer some fundamental questions about the IRS scandal, including how it began and who, if anyone, in the administration was aware of the severity of the inspector general's probe before last November's presidential election.

        这一新细节无助于解答围绕美国国税局丑闻的一些基本问题，如怎么会出现此事？去年11月总统大选前，美国政府内有谁意识到财政部税务管理监察长这项调查的严重性？

        Instead, it focuses attention on the White House's handling of the matter, which has blown up into the kind of crisis that could persist.

        相反，这一细节关注的是白宫对此事的处理方式。这件事已演变成那种可能持续不休的危机。

        When findings are so potentially damaging, the president should immediately be informed, said Lanny Davis, who served as a special counsel to President Bill Clinton.

        曾在美国前总统克林顿(Bill Clinton)手下担任特别顾问的戴维斯(Lanny Davis)说，在调查结果可能产生如此重大的破坏性影响时，应立即通知总统。

        On the Sunday political talk shows, the White House rejected suggestions that the president should have taken action before the inspector general's office released its report May 14, a few days after the probe's findings were disclosed in news accounts.

        在周日的政治脱口秀节目上，有人提出奥巴马应在监察长5月14日发布报告前采取行动，白宫对此表示反对。报告发布前几天，新闻报道披露了这一调查结果。

        Jack Quinn, who served as White House counsel under former President Bill Clinton, said Ms. Ruemmler's office acted correctly in not sharing the information directly with the president.

        曾担任美国前总统克林顿白宫法律顾问的奎因(Jack Quinn)说，雷穆勒负责的白宫法律顾问处没有直接告知奥巴马总统这件事，这是对的。

        John Podesta, a former White House chief of staff under Mr. Clinton, said: 'The worst thing is if you do anything that is perceived to be interfering with an independent investigation' especially if it isn't fully complete. 'That gets you in such trouble your head spins.'

        曾为前总统克林顿白宫幕僚长的波德斯塔(John Podesta)说，最糟糕的情况是，如果你做了任何被认为是干涉独立调查的事，特别是干涉了那些还没有全面完成的独立调查，那会让你陷入极大的麻烦中，搞得你头晕脑胀。

        Republicans are expected to zero in on the question of who in the Obama administration's senior ranks knew about the IRS's targeting of conservative groups, especially before the November election last year.

        预计美国共和党会将批评重心集中于这样一个问题上：奥巴马政府高官中，是谁知道国税局针对保守团体这件事，特别是在去年11月大选前。

        Republican lawmakers on House oversight committees are pressing the investigation, with more hearings set for this week.

        美国众议院监管委员会的共和党议员目前正强烈要求展开调查，同时建议本周召开更多听证会。